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Winter Light
January 2007
El Niño, or global warming, may be giving us an unusually warm winter this year, but neither can change the unique patterns of winter light. The shortest day has passed, and the hours of light are beginning to lengthen, but the sun still rises late, and sets early. Even the mid day sun is a pale shadow of itself.
In the first photo of this month’s portfolio, called “Country Sunrise,” by John Nugent, the white snow on the ground reflects the warm glow of the sunrise, creating a magical setting.
A similar magical early light is captured in the next two photos. The one on the left is called “Morning Glory” by Kelly Haas, and the one on the right is an untitled photo by Donald Urtz. In both photos, the bright reflective quality of the snow, mixed with the shadows caused by the low sun, create a moody atmosphere special to winter.
The next photograph, called “Farber Farm in Winter Tranquility” by Christine Atlee is another mixture of light and shadow. In this case, the sunlight breaks through the cloud cover to brighten the snow covered peak on the left. The clouds cast a shadow over the rest of the scene.
The next photo, called “Icy Limbs” by Joan Holley, shows a bright sun shining through the icy limbs of a bare tree. This is another magical light scene only found in the winter.
The next three photos, first “Snowfall at Pond” by Paula Anne Murphy, then “Snowy Yard” by Christian Rodriguez, and finally “Winter Storm” by Richard Schepper, are all snowfall scenes, showing only a soft glow of light making its way down to us through a thick cover of snow clouds and through the snow filled air.
One of my favorite aspects of winter is how the light is transformed by the snow.
-Peter Finn
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