Snow Days

November 24, 2010 9:08 pm Sir Haxington Seattle

And thus, Lord Seattle spake: “Those who come from CaliLand, I cast upon ye the gray and the wet and the cold. Thine faith shall be tested.”

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Each photo has a much larger and therefore more awesome version linked to it.

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Turn the volume up. Way up. What’s that you hear? Nothing. Absolute calm.

The first thing I notice are shapes that start appearing naturally. I love the way the circle around the base of the tree begins forming. Snowless. It won’t be that way for long.

Snow cat. He catches a snow flake on his tounge. Okay, not really. He’s really not happy about this at all.

Poor spiders. The end of the line. Get to some heat fellas. You work is being torn apart by nature. Pretty.

The reflections of the snow on the lower right bumper, the pattern of the interior of the light unit with the snow on the outside looks interesting. I like the way the snow chaotically clings to the top part of the light but also piles neatly on the bottom.

There we are. Filled in. Light wind and even lighter snow finally covered the entire ground. Mother Nature’s objective is complete.

The front lavender collapses under the weight of billions of snowflakes. Eye catching purple flowers are hidden and smashed into the ground. What was once a proud and vibrant piece of vegetation has been forced into submission by the elements. So degrading.

What a nice neighborhood. Wait, what’s this? Why is that manhole cover completely free of snow? Most likely heat coming up from the sewage system. Artificial. Unnatural.

The light came out. Low and dramatic. Shadows flung far across the street. The branches reaching out for light finally get what they want.

I love a good sense of humor. Thanks for the laugh.

UFOs. Unidentified falling objects. What are they? Looks like someone threw a pile of dead mice onto the sidewalk.

Oh, they’re leaves! Red ones at that. A really deep red. Almost purple. Hundreds if not thousands lie on the ground, ignored. Eventually they’ll decompose and give birth to new life.

Woah. Showstopper. Striking colors. Amazing texture. What a wonderful subject. Look at the leaves on the ground. Look at them!

Where to begin? I plop my camera down in random locations, set it to macro auto focus and see what happens. I try to pick up an interesting gradient pattern but the light isn’t cooperating.

Poor lighting. Love the layers here though. Road. Car. Snow. Leaves. In that order.

A ghost. The echo of someone who went to work. Maybe a family gone to get groceries. Lighting was playing nice again, really helping this one. I love the clear shapes implying where the tires were resting.

Ironic, no? A reminder of a place I used to live. The present and the past have merged right in front of me. A rush of memories come and go.

I took a series of this subject, but this was my favorite. Great whites, blues and greens. Sharp focus on just the right part. Rule of third being strictly adhered to. Again, without good lighting, this wouldn’t be nearly as awesome.

Okay. Fine. One more. I love the lines.

Texture. Light bearing down across the street surface. The street curves down and away from the sun creating some great surface shadows.

Ribs? Wings? Another drainage grate. I can’t help but think about a skeleton though. I love the crude, uneven edges and the way the lines are broken up by the snow. I think flat lighting actually helps this shot.

Adorable. Almost looks magical. The lack of snow on the glass makes me think someone recently placed this and walked away. I know they didn’t.

Red. Lychees. They way they standout through the surrounding chaos is incredible.

Signs of life. A fat field sparrow maybe? I’m not a birder. My sister would know. He looks warm and content.

What is that? Looks odd…

Oh. I didn’t know that was there until now. I’ll keep an eye out for that when the snow is gone.

Fair enough. Not sure we have to worry much about the first one.

Skies are clear along the trail. A few clouds. Still, below freezing. Good blues.

I always end up staring at this photo for at least a few seconds. I try to follow the branch lines and see where they end up, buy my eyes are pulled in some other direction, losing the branch. I try again and again and finally give up. The snow defines the lines. In the summer this shot would be far less interesting.

Silence still. So peaceful out.

Depth. The trees on the left and right frame a sort of curve or a tunnel that goes deep into the background. Looks almost monochromatic with white and brown. Greens are really subdued.

Not sure what’s going on here. Looks like an anomaly. The sun appears to be bending the trees around the incoming light. Some camera trick is going on here I can’t explain.

Love this shape. My mind tries to form a triangle out of the branch lines then gets panicked when it can’t complete the full shape. It tries again and again but can never be fully satisfied.

Nothing particularly amazing here. Just the color. I end up talking to a mother watching over six children. Her dog gets off the leash and bolts towards me. The dog approaches me. The children stop as they are unsure how the dog will react to me. Calmly, I let her smell my hand and I pet her. The mother tries to convince me to get a dog. We exchange pleasantries and eventually part ways. The children ignore me.

I love the texture on this one. Lighting giving a huge assist. Thank you photons!

Teenagers snowboarding and sledding down a hill near their home. Pretty steep. Dangerous. Construction going on. If you look very closely you can see mountains in the distance, poking up into the clouds.

And that was it. I walked home.