Enjoy.
I know that many Virginia residents are sick of this stuff, but I took advantage of this one last snow (it is the last, isn't it?) to photograph some more snowflakes. Most of our snowstorms have been at night and I have had to get creative at lighting the tiny little flakes, but today's burst of perfect snow was just what I needed to capture these beauties in natural light. I assure you my neighbors think I have lost my mind and have taken up taking pictures of blankets draped across our porch. If they only knew what I was seeing through my lens... Enjoy. Last week I was presented with a bit of a dilemma. It was snowing one evening and several people had posted on Facebook that the snow looked sparkly. That meant one thing to me - PERFECT SNOWFLAKES! We usually get wet clumps of snow here in Virginia, but every once in a while we get the powdery kind made up of individual little snowflakes. I just knew that I had to photograph them. But wait, it's cold outside and I'm in my pajamas already! I was so tempted to just go on to bed and hope that they would still be perfect in the morning, but my inner passion won the argument so out I went. Back in my rambling days at camp, we would sometimes have Square Foot Rambles (you can read a bit more about Rambles on my first Ramble blog post, so go check it out). It was an interesting change from our typical rambles given that instead of walking around to explore, you actually stayed in one place. The idea was to explore the square foot of space that surrounded you. Have you ever just thoroughly investigated a square foot of forest floor? It can lead to some very interesting discoveries! And so I determined that a Square Foot Ramble was in order - right there on my front porch. Armed with my camera and a tiny LED lantern, I spent almost 30 minutes photographing the perfect little flakes. In the end, my knees and fingers were frozen, but I was so glad that I had ventured out. We got a little unexpected snow today in the Center of the Universe! I sure do prefer to get snow when I'm not expecting it than the other way around. As with most snow days here, I can't help but go for a photo walk to see what captures my attention. Today did not disappoint. Do you recognize any of these Ashland area locations?
I used to work at an alternative school that practically required a group adventure of some sort every week! They were called rambles - or serendipity hikes. Some times they had themes, such as the cloud ramble, the blueberry ramble, or even the photography ramble, but often there was no real point - other than to explore and discover. Photography is my preferred tool to do just that - explore and discover. I view things more intently when I have my camera in hand. I notice patterns, shapes, colors, and beauty due to a heightened sense of vision. I don't know that I ever would have noticed the beautiful patterns in the icy mixture that had formed from the sleet melting with freezing rain, freezing together as one, and melting as one. Look closely and you can see the circles that were formed from each tiny ball of sleet. Some even have these amazing dotted and striped patterns within them {I'm not sure why that is - if you do, please share}. And then there were the leaf exoskeletons! As the ice melted, fragile little sheets of ice, molded by bamboo leaves, fell away and left behind what looked like fairy wings. They were perfectly wonderful! It's a slideshow! Watch it play or use the navigation arrows and thumbnails to browse. And these were from my ramble yesterday as the sleet was falling - just in my own front yard. Hit play to start the slideshow or click an thumbnail below. Look for more Ramble blog posts in the coming months (or perhaps days if we get the snow they are calling for tomorrow)! I'd love to hear your feedback - leave a comment below!
This is a part of the Around the Block series for the Life+Lens Blog Circle. Go check out the Keli Jennings Photography blog to see what she photographed around her block! |
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