First Snow
Since going on that Monument hike, I’ve wanted more opportunities to play with what I learned about night photography. Last night, the opportunity finally presented itself when I wasn’t busy with something else.
Here’s one of the first pictures I took. There’s lots of light in the neighborhood but I still needed to leave that shutter open for a while. Most of my shots were from three to six minutes. Three minutes was the least amount of time I needed to produce something usable; six worked best.
Snowy Night, November 22, 2013
I love how the lights turn into stars. I also enjoyed how light played on the snow and fence below. It’s also cool how soft light shines out of the house on the far right. Except for the light on the snow by the fence, the rest I didn’t see until I brought the picture into Lightroom.
Snowy Night, November 22, 2013
When I crawled out at 4am, it was still snowing. There were fewer lights then, but it was already brighter than the night before. In this picture, a streak of light running up the road, is barely visible. It extends from the white garage on the left to just past the house on the right with the star light—and it cuts through the car in the driveway. During the time the shutter was open, a snow plow drove up the road and through the shot. In this long exposure, the light on the vehicle was captured as it went past, but the snow plow doesn’t show up. What fun is that?!
Still Morning, November 23, 2013
At about 5am, I grabbed the camera and wandered out in UGG boots and bathrobe to take a picture of the road in front that winds up the hill. Again, the lights look like stars on sticks and I love that look. It’s clear from the ruts in the snow, traffic wasn’t much slowed last night by the weather and the paper hadn’t yet arrived this morning. It also became clear that I need to get something to protect my lenses while I’m standing in active weather.
Still Morning, November 23, 2013
This was fun. I enjoyed the opportunity for a creative way to end yesterday and begin today. I’m not fond of being cold, but I do love changing seasons and weather. I especially love waking up to the first big snow of the season.
This is a such beautiful place to call home.
Posted on November 23, 2013, in Grand Junction, landscapes, Night Photography, Photos and tagged 2013, Colorado, Grand Junction, home, lights, Mesa County, night photography, snow, Western Colorado. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
Photo Granny's Blog 
Love more night photos! can only leave our shutter open 30 sec..wonder if we could get anything. I’ve been lamenting the cold weather…you made it beautiful!
Thanks, Carol. I love the first snow. It’s always pretty. I suppose you could get one of those high-powered lights to shine about? The fellow on the hike said he had 775 lumens? Do you remember his name? I think something like that would be cool, and you wouldn’t need to leave the shutter open any longer than 30 seconds. That’s all we needed for the night shots of the monument. So tell me. Why are you where it’s cold? I thought you’d be off to warmer climes by now. What’s up with that?
This arctic blast is pushing pretty far south…we tried to outrun it but landed in the fringes…icicles here but no snow. Did you light up the snow in your shots?
You need to go further south, then. 🙂 No I didn’t add any light to my shots. There was actually a lot of light already. You can see how many lights there are all around. Makes viewing stars difficult. Out front there’s a street lamp that shines, so that’s why I ended up not having to stand as long out there. And the ones shot the night before, I just set the camera up, hit the shutter (on the wired remote) and wandered back into the house where it was warm. It was fun and I was pleased with the results.
It is even wetter further south of us right now….we have to wait out this frozen rain and then we will venture into the nonfrozen rain….then perhaps we’ll get a break in time for Thanksgiving with family 🙂