Snow, Clouds, and Fog
February 13, 2024
You’ll see the snow, and you’ll see the fog in these photographs. But you won’t see the clouds because they covered the whole sky. That’s winter where I live. The photographs in this collection were all taken in January a walking distance from my home.
1 This and the following photograph were taken with my iPhone through the window of the little gym where I exercise most mornings.
2
3 This is another cell-phone photograph. At the time I regretted not having my Nikon with me. A week or so later, I took the Nikon to this vernal pool and took the shot again. But the photo did not look as good. I think the difference was the amount of light in the sky.
4 Same vernal pool, but photographed with the Nikon.
5 My botanist says the yellow twigs are a willow and the red ones a dogwood.
6 The red osier dogwood isn’t all the same color red.
7 I can’t seem to shuck my fascination with tall grass (not that I’m trying).
8
9 These trees are on the edge of the vernal pool shown in photographs 3 and 4.
10 A few feet to the right of the trees in #9 a young oak tree hangs on to its leaves.
11 I’ve missed photographing the fog as much as I would like.
12 The fog didn’t deter these three birds.
13 When you can’t have flowers, tree buds will do nicely.
14 We’re all waiting for spring.
Romancing Reality 
Linda, Spectacular as always!
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February 12, 2024 at 10:36 PM
Thank you, Anonymous!
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February 15, 2024 at 9:56 PM
Fine set, Linda! Love the ‘X’ in nr9.. 🙂
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February 13, 2024 at 1:09 AM
Thanks, Harrie. Those crossed trees almost look to me as if they were placed that way by humans.
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February 15, 2024 at 9:57 PM
Shades of Harry Callahan for #1 and #2. The following picture offers a sort of linear yin~yang, with the narrow vertical strips of white in the sky and their reflections in the pond below becoming a counterpart to the dark slender tree trunks and their reflections. (iPhones, especially the recent ones, are capable of some excellent photographs.) #7 shows why it’s a good idea not to shuck your fascination with tall grass.
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February 13, 2024 at 7:04 AM
I do like Harry Callahan’s work; maybe that accounts for #1 and #2. I like your comment—and see what you mean—about yin and yang in #3. I’m so glad you like the tall grass. It’s interesting how you can keep discovering new things, even though they have been there for years. . . . My iPhone isn’t even that new, but I’m quite happy with it.
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February 15, 2024 at 10:10 PM
One advantage of the recent (and admittedly expensive) iPhone Pro models is that you can set the camera app to raw mode, in which the 1x camera will give you pictures a whopping 48 megapixels in size. When you can’t get as close to a subject as you’d like, that large size allows for plenty of after-the-fact cropping that still leaves you with a good-size image.
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February 16, 2024 at 5:43 AM
I always thought the best camera is the one you have with you. iPhones make pretty good cameras. The tree buds (#13 & #14) are exceptionally nice. I also love the foggy trees. I think they would make beautiful posters. Well done, Linda.
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February 13, 2024 at 8:08 AM
Thanks, Ken. As I wrote to Steve, I’m quite satisfied with me oldish iPhone. Thanks for saying something about the tree buds. I can’t tell you how many tries it took to get the ones in #13 to be in focus. I should have gone to manual focus much sooner than I did. I’ve been looking at the ones in #14 for weeks if not months and finally caught them.
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February 15, 2024 at 10:17 PM
I like #5 particularly. Finding order in chaos is something I’ve yet to achieve. I also appreciate the minimalist snow images. Last year I made dozens of those but for some yet undeciphered reason I’ve yet to make any this season.
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February 13, 2024 at 8:33 AM
I think #5 works because the willow is the same color as some of the leaves beneath it. The common color unifies the composition, maybe. I know you are a fan of minimalist snow photos; glad you like mine. I enjoyed yours last year. Maybe you’ll have another chance to take some this year.
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February 15, 2024 at 10:22 PM
Those first two photos don’t look like they were taken through a window at all. I’m still a sucker for that minimalist branches-in-snow look. We see it so rarely here. The yellow & red twigs in #5 are beautiful amidst that cool, complex chaos. 😉 They kind of grow out of the same-colored leaves. I think you’re right, the bright skies may be what make #3 so appealing. #11 is my favorite fog foto (I had to spell it with an f). I do like the buds – the red one for its color next to the lichen-covered bark and the last one for the wacky way that branch branched, as if to maximize the possibilities of light acquisition. 😉 . Here’s to the pleasures of any and all seasons through Linda’s lenses!
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February 13, 2024 at 12:07 PM
It’s amazing what Lightroom can do for photos taken through windows with phones. We had some snow the other day, but it wasn’t enough to make a good foil for branches semi-buried in it. That’s reason enough to hope for one more proper snow before spring. I’m so glad that other people can appreciate the chaos of #5; I was hoping, though I was pretty sure I was safe with you. I wish we had more fog around here and that it would coincide with my ability to get out and fotograph it. The branch cluster in the last photo is so small (maybe two and a half inches across) that I had a hard time finding that configuration when I looked out the window at the shrub some weeks later. It looks a lot bigger in the photograph. And here’s to all the wonderful readers and viewers who spend their precious time to comment on people’s blogs. Thank you, Lynn.
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February 19, 2024 at 8:37 PM
You’re welcome!
#5 is a photo for grown-ups. 😉
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February 20, 2024 at 8:23 PM
🙂 🙂
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February 20, 2024 at 8:40 PM
I want to register a vote for #3, Linda. I am intrigued by the almost continuous vertical lines from the top to the bottom; especially the sky showing through the trees and its reflection in the pool. The light green of the lichens on the trees is an additional treat. Nice!
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February 24, 2024 at 8:30 PM
I can’t believe how late I am at replying to you, Mic. I have not been checking the blog for some time, and apparently the email notification of your comment was disappeared. Anyway, thank you. I was happy with that photo, too. The lichens seem to become darker in color when they are wet.
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May 24, 2024 at 10:07 PM
Well, I can’t believe it either, Linda, but not because you are late replying. It seems like only a few weeks ago that I left that comment. Thanks for replying; good to hear from you.
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May 26, 2024 at 8:25 PM
Lovely set, Linda
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April 3, 2024 at 11:21 AM
Thanks, Joe.
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April 4, 2024 at 10:12 PM
So poignant to see the resilience of nature – love photo one and two – there’s something almost architectural about them. Linda x
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April 13, 2024 at 6:00 PM
Thank you, Linda. I like a spare composition when I can achieve one; the minimalist look of those two photographs may be what makes them look architectural. Thanks for writing. I’ll go back to your blog when I can find a bit more time. Mindfulness seems to be a cure-all, and I keep vowing (and neglecting) to look into the practice seriously.
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May 24, 2024 at 10:15 PM
I was skeptical that mindfulness would make a difference for a neurological condition like migraines, but I have gained a lot of benefits from rewiring my nervous system to slow down. It does sound a bit too good to be true, but it (mostly) helps. No rush – we’re all a bit time-poor; so many blogs to read / so little time! Linda xox
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May 24, 2024 at 10:17 PM
I guess I missed this back in February – beautiful collection! I can’t wait until it’s time for this moody winter stuff again.
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September 26, 2024 at 2:34 PM
Thank you, Jackson. It’s been a long time, as you see, since I’ve updated my blog. I hope to get back to it when I finish another years-long project only tangentially related to photography.
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September 26, 2024 at 7:53 PM
Hi Linda, I’m glad I came across your post. I enjoyed every shot. The minimalist snow shots are terrific and the reflection and trees in 3 is so appealing. A lovely collection. 🙂
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October 1, 2024 at 6:03 PM
I’m glad you did, too, Jane. Thanks for commenting. Your kind words push me a little farther into taking up posting again.
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October 1, 2024 at 7:15 PM