Winter Light

There has been ample winter this year and all the variations of light that come with the various weathers forging their way through the high Carolinas. Gardening Gone Wild's Picture This photo contest for the month of February is called Winter Light. This month's judge is Roger Foley of Foley Foto who chose the topic. Winter Light, no problem, I got that.

I have certainly taken enough pictures of the numerous iterations of winter. What is a person to do when they are stuck in Siberia? So it was difficult to choose just one picture to submit for the contest.

I have gotten a sad amount of pleasure on those few days when the sun decided to make an appearance and shined brightly on a world encased in winter's grip. The strong shadow lines it created on the near daily freshly fallen snow were an entertainment in a more often monochromatic existence. I choose the light and shadow picture below for my entry because I enjoyed playing with these images so much.

A Shadow Of Its Former Self



There were a lot of other possible choices as well. More often than not, winter light is a suffused light dispersed through layers of chilled forms of moisture. I think the judge was more after actual light than a mere notion of it. When the fog, snow and rime sit directly on the land a haunting beauty exists, but is it light?



The walking sticks left no doubt that actual sunlight was involved in the dance.



It was fun looking for interesting patterns as I trudged to and fro.



The garden large in winter is certainly an acceptable subject for a garden blog photo contest. A certain mystery pulls you in despite the cold and the likely hood that the coyote tracks I was following could lead to a real coyote.



Waking up to sunshine after the storm. This is light, but the scene is too big to be garden.



The setting winter sun lights the mountains from a different angle and often uses a more pastel palette of colors.



I love this image and was very tempted to choose it as my entry even knowing that it may not be the kind of light being looked for. For me and this winter, it totally encapsulates the dominant light form of winter high up in the clouds.



The glorious beaming sun in the middle of the day with not a cloud in the sky glitters through the freshly frozen tree tops. I take a picture of this scene often enough in all seasons. It has good bone structure.



These are the many moods of winter light.