I drove my daughter to school today because it was minus 1 degrees Fahrenheit outside. That’s about as cold as it gets in Bucks County, PA and a lot colder than normal. I don’t much like the cold, not this cold anyway. But I have it easy, heated car, heated home, and I can dress for the weather as needed. Not everyone can claim the same benefits and certainly animals need to find their own way to survive.
I feel that this image satisfies a number of visual interests of mine (e.g., texture, contrast, tonality) but also speaks to the idea of survival. Birds of course rely on their feathers for insulation and protection. Here is a lost feather against ice and snow where it blends in visually, but also creates an interesting contrast between cold (ice nd snow) and warm (feather insulation).
I made the image with low directional light from a setting sun on a lakeshore. This lighting both gave a bit of warm contrast to the cool toned shadows and emphasized the textural aspects of the snow/ice and the feather. I composed to create a bit of diagonal movement in the line of the shaft.
Paul Grecian - Photography 