I was saving this image from last Saturday until today. I have been attempting to follow the daily themes outlined on the Photofocus Community. Today is Framed Friday and I wanted to use this image of Bellamy Harbor with the natural framing for my post. It was a very cold morning and you can see the “steam” rising off the ice.
Along the trails of the sculpture garden are these red benches. I assume the bright red color is to allow them to stand out and be noticeable from a distance. Even though they are metal, they are actually quite comfortable to sit on. There are a couple of these benches on the hill above the Pagoda Pavilion. I have sat on them a few times and simply enjoyed the day. This one is interesting as it is tucked in among the trees and quite a few feet off the paved paths.
Even though this is a busy image, I liked the red bench having the orange book ends from the tree leaves. Late afternoon light casting long shadows didn’t hurt either. I thought to walk up to the bench, create a single impression in the snow on the seat and walk away leaving a single set of foot prints in the snow. Obviously I chose the the cleaner view…
About an hour before sunset on Saturday I went for a walk at the Griffiss International Sculpture Garden. I decided to only take my Pen-F camera with the 17mm lens. I wasn’t looking for macros this time but trying to see the park differently. I was hoping to catch of few of the sculptures against the winter snow and blue sky. When I came upon Persephone, by Howard Kalish, I knew I was going to capture this one. The colors jumped out at me! Normally I like this one best when it is illuminated at night but in the late afternoon sun I think it shined very bright.
OK, it started out at 4F degrees when I went out for the sunrise but it was -4F by the time I got back home. I would have been OK with the temp but my walk away from the car was apparently with the breeze and the walk back nearly froze my face off. Damn, it was cold!
I found where the geese decided to sleep for the night. I suppose the water was a good 30F warmer than the air but still looked cold to me. When I came around the west side of the Mohawk River to capture the view I wanted, the geese didn’t like how close I was getting and started to move away. Although a few might be blurry due to the shutter speed, having them farther out in the water does add to the story of the image. You can see “steam” over the ice in the Barge Canal.
OK, I’m getting cold again looking at this image, time for another cup of coffee…
At one point yesterday I looked out the window at work and saw blue skies, puffy white clouds and the sun. That all changed about an hour before I left work. We got snow! Not a lot, only 4 – 6 inches but enough to change my plans… no sunset photography. Now the snow I’m OK with but these single digit temperatures hurt. It is supposed to be clear skies this morning, maybe I’ll brave the four-degree temps and search out the sunrise… maybe… 🙂
My Lightroom catalog was still on the Disney folder when I opened the program. Yeah, a warm looking sunrise image would help take my mind off the current temperature. Most images of the Tree of Life at the Animal Kingdom are from the “front”, if a tree can have a front or back. There is generally a long line of people waiting to grab the iconic image (Tree of Life Morning), but I prefer the opposite view. Probably due to my preference for a good reflection.
Other than a moment of sun a couple of days ago we have had only grey skies lately. I saw a message pop up in one of my streams that Disney has released the dates for the 2022 International Flower & Garden Festival. As much as I am still conflicted regarding Disney, I do love going down for that festival. All this had me searching my images from my trip last year.
This is from the morning of my last day at the resort. The sun was barely breaking the tops of the trees so you can see the orange skies starting to move in from the right. I love the small reflections in the water on the boardwalk. Overall, it was a quiet, peaceful morning before the madness of traveling back home. I need to schedule this year’s trip…
MLCreations Photography 