Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Colors of Nature’s Winter Drama When There Is No Snow

The above photo taken last week at Mapleside Farms in Brunswick, Ohio is called “Cattails and Maples at the Apple Orchard” and carries on another wintertime tradition of mine involving adding color to the season in the absence of snow.

Small scraggly magenta apple trees and looming dark maples reach into a blue ethereal evening while cattails stand softly attentive like spun gold straw in a fairy tale awaiting the arrival of a hero.

Below is the original photo.

This version is rather ghostly, a washed-out web of lines of twilight time.

9 comments:

Day Traveler said...

Hi. You have a nice blog and I really do like the photos of winter. The Queen of Narnia. Yeah, I'd say so. :)
What is it about winter photos that pulls us into them? As if we are standing right there and can feel the cold air with the crispness of it all against our skin.

Deer Passion said...

Wow.. I really love what you did with this photo! Plus, you just gave me some great ideas to get my creative juices flowing! Thank you! :)

Mary said...

Your colors certainly turned a drab winterscape into something that would wake you up if you drove by :-) Very nicely done! I like all the color and how you used it.

Montanagirl said...

Wow , that produced quite a difference between the two photos! Nice job.

John Theberge said...

Adding all that intense color to this photo sure makes in more interesting. Thanks for visiting my blog, glad you enjoyed my bird photos.

CountryDreaming said...

Day Traveler: Always good to find like minds and kindred appreciators of nature's crystal season. Winter light has its own special qualities as it elusively lays low along the horizon.

Deer Passion: Glad to help spark some ideas for you. I look forward to seeing what kind of creations you'll come up with! In my mind it will be hard for you to top your most recent mountain shot.

Mary: Thanks! You're on to something here. When my eye caught the "drab" version of this apple orchard, I saw the hint of more in the curving melodramatic maples, the angly-jagged apple branches, the patient cattails standing softly come what may. I hoped increasing the color would awaken and communicate this.

Montanagirl: Thank you very much for your kind compliments and all your support!

John Theberge: Thanks for stopping by my blog. Not being all that equipped or adept at bird photos myself, I'll definitely be back visiting yours!

Teresa Mallen said...

Very intriguing...I especially like the cattails as spun gold straw. But I miss the snow!

EcoRover said...

Sometimes, after a few days camping in the sparse gray world of winter (especially under cloudy skies) my eyes ache for color.

CountryDreaming said...

Teresa Mallen: Thanks, and I know how you feel about the snow!

EcoRover: It sounds like you're a veteran when it comes to surviving in a bleak wilderness.