January 2008 - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

The Coeur d’Alene City Park offers many amazing views. Some of the best are no doubt looking out over the stunningly beautiful lake, but there are just as many views not including the lake that rank just as high in beauty. Walking through the freshly fallen snow toward the lake, no footprints interrupting the soft, white blanket, I had to stop and capture this image. As I stood in the shadows, covered and embraced by them, my mind easily thought of how shadows are much like how and what we reflect to others. The impressions can be an exact shape of who we really are, top to bottom, and if they are not that, well they are simply cast from a false light.

January 2008 - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

As I was walking out through Ramsey Park, going from one side to the other, I came across this fallen leaf in the snow. It had created this beautiful impression and lay about an inch deeper than the surface of the snow. It was as if it had melted down into it for safety, securing a safe place from being taken by a gust of wind causing it to wander from the familiarity of its growing place…the branches above. It caught me as beautiful and a unique representation of Fall handing over the season to Winter.

January 2008 - Spokane, Washington

I get so excited exploring new roads! I had never ventured onto what is deemed “the prairie” in Spokane, until the day I shot this image. Ice and snow covered roads forced a slow driving speed, making me appreciate it all the more. I have always been fond of imagery with clouds and the one-of-a-kind natural creation they depict. Sitting in my car, window down, I snapped this image. I loved how the wide-angle framing allowed the dark mountains on the horizon to create a decisive break between snow and sky.

January 2008 - Spokane, Washington

I have yet to explore much of downtown Spokane, but I did find these fun blocks, meant for children to climb on in the Riverfront Park, and seeing them covered with snow made them all the more enticing. I wandered around shooting several different angles, but decided this one the best. The biggest reason for this was probably when I saw something in the picture that I hadn’t when I took it, that being how it spelled out O-N-E. Building blocks or steppingstones, it was a reminder of patience as I adventure along this journey, and that it really does need to be taken one step at a time.

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

Snow can really be used for all sorts of creative things, and this image is a perfect example of that. Take a slice of lime, drop it on the frozen ground and have your camera ready! Had this lime simply been placed on a white piece of paper, the result would have been quite different. Despite the depth of field being very small, there is enough snow in focus along the rim to create an interesting texture and frosty relationship with the lime.

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

House sitting for friends during a snowstorm made the shooting for this month’s thirty very convenient. I walked out the back door and through the two feet of snow to where this expired, thistle-like plant was sticking out of the snow. Sharp and tough looking, it had no choice but to surrender to the wind and weight of the winter weather. As with some many of my flower images and the preferred angle of shooting from underneath, this plant offered me that angle without having to lie on the ground.

January 2008 - Rathdrum, Idaho

Pushed up against the wall of one of the pavilions at Rathdrum City Park, the snow and icicles drooping from the roof, I shot this image looking off toward Hwy 53. I decided to throw and interesting angle on it in order to get as much of the formation in my viewfinder as possible, and to be honest rarely shoot anything perfectly straight on. It has been a long time since I have been in a place to once again enjoy the beautiful, frozen drips that make up icicles, but I can tell you it has made me feel like a kid at heart getting to. At this park they were falling from every roofline.

January 2008 - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

In the same park where I shot Images #92, #107 and #120, on my way to scatter the geese a second time, I came upon evidence of their recent existence in the area. It is not too obvious that this was taken in the snow, but nevertheless, it was. I had just scared the geese to flight in one of the sports fields at Ramsey Park and not getting the shot I wanted decided to follow them over to the field where they, lucky for me, landed. If I would have got shot #120 the first time I probably wouldn’t have walked to the other fields where I came across this, and for that matter, wouldn’t have captured Image #92 as it was just steps away from this left behind feather.

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

Once again in the backyard of the friends I was house sitting for, they had a new, young tree growing…this one. Not measuring more than four feet from the ground, it has a lot of growing to do. When I looked closely at the trunk, I realized it shares very similar characteristics to the bamboo image from November, #51. They are both freckled with these white spots. Once I saw that and the way the reddish bark looked against an all white background, I knew that would be the story to tell.

January 2008 - Rathdrum, Idaho

This image was a pleasant surprise that came to life on my computer screen in post-production. When I was taking the image, seeing this last leaf hanging from the branch, it seemed too far away to really make a worthy image, also a reminder that having a longer lens right about then would have been fantastic…soon enough. With a few tweaks in contrast and enhancing of colors, it revealed something new. The nearly blown out sky came back to life around the edges and the branches now had character and meaning. I shot this in the same park as Image #97.

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

For this image, I simply took notice of the way the backyard snow looks when you bend down and skim your eyes across its surface. The late afternoon sun, struggling to shine through the tree line, created depth in the shadows. It reminded me of being at the sand dunes and how as the sun makes its way across the sky, the patterns change and you see a different landscape with each hour.

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

Same backyard, a few steps toward the tree line, a sign of life and renewal peeks its way from the hardening snow. Seeing this pine sprout against the white backdrop with the focus being dropped off on all sides, fit perfectly into my ongoing series of images shot in a similar way. It always amazes me that things manage to continue their growth under these harsh conditions, and it is an encouragement for enduring strength in my own life.

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

I wanted to offer images involving snow that weren’t just landscape shots or involving nature, and this was one of the many which I favored the most. I shot this within ten minutes of #101 and #102, looking toward the same tree line, and directly into the same setting sun. I walked into the house, grabbed this red pitcher and rested it softly in the snow. It became even more exciting seeing the reflections of the nearby trees and the mostly overcast sky, all giving more character to the surface of the glass.

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

Instead of pulling into the driveway of this amazing house I was staying at for a week, I decided to drive beyond it and explore whatever the windy road might offer. It was covered with pack snow and ice, but I put faith in my studded tires, and continued on into unfamiliar territory. I am so glad I did! I found this fence stretched out over someone’s property. What a reward for my curious mind that is always wondering what is beyond the next corner!

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

I think it has become obvious that I love to shoot random kitchen items. Why did I grab these mixers? It is all about shooting ordinary objects in extraordinary ways, and I think you might agree, this image and subject matter rests comfortably within that. There doesn’t have to be a big meaning behind an image, and taking the advice of many of my Brooks’ professors, the important thing is that you are always shooting. Live, breathing and sleeping photography! I am trying!

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

What do you think this is? I would love to hear what your first guesses were! As I am writing this, I just thought of something else it reminds me of. The family I nannied for back east had a painting in their kitchen, painted by the kids’ grandmother, and there was a portion of it that looked like an egg, this all of a sudden makes me think of it. I wonder if they would agree with me? No, I didn’t break open an egg on the snow, although now I am wondering what that would look like, and might have to try it. This is a wine glass with an orange bowl, I place upside-down in the snow, with the clear, glass foot closest to my camera. The rim of the foot is reflecting the orange colored bowl, and made for quite the mysterious image.

January 2008 - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Ramsey Park is right across the street from my sister’s espresso stand, and as you have read in the some of the previous stories, the location several of this month’s images were taken. After the geese flew off the first time, before following them, I first walked over to my car to grab another compact flash card, and that is when I saw this image. Right along the walkway up to the park restrooms, this grass or perhaps the beginnings of patch of flowers was struggling against the snow. I use the word struggle because of the dying tips being evidence.

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

I love how nature reveals itself in so many ways. There is some much the rings of a tree can tell about the life of a tree and the conditions it survived through. Wouldn’t it be interesting if we as people also had some sort of physical representation we shared without having to explain our past. Perhaps we would all be a little more compassionate and understanding of each other.

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

On that same back road of Twin Lakes, where I shot Image #104, in fact most likely the same property, this barn appeared as a pleasant surprise. I drove the distance beside and behind it, but when I was on my way back up the road heading towards home, this was the point of view I fell in love with. Framed within these small roadside trees, cold, blue mountains in the distance, it created a scene more interesting than having the barn itself in focus. What a beautiful piece of property!

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

After my drive beyond the driveway and returning to the house excited about the imagery securely on my flash cards, I was in a happy shooting mood. I love when that feeling takes over and you feel like you just need to keep shooting. Once I got back to the house, I didn’t even take the time to download the images, but rather stepped off the back patio and continued in the moment. This normally three feet fence, which surrounds the play area in the backyard, only had about eight inches of remaining security. After capturing Image #104, it seemed interesting to create something very similar…but different.

January 2008 - Rathdrum, Idaho

With this sort of image in my head, I purposely went to Rathdrum City Park to get it. There were only a few places I could stand where I didn’t get something distracting in the background, especially sinking down about a foot in the two that were on the ground at the time. The sun was out this day, but there were no children out to play. Had the sun not made an appearance there would be no shadows, which give this image more character than if not there. When was the last time you were on a string?

January 2008 - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

My sister and I had been told about the bald eagles that hang out along Lake Coeur d’Alene during December and January. We decided to go scope them out and perhaps be blessed with one close enough to create a usable image. We had a few hours of laughing and carrying on as we stalked the five or six we were able to see, but didn’t manage to get a super impressive shot. This image was the trade off! Driving out Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive, these beautiful trees line the road, and seeing them in the stark white landscape only enhanced their beauty. I shot it while reflecting on the many tree images I have already used for the project and how it would fit nicely into the collection.

January 2008 - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

I could have easily waited to use this image in another month’s thirty, but liked it too much to hold on to. Standing side-by-side, but so unique in appearance, that at the time made an unconscious analogy to so many diversified aspects of life. I hope this image can serve as a reminder that we all need to tolerate and embrace what sets us apart from the next!

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

I will immediately admit that this is by far my absolute favorite from all my “white” images for the month of January. I took over a hundred images of this melting icicle hanging from the patio roof with an attempt to still-frame this moment. Catching the drip as it is just about to disconnect from it’s previous state was about as much fun as a photographer can have, or at least me. It is all about being in the right place at the right time and being patient enough to see what is happening right in front of your eyes!

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

This image takes us back to that icy road alongside Twin Lakes. Seemingly abandoned, this old barn quite obviously shared the wear and tear of its many years of operation. Growing up with surrounded by barns, and even spending a lot of time in them unloading bales of hay, building hay forts and playing on rope swings, this was a treasure to come across. It was also fun framing it up in a way that I hope makes you pause a little longer than you would if I had shown you the entire building.

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

My first print show for this project was at a coffeehouse in downtown Coeur d’Alene, and the weather leading up to it didn’t lend a huge turn out, but was successful just the same. The bad roads, icy and slick, unfortunately forced some to not make it, and in fact I wasn’t even sure I was going to. We got over two feet of snow where I was house sitting, and it took my sister coming up later in the day, the show that night, to help me dig my way out of the driveway to get me there. I shot this image the morning of the show, kneeling down in the dining room, shooting through the window. I liked it so much, it had to be included, and thanks to the speedy printing of Camera Corral, it was!

January 2008 - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

This is the only image of the thirty where you don’t physically see snow and was another image I didn’t want to save for another month. I was however standing in about six inches of it when I clicked the shutter. This flag rises above the lakeside knoll of Coeur d’Alene City Park, a clear sight from the water. Placing the sun right behind the stars and stripes, the same way I shot Image #6, illuminated our national symbol in a way I have never captured before. The sky in the background was simply a bonus!

January 2008 - Twin Lakes, Idaho

More red pitchers on the snow! I wanted to include this one because it offered something very different than the previous one I used. The haze of the out of focus pitcher in the foreground, the small one in focus and the blown out snow in the background, all worked together to create something picture worthy. Red on White… sound familiar?

January 2008 - Rathdrum, Idaho

In the same fantastic park where I found the swing set was this bridge that crossed over a small creek running through the park. The snow was piled up and I was only intrigued by the scene because of the absence of any footprints to interrupt the pathway across. I suppose it was also the shadows caused from the orange railings and the texture of the snow that made that obvious, and all the more reason to want to capture it.

January 2008 - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Finally!! It only took two attempts but this is what I was after! There had been a flock of Canadian Honkers hanging out near my sister’s house, and I had told her I wanted to create an image with them in the snow for this month’s images. Each time after that when I went by to see if they were there, I had no such luck. One day she called me up with an urgency in her voice, sharing that she spotted a flock of about twelve in the park across the street from her coffee stand. I was a thirty-minute drive away, so I quickly threw my gear in the car and heading in her direction. Patiently they sat, taking a break from flight, until I came along wanting to create this image. They certainly didn’t, but I sure did appreciate their sacrifice for art!