|
Snow
January 2006
It’s not hard to choose the word “snow” as the key element of our January issue. We’re now in the middle of winter, and what we think of as the main characteristic of our weather and the scenes in our mountains, are those beautiful white blankets on the ground and the marvelous patterns on trees. We begin our selection this year with our cover photograph by Randy Williams, which captures the remarkable patterns of snow on evergreens. It fills the space so graphically that one can barely see the scenic background at the top of the photograph. The image effectively captures the spirit of the season.
Next we see two fully snow-covered scenes. On the left is “A Road Less Traveled” by Linda J. Wilkinson, and we can see why the name is so appropriate for the image. There seem to be no footmarks on the open space between the snow-covered trees—all we see is a pristine view of snow covered forest path. And on the right is “First Snow” by William Palmer, another image of snow covering everything in sight. Here there is no path in the center; it is all wilderness, bejeweled by the white coverings everywhere and the blue sky above.
In the next spread, there is a painterly scene on the left called “January Winds” by Claudia Kuhn. It is a superb image with different shades of blue in horizontal forms. The bare trees in one section give a texture to the image, and the two strands of white snow are impressive accents. On the right, there is “Panorama of North Lawn” by Michael Coluccio, with a different kind of composition, but also impressive. Here the black branches of the single tree in the center provide a striking contrast to the grey forest in the distance, dimmed by the grey light of a snow-filled scene.
Then there is Joan Barker’s “Snow Trees” on the left side of the next spread. That, too, is a remarkable image—almost an abstract scene of vertical lines against a white background. And on the right, photographer Richard Bruner found his “Nine Deer” wandering across the white snow, while above there is a remarkable image of winter trees against a black sky.
Finally, the sun comes out with Deborah E. Lans’ photograph simply named “Trees,” with snow caught in the branches as the camera points upward to see the sunlit blue sky above. It’s a cheerful way to end this month’s portfolio of winter scenes.
-David Finn
|
