Only outside for five minutes at -40, but without Jan's balaclava, my face started to get cold.

Posted by Linda Frey on Wed, 02/06/08 11:36
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Comments by Jan Bjorklund on Wed, 02/06/08 12:35

I was wearing a balaclava this morning but the air temperature was only -18C with an accompanying windchill of -31C. Once again the blue hue of the picture and the slight misting works to create a sense of cold... the inclusion of the moon plays into that by enhancing the sense of the cold for me. I'm tempted to go with just the first four trees on the left and the moon... captures the sense of the cold of the setting without the inclusion of the building.


Comments by Ruth Rittichier on Wed, 02/06/08 13:40

The left 2/3 is gorgeous, but that house has to go. Forgive me, but I just HAD to do this.


Comments by Linda Frey on Wed, 02/06/08 15:38

Well, I'll forgive you, Ruth, but those people who live in that house will be some ticked off when they find part of their house erased! ;-)


Comments by Rick Longworth on Wed, 02/06/08 17:07

Great line of trees Linda. The 5 minutes of discomfort seems to have provided a decent reward.
The people can be pasted into another dimension, or on the backside of this one.


Comments by Tony Scheuhammer on Wed, 02/06/08 17:21

ha, my comment was going to be "man, I wish that house wasn't there".


Comments by Dave Geyer on Wed, 02/06/08 21:16

Such a stark contrast between the almost ethereal beauty and the brutal conditions that produce it. Better without the house, thinks I. Whether (or should I say weather?) or not the house is there, I'm glad I'm not.


Comments by Julie M. Dant on Thu, 02/07/08 04:22

I think 5 minutes would be 4 minutes too long for me at that temperature. But you're hardy and always running in and out of the door, letting in the cold, running up your gas bill...better sell the print to pay for your heating bill..;0)
It is a beautiful shot, but I do like it better without the house.


Comments by Maria Salvador on Thu, 02/07/08 06:50

Without the house the composition gets indeed simpler (and colder), but I like the balance given by the house, and especially the sense of 'Human'. A different feel, with the contrast between the outside and the (imagined) warmth and comfort inside...


Comments by Maria Koutala on Thu, 02/07/08 07:09

Ditto Maria


Comments by Steve Owen on Thu, 02/07/08 08:12

I tend to agree with Maria, as well. I do like the sliver of moon.

Your face started to get cold after 5 minutes--I am surprised it wasn't frozen by then.


Comments by Frank B on Thu, 02/07/08 11:28

A really beautiful picture. I love the five trees "standing guard" outside the house in the
cold. The moon adds a wonderful touch and the mist sets a marvelous mood. Although, the removal of the house makes for a simpler composition, I would not remove it, as I like the
sense of the trees "standing guard" and because I just don't like to clone out permanent
structures.
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Comments by Tommy McGee on Thu, 02/07/08 11:45

I love those slender trees with the little sliver of moon. Another very cold photo. I would guess from the stage of the moon that the photo was taken on or about Jan 30th... Am I good or what?


Comments by Richard Glover on Thu, 02/07/08 13:46

This is also very nice. I'm in the "no house" camp, myself.


Comments by Linda Frey on Thu, 02/07/08 13:56

EXIF says the 29th, Tommy. You were pretty close.

Thanks all for your comments! It will be nice when the email is working again. Maybe this week end?


Comments by Ross Thornton on Thu, 02/07/08 14:43

The house and everything works perfect for me. Otherwise it's just another shot of poplars in the mist--pretty, but numbingly common.


Comments by Dennis Hancock on Fri, 02/08/08 09:37

I prefer the house included. I like mood pictures and this really comes across well and the misty image portrays the cold well and the relief that the house offers shelter.


Comments by Josiah Friberg on Fri, 02/08/08 10:01

I think I prefer the OP with the house included because it speaks to me of nature and humans living together in the freezing cold conditions. It puts it into perspective for me to know that this isn't just out in the middle of nowhere, but that someone actually lives there and survives the cold. I might suggest cropping a little of the sky out. This is a great shot!


Comments by DebbiK on Sun, 02/24/08 07:54

It never entered my mind that the house was obtrusive in the OP. The image with the house tells a story...the image without the house tells a lie (no offense Ruth because I think it's a nice image without the house), but I'm OK with the house. Let those people stay there! Now if a car had been there, we would have had to remove that (the people would then have to walk or catch the bus).


Comments by Tony Scheuhammer on Sun, 02/24/08 12:54

hmmmm, coming back to this one, I still don't much like the house; not in this particular comp, as it seems intrusive and ill-placed. Maybe a different comp with the house included would work for me, I don't know.

Without the house the picture tells a lie? All photos tell lies Deb, by what the photographer decides not to include in the frame, by what kind of lens to use, what sort of filters to use, etc. What if, for Linda's scene here, it was possible to move over slightly, and take a very similar shot, but without including the house. Would that be a lie? In a way it would, because no house would appear in the shot, yet you, the photographer, know that there was a house only a few feet outside the frame whose inclusion might create a very different mood to the image.

All the best pictures tell small lies in order to express deeper truths. Same with literature; fiction - the very name of the genre indicates that it's all a lie. But it's not. The best fiction tells millions of superficial lies to unveil deeper truths. That's what all art aspires to, I would say.