The Quiet Picture

The temperatures have been cold enough to keep the snow we got on Thursday. Today is the coldest day yet, had 6 below in the morning and it has only crept up above freezing now in the afternoon. So on with all the winter clothes, and out to play in the (little) snow… and yes, I did enjoy it!

Sometimes there is particular irony that photography is called “shooting”.

So I drove to my favourite creek again. No rain, but very slippery rocks. As I was making my way through the bushes, I suddenly heard a gunshot. Very close by! I stopped to have a look around, but I was fairly well hidden among the branches so no way a hunter could mistake my blue jacket for a moose. It got my heart racing though, and then there was another shot. And another. I stopped counting after 10 shots and I had some trouble concentrating on my own shooting. I kept thinking, what should I be most afraid of? A trigger happy hunter or a wounded moose? Then I thought of wounded bears and decided that I should definitely be most afraid of wounded bears. I really had to breathe deep for a moment to convince myself to continue. I kept stopping to have a look around me and shouting some “haloo”s at frequent intervals though, just in case. The key is to make them know that you’re there! But after a while when the ridge got between me and the gunshots, I calmed down and just had a great time again, discovering new detail in the creek.

I don’t know if I was in any danger while I was there. I don’t know if it was someone just doing target practice or someone in need of it (how many shots does it take to kill a moose?). But maybe the shooting did frighten the local wildlife so there wasn’t any risk of running into a bull moose again. Other than maybe a wounded one. Anyone who thinks that photography is boring? Join me on my next excursion to an almost inaccessible creek during the moose and bear hunting season!

I have been looking forward to this weekend ever since the first weather forecasts had started coming in earlier in the week. The forecast said rain - and I couldn’t have been happier! I might have gotten a bit fed up with shooting water all winter last year, but time heals all wounds and now I’ve been missing it again. Overcast weather is just what you need, and a touch of rain on the rocks. I’m not too keen on dry rocks, they usually just look very dull in the pictures.

The morning started clear and cold and I got out already at dawn to catch the sunrise at Loossjön. It got overcast very soon after that, so I got home and started waiting for the rain. When the cloud cover got ever lower and I could smell the rain in the air, I drove to my favourite creek. In fact, I reckon this is my favourite photography spot in all of Loos! I figured it should be at its best now, with autumn leaves covering the rocks and low water to reveal some interesting detail. I was right about both and I was having an absolute blast, I couldn’t imagine anything better to do with my weekend! One thing that was missing though was the rain, so I had to make do with some dull rocks in the images. But I was too happy to mind that.

Because I had been so sure that it would be raining, I had taken the old 20D with me - you know, my bad weather camera? Getting the camera wet was not an issue though, but at least I proved the fact that the 20D didn’t go all bad with a new camera in the house.

The rain finally started in the evening. Since it should stay overcast until tomorrow afternoon (I hope anyway), I will make another visit to my favourite creek. I just want to see if those wet rocks make any difference… or the new camera, for that matter!

I will never be a wildlife photographer. Guaranteed. Before I start the story, I should mention the camera settings I was using before the following takes place (why this is important, will become obvious a bit later): mirror lock-up, ISO 100, f16 and 0.8 sec, IS switched off.

When I was walking back to my car, I followed the ridge above the creek (just because it’s a lot easier to walk there, instead of the treacherous rocks and thicket down at the creek). At one point I got a good view down to the water and I stopped to consider if I could frame a picture. When suddenly I saw some movement down below - a bull moose! So I pulled out the camera, the moose unaware of me, when the animal moved behind a bush so I couldn’t see it. I moved sideways to get a clear view again, simultaneously trying to change the settings in the camera (I hit the wrong button twice before I finally found the ISO button and changed to 400) when the moose spotted me and started to run up the opposite bank. I take a picture… with the freaking MLU, f16, 0.8 sec and no IS! But the moose was still working up the hill, so I switched on IS, changed to aperture priority so the camera can figure out the rest and take another picture. With mirror lock-up still on! Not that it made any difference. I was in a dark forest on a dark day, so I would’ve struggled to get a fast enough shutter speed even with ISO 800, f4 and appropriate exposure compensation (-1 stop, at least). Those two pictures I had taken, they were stunningly blurry and over-exposed and not a moose in sight. Not that you could tell anyway.

My hands were shaking, seriously. To be honest, I was worried that the bull would come up on my side of the creek because when I saw it, it was sure heading directly at me. The best scenario would’ve been that I got the picture and then made myself known so the moose would run away. It wasn’t a big bull, just a 4-pointer I think, but I didn’t feel like going head to head with it.

Nope, I think I will stick to shooting flowers. And a favourite creek every once in a while.

Cancel Easter. It has got to be the most wasted holiday of the year… especially when it falls late enough to miss the spring snow and it will obviously never be early enough to benefit from the spring growth. Well, “never” as in a decade or so, with what’s going on with the climate. *sigh*

Anyway, I made an effort to shoot the crocuses in Färila yesterday. The wind seems to have beaten them into submission and I only found a couple of flowers that were borderline photogenic but not enough to bother to make a spectacle out of myself by the busy road so I gave up before I even started. And the hepatica behind my garage are taking their time to bloom properly… they probably don’t quite appreciate the cold weather, but I reckon they’ll be just fine for the next weekend.

But, as some wise photographer once said, if you can see the light - then shoot it!

We had a little bit of snow overnight, but unfortunately we also had a lot of wind so the trees are bare. And the little bit means that dry flower stems and grasses are sticking out through the snow, so we are still not talking about the snowscapes I’ve been waiting for. But, one has to be grateful for the little things, so I happily shoveled the snow from the driveway and then set out with the camera.

And so it happened that my only photos from today were from the small nameless creek I have visited many times before. Argh! There has got to be some other pictures to take than water all the time! I just can’t find them…

Speaking of water, I ventured out on the ice at the Kyrkbytjärnen lake. I’ve seen that the ice has been building up steadily despite the weather, and I’ve also seen people on the lake so the ice should hold for sure. I kept close to the shore though… and then I heard it crack under my foot. A few more steps, and more cracking. I didn’t waste any time in turning back. I have this thing about falling through ice - I don’t like it. I’m funny that way.

Another long, boring weekend ahead. Looks like the only photo ops I can find these days is moving water, so I drove to the Österhocklan creek, armed with a Cokin Blue/Yellow varicolour filter (otherwise known as a Blue/Gold polarizer). I don’t normally like gimmick filters but it felt like a gimmick was exactly what I needed to lift my spirits while I wait for the winter to arrive. I’ve had the B/G filter for years, but I’ve hardly ever used it - seemed like a good idea at the time, but I never really found any application for it. But now I’ve discovered that it can be quite nice with water and ice images which otherwise would be very greyscale.

Here’s a little series to demonstrate the effect of polarizers. Image P is shot with a normal polarizer. N is “naked” - no filters. B is the B/G polarizer with a blue basis, and G is with the same filter rotated 90 degrees for a gold basis.

When I arrived at the creek, I was surprised to find it almost iced over. I guess we’ve had more below zero temperatures than I thought…

I quickly changed my plan to look for interesting ice formations instead of interesting white water formations, and ended up with a very nice photography session. A blue day with a golden lining!

Remember that big rain we had in August? I paid a visit to the small creek that had caused the road cave-in back then. I followed the creek downstream and was amazed at all the evidence of the flooding that were still scattered around the forest floor. The grass was flattened out in the flow direction. The rocks were bare (normally they’d be moss covered). The banks were eroded with big caves under some tree roots close to the water (just a matter of time before the roots give in and the trees fall). And the most telling evidence, the gravel and small rocks that used to be part of the road - they were scattered along the creek a couple of hundred meters down. I tried to imagine what it had looked like on that day… a roaring current, washing away everything in its path… now it was just a tiny creek. Never underestimate the power of nature, especially in these changing times.

So this miserable and warm December drags on. It’s been a while since I’ve done any serious photography, so I decided to check out a creek close to home. I don’t know why I haven’t been there before - it would be a walking distance away, as the crow flies. But I can’t fly over the dense forest, marsh and steep cliff, so I drove around the obstacles and then walked up and down the creek; it was relatively easy actually compared to the jungle I had to get through at Nätsjöbäcken. The dark day felt brighter when I happily viewed the whitewater and snapped my pictures. Not that any of them turned out to be particularly good, but the real kicker was the potential - this is the kind of place where you’ll always find something interesting, so I’ll be back.

I think a snowmobile trail crosses the creek at one place, or used to do anyway. There is another bridge a few hundred meters upstream, and that one is a whole lot sturdier. My self preservation instinct took over and I used the other bridge.