Tag: snow

01-31-16 Winter Sports

There are a few good things about Minnesota snow. (Read More)

By Scott Shephard

People in warm climates sometimes ask why people live in cold places like Minnesota, where this photo was taken. There are many answers, most of which are convincing to someone like me. First, it’s home and that’s generally where family is. Second, if everyone moved to warm climates, place like Honolulu, San Diego and Cancun would be more crowded than they already are. Third, I am concerned that the cold weather apparel and tool industries would collapse. (China’s economy is already a bit unsettled!)

A less convincing reason is that we have snow and warm places don’t. Yesterday, when I was watching Brian and Glenyce sled down the hill at Minnesota State Fair Grounds, I was thinking that they can’t do that in Hawaii. And sometimes, when I walk on freshly fallen snow and hear the crunch under my shoes, I think that someone who has lived in southern California their whole lives has no idea of what they’re missing.

And the good thing about snow in the upper plains states is that it will melt away sooner or later. Maybe in May . . . . 

Canon 5DIII 1/250s f/6.7 ISO200 102mm

03-25-14 Weathered (HDR)

Another weathered and somewhat broken down oak tree waits for the resurrection that comes every spring. . . . 

by Scott Shephard

I’m on a “trees in snow” theme. As I’ve said, as tired as I am of cold and snow in my home state, it’s hard not to be enthralled with the beauty of trees in snow. In fact, when I went out driving in the snow storm on this particular morning, I was explicitly looking for bare trees with snow sticking to them. And I found a few . . . . 

Canon 5DIII 1/5000s f/2.8 ISO400 175mm

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03-24-14 Waiting for the Sun

Two bare oak trees at Lakota Lake in the Black Hills of South Dakota endure a March snow storm and wait patiently for spring.

by Scott Shephard

Children of the 70s may recognize my title’s allusion to the Doors’ song “Waiting for the Sun.” In the first stanza, Jim Morrison sings

“At first flash of Eden, we race down to the sea.
Standing there on Freedom’s Shore.
Waiting for the Sun Waiting for the Sun Waiting for the Sun
Can you feel it now that spring has come.
And it’s time to live in the scattered sun.”

— “Waiting for the Sun” The Doors

I’ve never really understood this song. In fact, there are a lot of Doors songs I don’t get. “Esoteric” might be a good word to describe them. Perhaps I need some kind of reality altering substance to truly appreciate the Doors? (I remember reading that the group’s name comes from a concept known as the “doors of perception,” which has something to do with LSD.)

Speaking of altering reality, no drugs are needed to understand this scene, though I have altered your reality a bit for you. I turned the scene to black and white (though it was pretty much gray as I originally photographed it). And I’ve cleaned up a few unnecessary distractions from the scene. So I hope you don’t mind that I cropped, flattened, adjusted and colored your view of reality today.

And, yes, I think these trees are “waiting for the sun.”

Canon 5DIII 1/3200s f/2.8 ISO400 170mm

Join Me In the Black Hills

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03-20-14 Cabin In the Woods On A Snowy Day (HDR)

A March snow storm in the Black Hills provides a picture perfect covering for houses and trees.

This home is called “Standing Rock” by its owners, Lorin and Mary B, though the huge rock that is its namesake isn’t present in this photo. Their home isn’t too far from our cabin and on one of my recent visits to the Black Hills, a March snow storm offered many good photo opportunities, including this one.

This photo, incidentally, is the result of what I call “road hunting.” I get in my truck with my camera ready and drive slowly, looking for interesting subjects and scenes. I usually get out of the truck to get the photo but on this one I just rolled down the window and braced my lens and camera on the window frame to capture the HDR sequence. Lazy? I don’t think so – I was just trying to keep my equipment out of the wet, spring snow.

Canon 1/4000s f/2.8 ISO250 70mm