Winter Moods Joe Henry
A part of the story that I wish to communicate is related to the alternating cold and snow events this winter followed by much warmer spring like conditions. Our moods go up-and-down with the cycles. Consequently the flow of photographs will be scenes depicting the effects of the cooling and then warming weather.
Around here the mood change is palpable when the snow begins. Exhilaration is the order of the day. This folio is about depicting our cycling moods during winter. The human vision system responds to both the graphic and emotional content of what we experience.
Winter moods are cyclic. No more so than this year due to cycles between winter weather and typical mid March or April weather. The mood changes depend on our perspective. Folks with a passion for winter sports are up when there is lots of snow. Fortunately landscape photographers moods are up all the time. Both the snowy and warm periods provide great opportunities. The only sacrifice is trading sleep for light.
The transition from fall to winter begins early. The occurrence of peak fall color and snow, however, is rare. I have experienced it once at Dolly Sods and three times in Canaan Valley. This year we are all experiencing a wide variety of emotions regarding the very warm period we have experienced during late fall and early winter. The goal of this folio is to elicit your moods with diverse photographs and text. The photos presented here were captured over the last thirteen years.
You are likely to find this folio more meaningful if you think about the emotions you are feeling in addition to the subject matter of the photo. In the case of the photo, above can you feel the wind?
I searched for a Dolly Sods photo opportunity with hoarfrost and alpenglow for sixteen years. Nature finally presented the opportunity on the winter solstice in 2014. Because of the journey my emotion was elation. What do you feel about this photo?
This photo was captured the day after the large snowstorm of February, 2003. There were five feet of snow overnight the day before in Canaan Valley. The high winds the next day swept much of the snow to the east. Hopefully we will experience such heavy snows in the coming years. What are your emotions regarding heavy snowfall?
The foreground textures and diverse colors of the bog leads the viewer to the forest beyond. There's a story here. The fall-winter transition is in its earliest stage. Seasonal transitions always evoke emotions.
There are lots of textures to pull you into the scene. What is your response?
There is a mysterious quality to the background. The background fog obscures the view and evokes emotion.
This image tells the story of winter winds and snow in Canaan Valley. Even with large snowfalls many parts of the valley are windswept quickly. The result is an infinite variety of snow patterns. They are most compelling just after sunrise or before sunset when the low angle light creates shadows at the edges of the miniature snow drifts.
The next six photos were captured at the same wetland.
The luminosity of the foreground reflection and especially the wetland beyond the lakeshore will hopefully stoke your emotions.
The light direction and location depicted in this photo only occurs a few days a year. The view is to the south and the sun has just risen in the southeast. The direction of the sunlight is such that the lake and foreground wetland and the first row of trees receive the warm sunlight. The background ridge, however, is in shade. This produces the alternating warm and cool in the reflection. The frost covered wetland and trees act like a projection screen to amplify the warm color.
This photo benefits from perhaps the most unusual light I have experienced. The colors of the alpenglow to the east are reflected on the textured surface of the ice. The frost on the wetland grasses lead you around the scene. The morning twilight is an incredible time to experience the beauty of this region. Most of the photos in this folio were captured either during the morning or evening twilight periods.
I am especially attracted to the texture and color contrast of the ice along the shoreline.
Nature presents us with many abstract scenes if we look carefully enough. The emotional content of this photo is enhanced by the warm color reflected from a cloud alpenglow which is beyond the top of the frame. More importantly the photo tells the story of the weather when the lake was frozen. The strong textures of the exposed like surface was likely created by the ripples that were flash frozen. Consequently it was windy when that occurred.
The shadowed snow pattern reveals the textures. A survey of classic fine art landscape photography books reveals that 30% or more of the photos had the shadows heavily clipped. Think about Henri Cartier-Bresson's photograph the "decisive moment."
There is nothing like a dusting of snow to enhance the contrast of a landscape.
The next ten photos were captured from one location in Canaan during the last seven years. I am purposely not providing text with them so that you can think about your emotional responses and moods unfettered by my comments.
Our winter moods change from day to day. This is especially true in the winter of 2015-2016. If you like to ski your moods cycle even more rapidly.
Sometimes the gloom of winter starves me for color.
This photo was captured when a sun shaft provided the light to reveal the wonderful winter colors of the moss. The rest of the scene is in full shadow. The color famine temporarily ended.
The frozen beaver pond reflects the colors of a warm-colored morning twilight cloud pattern to the east.
The end of winter is approaching.
Should you have an interest in more of my landscape/cloudscapes, you might enjoy my eBook: Landscape/Cloudscape Photography: six years at one Canaan Valley location. The focus of the book is to present approaches that will increase the probability that photographers and hikers will be at the right place at the right time to experience the incredible light and weather and their interaction with the landscape. It is available at the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge book store and from links on my web page.