The first snowfall came yesterday, fat flakes that drifted down all day, adding up to a couple of inches across lawns and rooftops.  While household chores kept me inside yesterday, I was absolutely up with the dawn today and back at Fords.  There’s something magical about the first snowfall, the way it transforms the landscape.  Familiar places are suddenly turned new; simple scenes are multiplied into something complex.

Snow is the prefect medium to shoot in during the dynamic hours.  During the day, of course, it is the flowing sheets of white that we all know well.  But in these transition periods, where the sun is still below the tree line, the snow comes alive and borrows colors from the sky.  This was a morning that was at once both warm rose and cool blue, the hue shifting as the sun moved skyward and the clouds came and passed.

Fords Pond Sunrise Panorama - Click for full size.

This was one of those times when you say to hell with white balance.  You don’t want the snow to be white – white is boring when the rest of the world is in Technicolor.  I threw the 7D onto the cloudy preset, to amp up the warm tones of the sunrise – and even when the light shifted into the cool range, it still captured well.  The lack of wildlife on the water didn’t bother me any; I was far too involved with shooting the landscape this time.  As part of my resolution to play with panoramas more, I shot the above at 20mm, all handheld.  (Going extra wide left me room to crop in and eliminate the distortions.)

And then there were the trees.  Fords has some of the coolest trees I’ve ever worked with.  The two solitary hardwoods on the edge of the hayfield are always interesting, especially with the crooked shape of the one, and the perfect tree form of the other.  Add in the conifers – which were the main subject of this morning – and there’s some serious possibilities in front of the lens.

Red branches

It’s the red branches that caught my eye in these shots – somehow I hadn’t noticed them before.  This isn’t flash-lit, it’s not a Photoshop enhanced color.  The branches just had this remarkable red color, made even stronger by the warm light.  Against the greens and white snow, how could I resist?

Below the big pine

Same thing here, essentially – first the pine cones adding that splash of contrasting color, seen from below.  And then the three pines in a line, with those lovely morning clouds behind them.  Well worth being out in the cold for.