Snow Day

Yesterday, I hiked to Lake Twenty-Two near Granite Falls. Due to the low angle of the sun, a lot of the trail ends up shaded all day this time of year, so I knew I'd have some good lighting. Moreover, I saw some trip reports showing snow.

I don't get to shoot in snowy conditions all that often, so it's always a fresh challenge. If anything, snow is distracting - the novelty and sheer beauty of it can distract me from the task of finding compelling compositional elements, particularly in the forest. This requires just as much time and thought in the snow as in other conditions. The second challenge is that snow can create issues with contrast and color balance. Some of yesterday's images were quite high-contrast, requiring extra time to get the exposure right, and meaning that they will need work in Lightroom to keep the snow from looking overexposed. In terms of color balance, yesterday's clear weather meant that the snow reflected the blue of the sky. I compensated for that a bit with in-camera settings, but this will also require fine-tuning in Lightroom.

First, two views from the open slope on the climb to the lake.

Just for fun, compare the image above to this one, from the same vantage point in December of 2014. Quite a difference in character!

Next, a view from a shaded portion of that same slope. I thought the snow-covered rocks and boulders in the foreground looked like marshmallows. With some tasteful finessing in Lightroom, I might be able to bring those shapes out even more.

Here's an image from the lake itself. The snow-covered trees and cliffs created an otherwordly atmosphere.

Next, two views of Twenty-Two Creek, with long exposures (4 and 3 seconds, respectively). I am unsure which of these compositions I prefer.

Finally, some images from the old-growth woods along the way. I'd want to do some Lightroom work to bring out the greens and browns a bit more.