snow Archives - The Image Journey

Published February 22, 2021 by avardw

A Selection of Snow Photos

It’s winter in Canada–a good time to post a selection of snow photos. It a wonderful sight to see the landscape transformed by a blanket of fresh fallen snow. In the following poem Emily Dickinson makes mention of the snow sifting down, making an even face of mountain and plain.

Taking snow photos is a good way to connect with the season, and enjoy the absolutely unique qualities of winter. On windy days, photographing snow is a good way to photograph the elusive wind. There are amazing shadows cast on sunny days, and an abundance of soft textures. I like to go out around twilight time when the snow is coming down. It’s a good opportunity to use a flash to freeze the snowflakes.

Snow by Emily Dickinson

It sifts from leaden sieves,
It powders all the wood,
It fills with alabaster wool
The wrinkles of the road.

It makes an even face
Of mountain and of plain, —
Unbroken forehead from the east
Unto the east again.

It reaches to the fence,
It wraps it, rail by rail,
Till it is lost in fleeces;
It flings a crystal veil

On stump and stack and stem, —
The summer’s empty room,
Acres of seams where harvests were,
Recordless, but for them.

It ruffles wrists of posts,
As ankles of a queen, —
Then stills its artisans like ghosts,
Denying they have been.

snow photos, winter — Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, 2015 – © Avard Woolaver

Colour Landscape New Topographics Photography

landscape Nova Scotia photography snow snow photos winter

Published April 3, 2019 by avardw

Pieces of April

Newport, Nova Scotia, 2016 – © Avard Woolaver

April is a great month to get out and take photos. In Nova Scotia it is not unusual to have snow in April. According to Maritime folklore, there are three snowfalls after the spring equinox in March. The first is the “smelt snow” (smelt are small schooling fish that spawn in fresh water rivers and live their life at sea). The second is the “robin snow”–the snow is said to bring them back. And the third is the “green grass snow” (aka the piss-off snow). This year we haven’t had any snow since the equinox, and I hope it stays that way!

For me April is a month of reflection. I like to recall what I was doing in previous years and can remember a few April events from each year going back to my teen years in the seventies. It reminds me that life is rich and complex, yet filled with simple pleasures like enjoying the spring weather. I have included some photos from previous Aprils–taken with my memory machine.

Kentville, Nova Scotia, 2017 – © Avard Woolaver

Avonport, Nova Scotia, 2017, spring, April, — Avonport, Nova Scotia, 2017 – © Avard Woolaver

New Minas Nova Scotia, 2017 – © Avard Woolaver

Newport, Nova Scotia, 2018 – © Avard Woolaver

Bayers Lake, Nova Scotia, 2015 – © Avard Woolaver

Blogging Photography

April snow

Published December 19, 2018 by avardw

Photos Using Car Headlights

Sometimes I take photos using car headlights as illumination. It creates a suspenseful mood and works well in snowy conditions. With this photo, I brightened the lights to get maximum range. If you try this, just be sure to do it in a more secluded area so you don’t annoy other drivers.

Blogging Photography

Avard Woolaver car headlights photography snow

Published October 22, 2017 by avardw

Photographing Snow Is Really Photographing Wind

Avard Woolaver, snow, winter, — © Avard Woolaver

Photographing Snow Is Really Photographing Wind (Day 22 of 31)

There are different ways to photograph snow. One of the most interesting is when it’s blowing. When fine granules are blowing across a road or roof, or over the ground, it’s one of the few ways you can see the shape of the wind.

Smoke and clouds give us ways to “see” wind sometimes, as do sandstorms. But smoke and clouds move somewhat differently from the way snow does. (I imagine sand blows around more the way snow does, but I have never seen a sandstorm.)

The phenomenon I’m talking about is one illustrators use, as well as photographers. You see it in, for example, children’s picture books about snowfalls: the snow curling and eddying, blown about by the wind.

In eastern Canada, where I live, it’s not time yet for the first snowfall of the season. That’s not the case in parts of the country that deal with a lot more of it than we do here; the North is already seeing snow on the ground. For the rest of the country, it’s partly something to be dreaded and partly just a simple fact of life. Doing whatever we can to enjoy it more—like getting out to photograph it—makes the long winter more bearable.

(For the month of October 2017, I’m participating in the 31 Days bloggers’ challenge. You can find out about it here, and check out the interesting work other bloggers are posting.)

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31 Days Avard Woolaver snow winter

Published February 13, 2017 by avardw

When the blizzard rages outside, it’s a good time to read some poetry

blizzard, snow, winter, February, 2017, forest, — Blizzard Day, Newport, Nova Scotia; 2017 © Avard Woolaver

When the blizzard rages outside, it’s a good time to read some poetry. Snowstorms and snowy days can be harsh and sometimes threatening, but also contain such rare opportunities to see natural beauty. Here is a poem by Emily Dickinson, titled “It sifts from leaden sieves” that manages to describe this sense of beauty.

It sifts from leaden sieves

It sifts from leaden sieves,
It powders all the wood,
It fills with alabaster wool
The wrinkles of the road.

It makes an even face
Of mountain and of plain,
Unbroken forehead from the east
Unto the east again.

It reaches to the fence,
It wraps it, rail by rail,
Till it is lost in fleeces;
It flings a crystal veil

On stump and stack and stem,
The summer’s empty room,
Acres of seams where harvests were,
Recordless, but for them.

It ruffles wrists of posts,
As ankles of a queen,
Then stills its artisans like ghosts,
Denying they have been.

—

Photo tip: Unusual weather conditions often create interesting photos. This photo was taken near my house in the middle of a blizzard. I kept my camera in its case and only took it out briefly to take the photo. The lens was instantly covered in snow–a good reason also to have a UV filter on your lens for protection.

Colour Landscape Light Photography

2017 Avard Woolaver blizzard February landscape poetry snow snow storm winter