First Snowfall
Update: After reviewing the published project, I realized I wasn't happy with the processing of several images. Sometimes it was color balance, other times the images just felt - well - dull. Granted, it was an overcast day, but things seemed more dreary than they really were. So I took time today and made adjustments to many of the images. I'd love to hear from you in the comments section if you noticed a difference, or if you have a favorite image treatment.
This past weekend, Toronto received its first snowfall of the season.
Despite the heavy cloud cover, I decided it was still worth going to capture it at one of my favorite city locations, the Rouge National Urban Park.
The recent cold temperatures were helping to ice up the marsh at the Rouge Park. But it wasn’t quite cold enough to overcome what little warmth was left in the water. What I thought at first was a reflection of a branch in the water, turned out to be cracks in the skim of ice. The ice-blurred oak leaves added warmth, texture and balance to the scene.
My final image was somewhat of a happy accident. Originally, I was focussing on a flock of seagulls sitting on the thin ice, but I shifted my position slightly and my lens refocused on the bulrushes in the foreground. It's actually a much more interesting image! The extremely shallow depth of field brought out several falling snowflakes against a heavily blurred background. I enhanced the blue tones to make this image feel colder and more winter-like.