Winter Scenes

Around the world, winter looks very different--and day to day, year-to-year, it looks different in each particular place. I enjoy documenting the winter scenes around me, which, this January, continue to feature green grass and bright leaves.

For a collection of truly brilliantly photographed and rendered winter scenes, though, check out Dierk Haasis's gallery:

http://foto.write4u.de/EOS/Winter/

And now, to my own very different, and much less ably photographed and processed January back-yard leaves. This shrub grows near the railings of my small back porch. I caught it in a rare ray of sun on January 19.

Couldn't capture the branch fully backlit--the sun's bright disk glared too much. So I shot at a slightly southeastern angle and then put that transparent glow back on them as well as I could in post-processing.

January Back Porch Leaves



I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

And I hope you will go and enjoy Dierk's beautiful winter photos, the link to which I placed above, in this post:

http://foto.write4u.de/EOS/Winter/

Mary

Hi Mary,

So pleased to hear from you. I know how busy you are and it is a treat to have you visit!

I like images with passages that make one think how one might go from one place to another, for these are metaphors for our choices and difficulties we encounter in life.

Here the path starts by a break in a fence and goes between two fences, (a garden or a passageway).

The twige with the backlit leaves jumps out from one side in some limited attempt to close the gap or make a mark that one is crossing from one domain to another.

This is a very simple technical imperfect picture but in its ordinaryness lies its value.

This is as real as my veins and the scar on my hand. It is not perfected. It is as is.

In that, it is potentially more powerful.

In any case, I appreciate your picture, thanks Mary!

Asher

Dear Mary,

I am absolutely delighted that you came back to visit us again after such a long leave of absence. We've missed you, welcome back. To me, it does not matter what picture you've decided to come back with. Any would do as long as it took you back . Having said that, I should say that I like the picture also. The light falling from behind the leaves creating a transparency has been thought out and executed very well. What shrub is that? How come you have such nice weather on the 19th of January?

Anyway, write back soon please.

Cheers,

Cem Usakligil said:

I am absolutely delighted that you came back to visit us again after such a long leave of absence. We've missed you, welcome back. To me, it does not matter what picture you've decided to come back with. Any would do as long as it took you back

Click to expand...

Cem, you are much too kind. My intent with the picture, though, truly was to share the delight those backlit leaves brought me on a raw winter day, however imperfectly I was able to capture them.

Having said that, I should say that I like the picture also. The light falling from behind the leaves creating a transparency has been thought out and executed very well. What shrub is that?

Click to expand...

It's an ornamental barberry. Here's a documentary shot that I made this morning, illustrating its growth habit.

How come you have such nice weather on the 19th of January?

Click to expand...

Oh, Cem, it was not at all nice. There was a really raw northwest wind blowing, so that my efforts to get the leaves sharply in closeup were frustrated, through dozens of shots.

My hair kept blowing in my eyes, the glare of the sun made it impossible to see the settings-display screen to adjust the exposure level and shutter speed. But after days of gloomy rain, I was determined to come away at least with a little something. I printed it out and took it over to brighten the day of my sister, next-door.

This morning the weather here is a little calmer, though still breezy and cold. Here's a top view of the bush:



And a close-up of the berries:



As always, when I post photos here, critical opinion from you--and from anyone else minded to comment--is most welcome to me.

Mary

Hi Mary,

Mary Bull said:

It's an ornamental barberry. Here's a documentary shot that I made this morning, illustrating its growth habit.

Click to expand...

Your use of the word docomentary is so helpful since it delvers purpose and blunts any criticism of the image.

The berries are attractive and the lighting is going to be great in the evenings so they will make a great subject for you for some time.

I'd love to see more pictures with the berries in a wider field where they are more centered.

Then the leaves and darkening at the periphery will make the image pop and I think will work very well.

I hope we'll see more of the berries in different light.

Thanks again for sharing.

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

Hi Mary,

So pleased to hear from you. I know how busy you are and it is a treat to have you visit!

I like images with passages that make one think how one might go from one place to another, for these are metaphors for our choices and difficulties we encounter in life.

Here the path starts by a break in a fence and goes between two fences, (a garden or a passageway)

Click to expand...

Asher, I am pleased to have a bit of leisure time to visit at OPF.

I am glad you were able to enjoy my snapshot and look past its imperfections.

Please look at the images I uploaded for my reply to Cem's kind answer to my post.

There you will see the layout of the "fencing." The steps descend to an outside door to the basement of this house. For safety's sake, there are sturdy fence rails on either side of the well containing the steps.

The small back porch is also fenced off from the well, which it abuts directly.

Every day I enjoy the bright view of these barberry leaves and berries, even below gloomy clouds or driving rain.

The twige with the backlit leaves jumps out from one side in some limited attempt to close the gap or make a mark that one is crossing from one domain to another.

This is a very simple technical imperfect picture but in its ordinaryness lies its value.

This is as real as my veins and the scar on my hand. It is not perfected. It is as is.

In that, it is potentially more powerful.

In any case, I appreciate your picture, thanks Mary!

Click to expand...

It's my pleasure to share it.

As I wrote to Cem, I was shooting under very adverse conditions, because of the freezing temperatures and the gusting raw northwest wind.

I would have come in the house and re-set the exposure and shutter speed, but the clouds were moving in rapidly and within a few minutes the sun was sure to be gone again. As, in the event, happened.

So, I persisted until my fingers were too numb with cold to do any more.

My intention was to get a good capture to print out for my 89-year-old sister, who lives next-door. So, after some fiddling, I did print it, and both of us very much enjoyed looking at the print, which came out well.

Mary

Asher Kelman said:

Hi Mary,

Your use of the word docomentary is so helpful since it delvers purpose and blunts any criticism of the image.

The berries are attractive and the lighting is going to be great in the evenings so they will make a great subject for you for some time.

I'd love to see more pictures with the berries in a wider field where they are more centered.

Then the leaves and darkening at the periphery will make the image pop and I think will work very well.

I hope we'll see more of the berries in different light.

Click to expand...

Thanks a million for the critical comment and suggestions, Asher.

If it doesn't become overcast by late this afternoon, I'll see what I can do. Flash might be an advantageous solution to some of my lighting problems and problems with gusty breezes, perhaps.

Anyway, I'll try to get the berries in late, pre-sunset light, whenever Mother Nature is kind enough to offer that to me. And I'll try to shoot them centered.

Actually--as you probably noticed--that close-up is severely cropped. They were more nearly centered in the original, but all the glossy, dark-green leaves were overpowering them, to my taste.

I need some of them against a blue sky, I guess. Hard to find in this tree-shadowed neighborhood, though.

Mary