snow_waves Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Don’t say a word :))) I am soon off to Italy (in less than two weeks) to find another playground far away from my usual sandbox … LOL … in order to provide you with something else other than snow and blue but the sea is not far either where we go and last time Marcello was driving us to the beach with 160 km/hour trying to scare me, double checking in the mirror making sure I WAS scared, and I can assure you that I thought I would never see the sea again in my life. But we did, eating ice cream in late February. So I might offer you other blues, the blue of the sea maybe :)))) And I truly hope he has grown up meanwhile, I mean his teenage boy made him grandfather some months ago which should slow him down a little, or he falls into a deep crisis.

I am reading this book right now that I bought the other day when doing my xmas shopping list and I was ending up in the digital sector (not by accident of course). I bought this book by George Barr “Take your photography to the Next Level” and on some pages I had the impression that he wrote about me, things like “feeling sorry for yourself” or “everybody is better than me”, and he also suggests that it is sometimes important to dislocate and find other spots for photography. I am not complaining, I love my area but I need some fresh air, we all do sometimes.

To the picture: Taken on the first day in January after five hours of sleep. It had snowed during the night, heavy wet snow flakes around midnight when we went out to listen to the church bells (and the snow machines …) with a glass of champagne in one hand and the camera in the other - a little baba_special tradition. These are the first sun rays in the new year, almost alone, some sleeping in, others on the ski lifts.

Same area

pasternak, PixelTerror, Sistercosmo, Floydian, nwoehnl, ciakgiak, BlueRaven, Dyerco, feather, fulvio52, cherryripe, avene, gneufeld, gunbud, MarianneS, Jonas_Schmitt, leo61, zmey has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pasternak (13306) 2009-01-11 3:18

So beautiful, Barbara, the different tints of white/blue on the snow create an interesting abstract pattern!

Cheers
A

PixelTerror (86060) 2009-01-11 4:18

Hoi Barbara,
Sandbox ??? ist es nicht eher ein Snowbox ??? ;-))))
Schones Schneebild, nach erstem Blick sehr einfach aber mit verschiedenen Beleuchtungen die sich gut mit den Kurven kombinieren, ganz oben in den Ecken gibt es ein wenig Vignetting, vielleich wg Pola.
Schönen Sonntag, freue mich auf die Italien Bilder !
JY

Sistercosmo (2573) 2009-01-11 4:33

Liebe Barbara,
wunderschön, dieser Blick - minimalistisch und trotzdem eine Augenweide! Die schöne Farben, das Zusammenspiel zwischen Licht und Schatten - mir gefällt es gut.
Ich denke wir hören noch vorher von einanander aber trotzdem wünsche ich dir jetzt schon eine schöne Zeit in Italien!
Schönen Rest-Sonntag und eine gute Woche!
Linda
P.S. Wenn es dir bei 160 kmh schon mulmig wird, dann kann ich dir nur empfehlen, niemals bei uns mitzufahren... ;-)

Floydian (30970) 2009-01-11 5:03

Hallo Barbara,

Could you do me favor?
Send some snow here, make my landscapes look like this....okay? ;-)
An almost minimalistic image, two colours with lot's of blue tones, but the overal image gives a strong artistic feeling to it. The textures in the snow but more those two lines over the hills look fantastic.

Enjoy your warm trip Italy...if you're going south of course ;-)

Happy Sunday,

Henk

nwoehnl (120) 2009-01-11 9:25

Hallo Barbara. Ein schönes abstraktes Schneefoto, mit interessantem Licht-Schatten-Spiel und gutem Glitzereffekt der Schneekristalle in der Sonne. Gut belichtet.

Nicou (44737) 2009-01-11 11:09

Hello Barbara,

Un superbe image dont toi seul a le secret, tu joue avec la neige, avec ce brillan comme des diamant sur le neige, ce graphsime, grandiose.

amitié

Nicou

ciakgiak (10678) 2009-01-11 11:30

Hello Barbara,
in this type of compositions you are unbeatable!
Image simple, very elegant but majestic at the same time. Only two colors, but the effect is sublime.
Have a nice week my dear friend.
Best regards
Giorgio

MarcT (21097) 2009-01-11 12:13

Hallo Barbara,
Great lesson on simplicity and nice color tones.
Schöne Grüsse
Marc

barni (14531) 2009-01-11 13:25

Hallo Barbara
Une image minimaliste excellente.
Grüss
Christophe

BlueRaven (35) 2009-01-12 4:25

Hallo liebe Barbara,

Minimalistischer geht's kaum, aber gerade das macht den Reiz dieses Fotos aus. Wunderschön, wie ein abstraktes Gemälde. Mal wieder ein Beweis dafür, welche Kunstwerke Mutter Natur schaffen kann. Man muß sie nur sehen...
Ich wünsche Dir schon jetzt viel Spaß und Inspiration in Italien und bin gespannt auf die nächsten Bilder! Und wenn Du noch ein bißchen Schnee übrig hast (nachdem Du Henks "Bestellung" erledigt hast) - wir könnten hier auch ein bißchen brauchen! Es ist "saukalt", aber wir haben diesen Winter fast keinen Schnee...

Liebe Grüße,
Claudia

Greg1949 (8507) 2009-01-12 4:45

Wonderful exposure control Barbara, the shot is what it really looks like, well done. The composition is of course what this one is about and it is great.

Greg

Cretense (56004) 2009-01-12 5:40

Hi Barbara!

Excellent photo! So simple, yet so spectacular, fantastic capture of the textures on the snowy surface, I feel I can touch it! Beautiful icy blue tones! Congratulations!

Hercules

Dyerco (9062) 2009-01-12 7:08

Hi Barbara
Sometimes the simple shots make the best shots. Personally I gravitate to this type of shot myself. It is well composed with simple curves and the exposure is right on as we can see the texture in the snow.
Phil

feather (49860) 2009-01-12 8:19

These minimalist snow images are becoming your speciality. I love the gentle curves and sparkling snow crystals. We see these from the desert; different colours of course ;D. Enjoy your trip
Kath
Oh! just because I'm nosy - Who is Marcello? Your husband/partner?
K

fulvio52 (8314) 2009-01-12 9:55

Hi, Barbara.
It looks easy, but it's not! Those textures and delicate patterns are fantastic, so is your light management. In a nutshell : original and extremely artistic, my compliments! Have a nice evening, I'll see you soon. HUGS,
Fulvio.

cherryripe (18973) 2009-01-12 10:26

Hi Barbara
I've never thought that a photo of snow without a track or object would work but in this case it did thanks to the shadows. I like the "diamonds" in the foreground too. Enjoy the change of decor and a gelati for me too.
Regards
Nikki

avene (10978) 2009-01-12 16:03

hi Barbara,
you've done it again :) it cannot get more minimalistic than this, but with the textures of the snow, the little sparkles of reflected sun, the patterns of the shadows the scene feels "rich" (I cannot find a better word to decribe that). I'm most impressed with the light management, I'm sure the reflection played havoc with cameras sensors, but here everything is just perfect, nothing over- or underexposed. just the winter scene I was expecting from you :))

have fun in Italy, we're off to Chile on Saturday :)

best,
Kristine

gneufeld (15169) 2009-01-12 18:18

Hi Barbara,
I like the simplicity that features catchy lines and excellent management of light and shadows. Very well seen and TFS. Gerald

Waylim (10769) 2009-01-12 19:26

Barbara,
I nearly miss this one, because I look and there is nothing, nothing but snow, lots of snow :) Well, I like to say this is very refreshing, You can certainly make a fairly simple landscape into something that is worth seeing, the dark blue shade of shadow and the pattern in the snow give some texture and the spakling and twinkle with lights so pure and fresh. I have a very simular shot of sand like this one.
Way

gunbud (27833) 2009-01-12 20:11

Hi Barbara,
What a enchanting look at these marvelous dunes of snow that show such marvelous textures and lines in this varying brilliant light.
Love the crystals shinning in the warm sun that oftens follows a fresh snow with a beautiful contrasting blue sky.
I see you are getting your share of snow like us back here in the Northeestern US.
Regards, Tom

MarianneS (14264) 2009-01-12 21:33

Hello Barbara,
Very interesting note. I recognise myself;-)
The simplicity of your photo is superb.
I like the nice curves on the top ot the hill, converging on the middle of your composition.
Well done!
Regards,
Marianne
PS: where are you going in Italy? I will be in Siena (only one day) and then in Firenze next week :-)

AiresSantos (42040) 2009-01-13 23:19

Hello Barbara
I would like to come back and enjoy again the snow and the sun in Switzerland.
Fine graphism, excellent texture and beautiful effect of light
TFS and have a nice day
Aires

Merline (6574) 2009-01-14 4:59

Hello Barbara !
you must find me weird with my enthusiams for a few cm of snow in Belgium:-).
And so here I am, looking in wonderment at this majestic view. You did a superb work of minimalism, almost abstraction. "Less is more", could be a definition for it. I find this puts me straight away in a kind of meditative mood. It's pure and poetic and your composition impeccable.
And how I laughed at your note, I have one and the other similar books by my bed hehe. You write very well. This goes into my fav's theme.

Thanks and warm regards:-)
Michèle

Jonas_Schmitt (3074) 2009-01-15 6:52

Hallo Barbara!
Dieses Bild ist wirklich super. Es ist eigentlich recht simpel....ein paar Linien, Muster und Schatten und kein wirkliches Hauptobjekt im Bild - aber da gerade das alles so gut zusammenpasst gefällt mir dieses Foto so gut. Hier hattest du ein echt gutes Auge und du präsentierst die Aufnahme einwandfrei!
Grüße,
Jonas

kensimage (8541) 2009-01-15 8:54

Hi Barbara--It's a very nice abstract composition. I know these are not easy to do; you have to pick out just the right framing from the sea of snow and variations of slope and shadow, so you have my admiration, especially doing it on five hours of sleep. There's an interesting variation of texture in different parts of the snow. Some on TE will say that one should always make the snow be white, and while I sometimes agree, I don't think it applies in this case, because pure white would contrast too much with the sky. Regards, Ken.

robiuk (10763) 2009-01-18 11:57

A rhapsody in blue (and white)!
What impresses me the most here is the absence of 'sense
of scale', so I'm left wondering about the size of the
slope (not that I really need to know, but usually there's
always something in a photo that gives you that sense...).
Cheers,
Robi

plimrn (19610) 2009-01-18 19:38

Hi Barbara,
The subtle shadows emphasize the glistening crystals. You also believe everybody is better than you??

Happy New Year, it sounds like a fine tradition. Surely fresh snow on NY's Day is good omen.

Have a good trip,
HLJ, Pat

brevbrev14 (372) 2009-01-19 10:10

Hi Barbara, very good game of blue and shadows..
i like this winter vision, good minimalism too
bravo!
ciao
Valeria

pboehringer (770) 2009-02-03 9:15

Barbara, gibt es in der Schweiz auch noch anderes ausser Schnee? Ooooops, ich habe gerade Deine 'Note' gelesen und ich haette eigentlich nichts sagen duerfen. Sorry!
Trotzdem, die 'barbarische' Schneeserie ist hoechst interessant. Der Abschluss sogar der Beste. Kaum etwas zu sehen und trotzdem! Die Einfachheit, die Textur, das Licht, die Kristallchen, usw. Die Kunst liegt in der Einfachkeit!
Peter

leo61 (43398) 2009-02-07 2:02

Hallo Barbara!
Im Januar habe ich mir manchmal gewünscht ish wäre an so einem Ort,aber nur für ein par Sekunden,wenn es mittags zu heiss war..
Ein minimalistisches Winterbild mit tollen Blautönen,schönen Kurven und Schatten.
Schönes WE,
Gruß,Leo

zmey (7250) 2009-02-09 8:53

hey barbara
brrr... winter... i see, snow minimalism at its best. i don't think, anyone can make it more 'minimal' than this: swiss crunchy and crispy. :)

WARM regards!
kristaps

ps. good luck with that book.

guitianmiranda (3622) 2009-02-17 14:42

Simply but beautiful, very good idea to presents the snow degrading to the sky. Again my congratulations.

Best regards Barbara.