I’m still feeling like winter………

I know what the calendar says, but I’m still scrapping my car windshield and wearing winter coats. I’m also still working through some wintry images and enjoying it. We didn’t get much snow this past winter, but some of what we did receive was lovely. It was the kind of snowfall that left a visual impression of the land instead of overwhelming it.

The image below was made during one of our March snows and it was one of the most visually pleasing snows I’ve ever experienced. As a result I bolted out of the house the morning of and went to work. With the sun rising, there was both warm light and cool shadow to work with. I concentrated on those aspects of the land that excited me the most, contrast and form.

I used an Olympus OM-D E5 with a Panasonic 100-300mm lens to isolate and compress the composition. Working in RAW format, I then developed the image in Lightroom and finished it in Photoshop.

(c) 2013 Paul Grecian – http://www.paulgrecianphoto.com

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Texture

 Certainly snow adds an etherial feeling to an image, emotionally it may be the most important element in a winter scene. I also find however that snow adds a great sense of texture to an image. In fact, it may even emphasize the other textures in a scene by breaking the image up into an almost pointalistic painting.

The soft, even lighting of a snowfall is critical as well, preventing areas from becoming too light or too dark. In the image below, I composed in layers and included some winter red berries to add color punch to the image. For me though it is the texture that turns me on most, something that when working with a two-dimensional medium really gets exciting.

The image was made with a Canon 5D camera mounted to a Canon 28-300mm L IS lens on a Gitzo tripod. I selected a focal length of 150mm and worked almost wide open and at 400 ISO to attain a shutter speed of 1/60 sec. (fast enough to stop the snow falling from being a blur).

(c) Paul Grecian – http://www.paulgrecianphoto.com

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Descendo

The moon is a highly evocative subject whether it’s a sliver, a crescent, or full. It speaks to such a range of emotions from fear to romance. Trees have a similar effect on people, evocative as well, they speak to strength, loneliness, rebirth, and joyousness. Combined, these two elements of moon and trees, make for a pretty powerful visual and emotional effect.

In this image of a morning moon setting against a pre-dawn sky, I composed to place the moon off-center and behind branches. The exposure was made off of the sky and then decreased a bit to make sure I had detail in the moon. The trees are in silhouette but with a twist! Since there is snow on some of the branches, there is a dimensionality to the trees that is otherwise lacking in such an image.

The image was made with a Panasonic G2 and Panasonic 100-300mm lens at around 250mm (which is 500mm equivalent in 35mm terms).

Moonset behind trees

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Winter Trifecta

 Certainly one of the aspects of winter that I find interesting from a visual stand point is how it simplifies the landscape. Bare trees and snow-covered ground both contribute to a sense of the austere. Add fog as a component and the landscape all but disappears. I call this the “winter trifecta”.

With this “trifecta” of conditions, I can concentrate on making images that are mostly suggestive of the landscape but still fully representing the feeling of winter.These kinds of images also speak to larger concepts such as being alone, quietness, and visually allow the contemplation of form and light.

There is definitely a quality or feeling to the image that is calming and which I very much like.

(c) Paul Grecian

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Winter Visitor

Winter is a stark time of year visually. I think about it in terms of black and white with various shades of gray. In this part of the country (Bucks County, PA), we get a special little visitor that seems to perfectly fit with my vision of the season – the Dark-eyed Junco!

This rather mono-chromatic flier blends in well with the gray-skies and snow-covered landscape. In this image the background and perch mimic the colors of the bird and convey a sense of the season. I like the simplicity of the tonalities in the image and the very limited depth that I was able to achieve with a large-aperture long telephoto lens (Canon EF 500mm f4.0 L IS with Canon TC 1.4X).

Compositionally, I wanted the bird to not overlap with any background elements in which it would merge tonally. Being down low enough to the ground to keep the portrait intimate, that is, at about eye-level with the bird, was also critical.

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Foggy January

I’m really appreciating being able to get back to making photographs. Earlier this week I saw fog again when I awoke and took off, straight to my favorite lake! There were Canada Geese in large numbers and a distant Bald Eagle perched on the opposite shore high in a tree.

Even when working at a location I’ve been to a thousand times, I need to take time to absorb what I’m seeing and feeling. What moved me to start the process was the mist rising off the water against a winter woodland and a large stone in the foreground.

In the field, I used a Canon 5D Mark II camera and a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L IS II lens on a Gitzo tripod with a Really Right Stuff  head. I like to work with the mirror locked up and a 2 second self-timer. This image was made in color and converted to black & white. I developed the image further using levels, curves, shadows/highlights, and some sharpening. When all was finished I applied sepia toning to emphasize the mood.

(c) 2013 Paul Grecian

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First is Last

I was at Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville, NJ this past Sunday (Dec. 30) meeting and greeting visitors. A very nice couple came in sometime during the middle of the day and selected a framed piece of mine to purchase. The sale represented my last sold piece of the year and so that made it a bit more special. The image is of a flock of Cedar Waxwings in a tree against a winter white sky. I titled the piece Birds of a Feather and printed it a bit high key in order to bring out color and details in the birds and limit any texture in the sky.

The image itself was made during my first outing of 2012 (in January) and the last image that sold in 2012. The print itself was the first that I made of this image as I introduced the print late in the year. The sale made me feel like I was completing a circle of sorts.

I used a Canon EOS 1D Mark III camera with a Canon EF 500mm f4.0 L IS lens fitted with a Canon TC1.4X III to make an optic of 700mm. This rather heavy combination is placed on a Gitzo tripod with a Foba Superball tripod head and Wimberly Sidekick.

 

(c) Paul Grecian

 

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Winter Flock

As soon as I saw the local forecast for Bucks County included snow, camera batteries went into their chargers. I have not acclimated well to cold this winter, the temperatures have been too inconsistent. Warm one day (or 3), cold for a day, then warm again.

I can dress for the cold though, for the most part. My biggest issue is cold toes and fingers. It hadn’t stopped snowing yet when I got out this morning. We only had a few inches, but it was enough to make it finally look like winter. I was thinking winter birds today, so I geared up with that in mind.

After a while outdoors, I was beginning to wish I had been more prepared for landscape imagery. Truth is though that I like to concentrate on one genre of work at a time during the winter, so today was birds. The snow fell heavily at times and began freezing to my camera and lens making it difficult to gain access to all of the controls. I had to scrape away ice from my camera to access the ISO button and even the front control dial.

The image below is of a flock of Cedar Waxwings. I like how I can expose to attain a clean white background by composing against the sky. The yellow tail tips of the waxwings add a bit of dramatic color to an otherwise fairly monochromatic piece. I was also pleased to be able to compose to limit overlap of the birds. For the most part, each bird remains a distinct shape.

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“Winter’s Whispers”

The joy of winter for me is mostly a visual thing. I don’t like the cold, at least not real cold. And ice and snow make driving a hazard I don’t need. But they also transform the landscape into something found during no other time of the year. There’s also something nostalgic about snow that brings one back to their childhood that I enjoy. In any case, I do find working in the snow and ice exciting for image making.

Since most of my winter imagery is based here in Bucks County, it was nice to be a part of the current Winter Issue of Bucks County Town and Country magazine. Bob Waite, the magazine’s editor, named the piece “Winter Whispers”, a title I truly like. The photo essay is an eight page spread and laid out nicely. I especially appreciated Mr Waite’s comment on his Signature page – “All I can say is that Paul’s ability to capture the beauty of Bucks County’s winter scenery and wildlife is almost remarkable.”

It’s been quite a while since I’ve been in this fine magazine, I’m pleased to be back.

First pages of winter photo essay

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Some Good Press….

It never hurts to get good press coverage. I was especially pleased with the coverage in the Entertainment section of the Lancaster Intelligencer this past weekend. In addition to a teaser spot on the front page, my image Three’s Company (three cardinals) was given full-page representation on the cover of the pull-out Entertainment section. Inside was the interview I gave last week and another image of mine – Beach Sitter (red fox).

The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen show was a fine success with record crowd. The Lancaster Convention Center also happens to be a very attractive venue. We’ll be back next year.

Here’s a link to the article – Newspaper 

Cover of Entertainment Section

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