Set adrift... again
Living in a village that is little more than a smudge on the map in the heart of the gently (very gently) rolling Suffolk countryside, with a network of footpaths across fields, along rivers and through woods literally on the doorstep, has been a godsend in these times of lockdown.
The downside is that on the rare occasions that winter makes it to this part of the world, snow is blown across the open fields covering the road and our access to the outside world under drifts several feet deep. The last time this happened was 3 years ago when the ‘Beast from the East’ blew in and we were cut off for 3 days. This time it was for a mere few hours (when a farmer came out with his tractor and cleared a path to freedom) but I spent the time in much the same way as I did back in 2018… taking photos close to home.
I walk my dog along the local paths day in day out so I know the scenery very well, but it is amazing how a covering of snow completely transforms a familiar scene. Walking through this startlingly white landscape where almost all the distractions of colour have been obscured, you begin seeing things with fresh eyes. The blanket of snow reveals as much as it conceals, highlighting in stark relief whatever remains uncovered laying bare new compositions and giving previously un-noticed trees their fifteen minutes in the limelight.
Snugly wrapped agains the biting wind, in winter gear normally reserved for trips to Iceland and armed with nothing more than my camera, 24-70mm lens, spare batteries and a dog, I once more headed off into the snow in search of inspiration.
I walked different paths to last time to keep things fresh. On that occasion I was very much thinking in black and white, this time I enjoyed the subtle hint of colour and although I may well convert some of them to mono I decided to keep the colour on all of them for consistency… what do you think?
For someone like me who almost always shoots on a tripod and lugs a fairly hefty (and very orange) backpack around, it’s refreshing to walk around with just a camera looking for inspiration a snowball’s throw from home. I discovered the joys of this during the last big snow fall and I find myself thinking that I should do this more often. Then the roads re-open, the snow starts to melt and the lure of more exotic locations call… see you back here in three years?