White Out

Christmas 2009 was whiter than many would have preferred, with 14" of

powder (on top of 10" from the previous storm) blanketing much of

Nebraska. We haven't seen the high side of freezing in a while, so the

swingset hasn't been getting much use. Any suggestions for improvement?

Nice shot... it feels cold and lonely out there. Since you've provided the grey border, it might look good with the snow fading gently to white at the edges. It's hard to tell at this size but the density makes it look a bit dingy without providing much textural information. How does it look in final printed form?

Hi Ben,

I like the theme of this photo. Because of the 'minimalistic' composition it looks very desperate and isolated. Well done! IMO there is little left of the texture of the snow. On the ground that isn't really a problem, but I think it's a pity the snow on the swing misses texture so that it transits to the background without a 'border'. Overall: good job!

Regards, Pim

Thanks for your comments.

Timothy, I like your idea about fading to white along the edges. I tried to get the bulk of the snow lighter, but I didn't want to lose the shadow, and I didn't want to get too much pixelization in what little texture the snow does have. The curve is already stretched quite a bit through that portion. There is some texture along the focal plane where the swing & shadow reside, but nothing fore & aft of that.

Pim, I fought with the texture on the swing for a while in post. It was an overcast day with zero directionality to the light, so the snow on the swing really does just fade into the background. I agree that it's unfortunate.

You're welcome :). The circumstances were not optimal and you got a good result under those. Still I like the theme and the way you worked it out.

Regards, Pim