Tag Archives: snow

Photo of the Week – January 10, 2013

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Portholes in the snow.

Hoarfrost on the edge of a hole in the snow, with prairie grass beneath.

Hoarfrost on the edge of a hole in the snow, with prairie grass beneath.  The Leadership Center Prairie – Aurora, Nebraska.

Early morning hoar frost, calm winds, and a hazy sunrise got me out the door with my camera Tuesday morning.  I found plenty to photograph, including frosty milkweed seeds, mouse tracks, and lots more.  But it was the little windows in the snow that I couldn’t stay away from.

It appears to me that many of the holes in the snow were a result of radiant heat, caused by the sun warming up the plants sticking out of the snow.  Regardless of the reason, they were sure interesting to look at – especially with the morning hoar frost tinging their edges.

Here are just a few of the images I came home with.

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A stiff sunflower stem protrudes from a frost-edged gap in the snow.

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I assume many of the holes were caused by heat radiating from vegetation warmed by the sun?

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Some of the holes were more like cracks...

Some of the holes were more like cracks…

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All in all, it was a pretty nice morning to be out.

All in all, it was a pretty nice morning to be out.

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Photo of the Week – January 3, 2013

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This photo was taken several years ago outside the house of my in-laws in eastern Nebraska.  I don’t usually photograph birds, but I was there and the birds were there, and one thing led to another…

Red-bellied woodpecker

A red-bellied woodpecker pauses near a feeder during a snowstorm. Sarpy County, Nebraska.

It was snowing, but the mid-day light was still bright enough for photography.  As the snow fell, I stood in my coveralls near several bird feeders, hoping the birds would ignore me. I had covered my camera in a plastic bag and wrapped my lens in cardboard (held on with rubber bands) – only the best technology for me!  While the snow piled up on my camera, eyebrows, and beard, I pivoted the camera around on my tripod, attempting to focus on bird after bird as they came near the feeders.  Most of the time, of course, the bird either landed in a non-photogenic spot or moved away before I could get a bead on it.  In spite of that, I eventually managed to get a few useable shots. 

This one is my favorite from the day – mainly because of the completely white background.  It would look like a studio shot except for the blurry snowflakes coming past the tree trunk.  In reality, the snow on the ground and in the air behind the bird just blurred together into a pure white background.