Cold Winter Dawn

[luxborealis]

It's been a few years since I've enjoyed –34°C (—29°F) weather, but that's what it was this morning before dawn when my friend Kerry and I were out photographing along the Grand River here in southern Ontario.

After an hour, the temp had risen to a balmy –32°C, but, by that time, my fingers were rather stiff and a few were painfully numb (if that's possible!).

It was a beautiful morning, though - bright white snow, muted colours with the pastels of dawn in the sky - well worth the cold. Even at that temp, there was a red-tail hawk soaring and a male Cardinal singing its spring song. Besides the cold, the only difficulty was finding a view that didn't include a mash of snowmobile tracks.

The camera and lenses preformed without flaw, although focus was slightly slower and there was distinct video lag with using LiveView. Battery usage was no issue - we weren't out long enough.
 
Here are two... made with a D800E at ISO 100 on a tripod with MLU
#1 - 4060 - 28mm on an 18-35mm; ƒ11; EI+1⅓
#2 - 4067 - 46mm on a 24-80mm; ƒ16; EI+1⅔

[Rajan Parrikar]

Terry, the first image conveys the sense of the place and the conditions very well.  Compositionally it doesn't have an anchor but that's okay.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Yes, the first one makes me feel as if I am in that place at that moment, with that weather.
Both very nice.

[francois]

Both are very nice and say "winter". But I prefer the first one, I feel like there's more depth.

[Bob_B]

+1 I like both, but the first is my favorite, and conveys a sense of solitude in the snow, which I remember all too well as a youth walking in snow-covered fields in Connecticut. Thanks.

[dumainew]

To me, the first photograph is like a painting that sings.
Beautiful !
Congratulations.
Richard

[churly]

I am a fan of Terry's work (so not a dig at Terry) but I just can't get excited about either of these shots.  So, I wonder what I am missing that others are seeing.
The one thing I can say is that I have seen plenty of snow in person this winter so maybe I just can't get fired up about seeing more.  Besides that, I would still like to know what others are seeing that I am missing.
Chuck

[maddogmurph]

The black in the center distracts my eye, but I love how the tree stretches into the horizon in #1.

[stamper]

Terry, the first image conveys the sense of the place and the conditions very well.  Compositionally it doesn't have an anchor but that's okay.

My thoughts as well. The eye wanders from left to right and back again. Nice understated processing that I don't usually appreciate but it works with these images.

[patrick love]

Both images, especially the 2nd, make me feel cold, if only for a moment.

[luxborealis]

I appreciate the comments from all.

maddog - On a large print, the black part resolves itself as the only spot of open water around. I would have preferred it more off-centre, but c'est la vie. Any other composition just didn't work as well.

Rajan - Yes, no focal point for the eye to rest upon and I didn't want to "invent" one either (i.e. through a "forced" foreground anchor)

Chuck - I know, for me, it's the pastel colours of the sky that are so characteristic of that kind of dawn. I want to show the sane people amongst us - those who choose to stay in bed on mornings like this - that even the coldest mornings have a sublime beauty. Also the notion of peacefulness comes to mind - quite the opposite of what we are bombarded with on the 'net and the TV these days.

[Kerry L]

As Terry (luxborealis) mentioned above , we went out on a chilly morning recently.  We arrived 1/2 hour before sunrise anticipating a hike to "the right spot". Unfortunately the area was crisscrossed with snowmobile tracks. We ended up working along the road side.

I always enjoy comparing our two versions-visions of the same scene when the two of us are standing just a few yards apart. Rather than bore you with more of the same, here's one of mine taken on the way back to the warmth of the car.

Unlike Terry's equipment, while my camera and battery worked fine my Markins ball head froze, making compositions a challenge.

Making a note to myself: Next time attach the remote release to the camera before going out into the cold!

D3x with a Nikon 24-70 @ f11: shutter speed - adequate.
No filers used
Processed in CaptureONE v8.+