Take It To The Streets - Day 17

Snowmobiles Riding Up the River 

You may need to look closely 

- to see the two snowmobiles in this photograph  

Snowmobiles are a common form of transportation, around here. Although there is a system of groomed and marked trails for them to use, snowmobilers also delight in travelling in fresh snow and through wide open country.

     

Birches and their Neighbors - Day 7

Birches on the Riverbank

Riverbank Birches at Sunset  

- with a thin sliver of moon

Sunsets on the river are worth seeing. Depending on the weather, the sunset can range from brilliant reds, pinks and oranges in the clouds, to a lone pale disc dropping into an overcast void. Depending on the season, the river can be a reflecting mirror, or a flat white field of snow and ice, with fringes of birch and alder on the riverbank. And depending on its cycle, the moon shows as a pretty-shaped decoration hanging over the scene. It's transient, though, a sunset is. So it's really worth taking a few minutes to look at it.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 30 -

Broken Ice

Broken Ice - early season ice melt  

Source photo

Unseasonably mild temperatures and strong winds have combined to weaken and loosen the just-formed river ice upstream in higher terrain. Masses of slushy frozen water and brittle sheets of thin ice have broken away from the shore and are being carried downstream, pulling more melting ice along with them as they float past.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 29 -

Red Sky in the Morning...

Red Sky in the Morning  - sailors take warning. 

Source photo

Weather traditions that enhance our ability to predict our day come from generations of observation, and are a form of practical knowledge. The weather proverb "Red Sky in the Morning, Sailors Take Warning" means there will be wind or stormy weather coming during the day. "Red Sky at Night, Sailors' Delight" is the concluding part of the verse. In this case, it is a red dawn, and yes, there is wind.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 28 -

Snowy Birches

Snowy Birches  - an overnight accumulation

Source photo

This time of year, with the temperature hovering around the freezing mark, some precipitation falls as rain and some falls as snow. Rain and drizzle make for dreary weather, but November snow is a novelty and it's quite attractive to look at, so we put up with the inconvenience of slush and slippery conditions underfoot.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 25 -

Snowy Contours

Snowy Contours - velvety textures from many snowy trees  

Source photo

These hills beside the river are thick with uniformly sized and shaped black spruce trees, and the branches of every tree are heavy-laden with deep mounds of snow. Close-up the trees are a dramatic contrast of black, dark green and white shapes, but in the distance, their collective surface softens and the trees define the contours of the terrain.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 24 -

Sunrise Reflections

Sunrise Reflections - why are reflections in still water so calming?  

Source photo

I'm a sucker for a good reflection photograph - and this morning's sunrise gave me one of the nicest picture taking opportunities I've ever had.
What is it about a mirror reflection on a still body of water that makes us feel so calm and peaceful? Is it the horizontal and diagonal lines repeating harmoniously throughout the image? Or is it being able to see the tranquil color scheme twice over? Or maybe simply resting our eyes and taking a break to view this quiet scene?  

Art Every Day Month - Nov 23 -

Sunrise Start

Sunrise Start - a beautiful sunrise to start a road trip 

Source photo

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," said Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu. It's a good start when the view you are traveling through is as lovely as this, and the weather is as agreeable. Just back from a road trip of just over a thousand miles out and a thousand miles home again, I am pleased to have carried this view with me along the road. 

Art Every Day Month - Nov 22 -

Break of Dawn

Break of Dawn  - light emerging from darkness

Source photo

It's not so much getting up early that makes photography at dawn an adventure. The real thrill comes from watching as hidden hills and trees emerge from the background, when the strangeness of a darkened location becomes familiar again as day takes over from night.
Changes in the early morning landscape are intensified by changes in color, like this morning's sunrise with yellow-orange shafts of light cutting through a break in a cloud-bank into violet-blue shadows. And then, just as quickly, the sun went behind the clouds, and the quality of the light changed again.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 21 -

Winter Fireweed

Winter Fireweed  - a pioneer species waiting for its time

Source photo

Fireweed is called a pioneer species, because it establishes itself rapidly in areas where the ground has been burnt-over or where the soil has been disturbed.
In summer, the fireweed sports bright magenta flowers on a straight tall stalk, and in winter, the fireweed's leaves dry into curved hooks which mat together and trap the plant's fly-away seeds in with other wind-borne material. Fireweed seeds remain viable in the ground for years, waiting for conditions to be right for a new plant to spring into blossom. A pioneer indeed!

Art Every Day Month - Nov 20 -

Pearlescent Early Morning Light

Pearlescent Hills and Clouds  - early morning luster

Source Photo

Early morning light shining at a low angle gives an iridescent luster to the hills and clouds. The sheen of these distance-smoothed surfaces is reflected on the ripples of the river as broken patches of pinks and purples on a dull gray background. A quiet start to the day.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 18 -

Shoreline Reflections

Shoreline Reflections - a quiet moment

Source photo

Sometimes it's the close, quiet moments that become the most important. To take a photograph only requires a fraction of a second and some camera gear, to make a photograph requires some thought, some "reflection" to consider what needs to be represented in the image.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 17 -

Snow on Distant Mountains

Snow on Distant Mountains - patterns of snow shape the mountains in the distance

Source photo

The contrast of sunlit patches of snow against shaded blue terrain enhances the three-dimensional appearance of the Mealy Mountains in the distance. Close-up, the snow is mounded on the branches of trees growing on the slopes. The next windy day, the trees will release their loads, and this early-season visual effect will change.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 16 -

Mist on the River 2

Mist on the River 2   - an  atmospheric effect in the distant landscape

Source photo

In the distance, clouds of mist add definition to the river landscape. Currents of water are strong here and a great volume of cold water flows, condensing thick patches of fog and mist out of the warm, moist air. The mist rising from so far away adds to the drama of early morning light.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 15 -

Mist on the River

Mist on the River  - a localized atmospheric effect in the landscape

Source photo

Morning mist on the river appears where relatively warm moist air churns against colder river water, causing the layer of air closest to the river to chill. Cool air cannot hold as much moisture as warm air, so the moisture in that chilled layer of air condenses into small particles of air-borne water, which we call mist or fog. The patchy mist drifts with the gentle wind current. The mist will gradually dissipate as the chilled air warms up with heat from the sun and is able to hold more moisture again.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 14 -

Crisp Morning 2

Crisp Morning 2 - ripple patterns indicate a slight breeze  

Source photo

It's a crisp morning, with a slight breeze coming from upstream on this quiet river channel. The golden early-morning sunlight looks warm, but its appearance is deceptive, and today you will want your gloves, or else you are going to jam your hands into your coat pockets as you walk along in the open.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 13 -

Crisp Morning

Crisp Morning - cooler temperatures kept yesterday's snow on the ground  

Source photo

Yesterday's snow has stayed on the ground, gleaming white in the early morning light. Yesterday's footprints are still visible, too, the tracks of joggers' sneakers and dog-walkers' hiking boots, the paw prints of dogs, rabbits, squirrels and other creatures too small to be seen. Birds, too. This part of the riverbank is a busy spot, but you're only aware of it when you can spot the tracks left on the ground. Snow is good for that.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 12 -

Alpenglow Colors

Alpenglow Colors

Source photo

Alpenglow is a breathtaking blanket of pink light that surrounds everything, before dawn or after sunset. It doesn't happen often. Necessary conditions include a general but not too intense atmospheric haze, and for the sun to be below the horizon but striking the particles in the atmosphere, which for viewers on the ground, glow in the red end of the light spectrum. I have seen Alpenglow on the river, and it is a stunning event.
Disclosure: this is not an image of a true alpenglow, I manipulated the original mild sunset colors in the photograph to get the overall pinky tone. However, the photo does serve as a reminder of how beautiful the original event is.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 5 -

Overcast Day Fall Colors

Overcast Day Fall Colors

Source photo

On a dull overcast day, with gray skies heavy with atmosphere, and with no direct sunshine, colors in the distance appear neutralized. Close up, however, even autumn brown grasses and ocher leaves take on a golden yellow tone in contrast. The little snow that fell overnight will be gone soon, but so, too, will these leaves. I'm glad to enjoy them while they're still here.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 4 -

Sun on the River

Sun on the River - complementary colors in the landscape

Source photo

Most modern cameras have computerized systems which measure light conditions and then adjust the camera's settings to take acceptable photographs under normal conditions. However, these systems can be thwarted by breaking the rules, and a photographer can get really interesting images as a result.
Here, I shot directly into the reflection of the sun on the water (usually a no-no), and the camera tried to compensate by exposing for the bright patches, thus underexposing the surrounding areas. And what lovely contrasting colors of purply-blues and yellow-oranges appeared. It's a bit of a gamble, breaking the rules, but those gorgeous indigo hills were worth it!