First Major Snow Storm a Little Later On

A few hours after posting yesterday's blog that ended with night scenes of the snowstorm from the cozy confines of  my abode, I ventured forth.

One mission was to clear the snow from the walkway and in front of the garage. The plow gets the rest, but it doesn't go too close to the garage, and we appreciate that. I was shocked to find our neighbour already out there shovelling our walk. I shouldn't have been surprised, for he has done this before, but not for about 9 months now as he seldom helps us shovel snow in summer.

So, I got down the the important stuff such as taking pictures. This snowfall was wet and sticky, and I wanted to capture some of it while it remained stuck on the branches: (1) up the street, and (2) the tree on our lawn.

I moseyed over to the same neighbours' frontage and snapped two of their many lawn ornaments.

Then I headed to the backyard where I photographed the heavily laden lilac bush.

After shovelling a path to the back gate, I lifted my camera over the 8' fence (the fence beyond the one you see in this photo) to photograph the fir trees across the road.

So, that was our first major or somewhat major snowstorm of the season. It was enough to keep the school buses parked but not enough to shut down businesses.

I like the softness of winter photos and find that I don't have to do much editing even though I shoot in RAW. One thing to keep in mind, if you have the knowledge and ability to do this with your photo device, is to overexpose the scene in winter, for a camera sees that conditions are bright and wants to tone them down, and you don't usually want to do this. One photographer calls it "arguing with your light meter." Even with my iPhone, I have the ability to brighten or darken the exposure: not just in post but before I press the shutter.

I sent some of the photos to Photoshop Express on my tablet, and it helped me make this collage.

For a little extra fun, I added snowmen to this version.

Enjoy the last weekend before Christmas.