Finally!

We had a legitimate winter from the months of December right until March, and I most certainly took advantage of it by getting out and about as much as possible to photograph the quiet serenity that only the winter season can provide.

I am so very fortunate and glad that I live in a region that has four distinct seasons, all of which offer many different photographic opportunities.

Although it was not quite winter when I shot this incredible sunset sky, it was still much closer to the astronomical start of it in the second week of December.

“Mother Sky’s Symphonic Majesty”

Yes, this really did happen!

I am quite fortunate to see these types of sunsets from my deck on a fairly regular basis.
Out west, they are known as “Big Sky Country”, but right here in good ole’ Chester, New York, we have some pretty big skies, as well.

I was sitting inside, when I looked over my shoulder and witnessed that Mother Sky was cooking up something special.

I was suddenly overcome by sadness, as I resigned myself that I was going to miss the opportunity to capture it with my camera.

The reason I wrote that is; there are power lines that would have gotten in the way and cause major distractions to the overall composition. That is why, I very, very rarely share anything I shoot from my deck.

I’ve been able to capture lunar and solar eclipses, as well as comets from there, but that’s because they were much higher in the sky, and the power lines were out of the field of vision.

Oh yea, it was dark out, too! lol

Anyway, I digress… back to my sense of sadness because of said
distractions.

With my recent purchase of new computer equipment, I was able to finally update my Adobe programs ( I’ve shared that before) where one of the newer features is a “Find Distractions: Power Lines & Cables One-click Removal” tool.

So, with that epiphany (or was it a brain fart), I quickly set up my gear on my deck and went to town!

After the first major snow event of winter in the Hudson Valley, New York ( we had one when it was still “officially” autumn), I headed out the day after and had a very productive Sunday morning around my hometown of Chester, NY.

I made a short mental list of where I wanted to photograph locally that I hadn’t captured in the weather conditions that were offered that morning. All told, I composed images from four distinct locations that each were no more than one mile from my home.

The weather conditions were quintessential winter, an ethereal icy mist with a sky palette of steel gray provided soft & even winter light to work with.

For me, capturing the quiet essence of winter is not depressing, but more like a sense of spiritual self awareness that only a fresh coating of snow can produce. Being one with nature in its winter dress is quite comforting and exhilarating at the same time.

As a photographer, the “blank” palette challenges me to create something magical, beautiful and serene.

“Wetlands Winter Waltz”

This landscape which is known as the “Black Meadow Creek Wetlands” is a go-to for me, and I have captured it before in autumn, spring and summer, and once in winter, but not in this type of mystifying environment.

In my earlier upload; “Wetlands Winter Waltz”, I had shared that I photographed four distinct locations after a snow storm in my hometown of Chester, New York.

 

“Winter’s Duet For Trees And Lake”

This photograph displays the second location I captured, that being Glenmere Lake.

As with the aforementioned upload, I had been to this area many times before during the various seasons, including winter, but I couldn’t recall if I photographed from this perspective.

I composed this image from the parking lot, so that I was able to highlight the bare trees against the backdrop of the freshly fallen snow that covered the frozen surface of the lake.

To further enhance the “starkness” of that cold December morning, I converted the original color photo (although there wasn’t any “color” to speak of) into the black and white photograph seen here.

The final result is a quintessential winter landscape. in my humble opinion.

“Winter Farmland Fugue”

My third stop of my local winter travels in my hometown of Chester, New York (please see my two earlier uploads: “Wetlands Winter Waltz” and “Winter’s Duet For Trees And Lake”) was what many locals, myself included feel is the most bucolic farm scene in all of Orange County!
And, it’s only a stone’s throw from my home; so very fortunate I am!

As was the case with the two other previous locations, I have photographed this beautiful landscape before, that spans all four seasons in the Hudson Valley.

I wanted to first share a wide-angle view of the farm, so you, the viewer can get a sense of how sprawling and picturesque this place is, as it was blanketed by the snow that had fallen the day before. The barn’s red color simply exploded against the encompassing colors of white and gray.
The classic red barn winter capture, some might say.

I included Seely Brook in the foreground to add a bit more thematic interest to the overall composition.

“Misty Winter Mountain Trio”

The fourth stop of my recent local adventures in my hometown of Chester, New York was not on my radar originally. But, after shooting a bucolic farm landscape I noticed beautiful mist/fog that was hovering above and obscuring the top of Goosepond Mountain on my way home.
Needless to write, my eyes popped out of my head, and off I went to shoot that magical landscape, seen here.

I always wanted to capture this image during the winter months over the years, but I never did fulfill that objective, that is, until now, and I am so glad that I did.

As was the case with the previous three locations, I have captured this environment before in the summer and autumn months, but, as I just mentioned, never during the winter season.

As I was composing this image and other perspectives, I had to be quite cognizant of the traffic since I was set up on the shoulder of a busy local road, and the surface of it still had some slushy and partially frozen snow that could had been problematic for a less skilled and careless driver. Fortunately, nothing occurred as every car that passed by slowed down and yielded away from me just enough to keep me at ease.

As one can see, these silos have been out of commission for quite some time, but whoever owns the property has grown corn on that piece of land every once and awhile.