COLD FRONT - THE EDGE OF WINTER
61 images Created 19 Mar 2022
COLD FRONT: THE EDGE OF WINTER
Snow changes everything when it envelops our world in its cold embrace.This series grew out of the thrill, excitement, and wonder I feel when, after a snowfall, I walk out into a world transformed in such a dramatically visual and sensate way. This transformation offers pure visible gold to a photographer. I’m not a ‘winter warrior’ type, can’t stand the cold, not a snowmobiler, a snowshoer, a cross country skier or even an ice skater – yet when I see that first snowfall of winter, my pulse races, my photo gear is at the ready, and I’m out there like a husky – propelled into my neighbourhood and the nearby shores of Lake Ontario.
The world of snow has so many things that influence how a photographer approaches it and the images one can make in it. For example, whether it’s overcast or clear skies, morning, midday or night – snowing or not – windy or not – hovering around freezing or plunging to -20˚C – the beginning of a cold snap or four weeks into it. All these conditions play a role in the images made. During one of my outings, the temperature was around -35˚C with wind chill – that combination of wind and cold caused my eyes to water so much that I couldn’t see anything through the viewfinder of my camera. But challenges like this are part of the experience – working in black and white and at night introduces a few more elements that lift winter photographs out of the ordinary and elevate them into a surreal world – a unique realm of pure light and shadow.
Snow changes everything when it envelops our world in its cold embrace.This series grew out of the thrill, excitement, and wonder I feel when, after a snowfall, I walk out into a world transformed in such a dramatically visual and sensate way. This transformation offers pure visible gold to a photographer. I’m not a ‘winter warrior’ type, can’t stand the cold, not a snowmobiler, a snowshoer, a cross country skier or even an ice skater – yet when I see that first snowfall of winter, my pulse races, my photo gear is at the ready, and I’m out there like a husky – propelled into my neighbourhood and the nearby shores of Lake Ontario.
The world of snow has so many things that influence how a photographer approaches it and the images one can make in it. For example, whether it’s overcast or clear skies, morning, midday or night – snowing or not – windy or not – hovering around freezing or plunging to -20˚C – the beginning of a cold snap or four weeks into it. All these conditions play a role in the images made. During one of my outings, the temperature was around -35˚C with wind chill – that combination of wind and cold caused my eyes to water so much that I couldn’t see anything through the viewfinder of my camera. But challenges like this are part of the experience – working in black and white and at night introduces a few more elements that lift winter photographs out of the ordinary and elevate them into a surreal world – a unique realm of pure light and shadow.
