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Winter in the Mountains
December 2004
There is something magical about our cover photograph by Anton de Flon. A heavy white snow covers the ground, while the sun throws shadows around the tree trunk and the houses in the distance. There is also a shadow of a tree on the roof of the barn, although we can’t see the tree that is throwing the shadow. The sky is very blue, but it is so dark it almost seems like nighttime. And the sun shining on the hill in the distance highlights the snow on the ground beneath the winter trees, while the hill just behind the barn is spotted with rich evergreens. The whole combination makes an impressive scenic photograph. This image won first place in the winter category of our annual photography contest.
On the next two pages there are scenic views of scattered snow. On the left is “Story’s Farm” by Robert I. Rhodes, which shows a plowed field with some snow on the ground. The furrows form a curve or angle that helps strengthen the composition, as does the rising mountain in the distance. On the right there is “Horse Country” by Richard Bruner, which also shows scattered snow. Here there is a lovely composition of fields divided by clumps of trees, a single horse in the middle of the field, with the corner of a barn to the right. The colors of both photographs are muted, which adds to their effectiveness.
Next we have two photographs of snow-covered hills. “Blackhead Range from Buckhead Lookout” is another photograph by Anton de Flon who is apparently standing on top of a rolling hill looking off to the distance. There is a remarkable feeling of height as one looks at the scene, which is accented by the sparkles and shadows on the snow nearby. This photograph won third place in the winter category of our annual photography contest. “Ice Storm 2002” by Al Alexsa has a different feel about it. Instead of looking down from the top of a hill, one sees the edge of a cliff that shows where the photographer is standing. Here the weather is grim—one can almost feel the cold from the images in the print.
On the next two pages we see scenes with heavy snow by Francis X. Driscoll and Michael F. Wentland. In both cases, we feel the landscape has been subjected to a blizzard. There is a certain quietness in the images as is often the case in a landscape during or after a major snowstorm. There is no sign of a human presence in either photograph. They seem to show nature untouched. Michael F. Wentland’s photograph tied for second place in the winter category of our photo contest.
Finally, there is “Homage to Turner, Ashokan Reservoir” by Robert M. Lipgar, which also tied for second place in the winter category of our photo contest. This photograph shows a remarkable view of windswept frozen water with spots of snow covered ice. The rolling clouds above are a magical counterpart to the ice below, especially with the bright blue open space in the center. It’s an image the great English painter, Turner, would have loved to see.
--David Finn
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