Some of the most memorable images in history were made by simple matter of having a person with a camera who was there when the moment presented itself. Others come from anticipating the moment and getting out after it.
This is an example of the latter.
The photograph above was made last week — on the tail of a winter storm that officially dumped 10.6″ of snowfall on the Saline area. Winds, drifting snow, and biting cold came with the package. [1]
Weber-Blaess one-room school house was an appealing subject in this context. Originally built in 1867 and located on Ellsworth Road in Lodi Township (later moved to the City of Saline), it suggested an additional opportunity to stimulate conversation if not stir emotion: What do you think it was like for people who experienced winters like this in the 1800s? [2,3]
Timing was a challenge here as road crews struggled to get on top of things with salt and clearing. The longer you waited to go out, the greater the risk that those plows will have added or deleted from Mother Nature’s organic presentation. On the other hand, taking photographs during snow storms can make not just for unpleasant working conditions, but also lower contrast images.
This image was on the razor’s edge. About ten minutes after the photograph above was made, city vehicles were starting to move snow from the road into mounds, obstructing the fence.
Technical tips to improve such camera efforts include the use of supplemental lens filters and broader exposure bracketing (since metering will often be thrown off for these scenes). This is also a good time to consider processing your final result in black and white. [4,5,6]
Share your own results and see what others have done on Instagram.
References
Photographed on January 6, 2014 at 10:10am using Leica X2 camera with 24mm Elmarit f/2.8 lens, set to f/2.8 at 1/500-second and ISO 800 (hand-held).
- “January 4-5, 2014 Winter Storm” (Detroit/Pontiac, MI) National Weather Service.
- “Weber Blaess” Jim Hoeft, Saline Area Historical Society.
- “Saline’s Weber-Blaess one-room schoolhouse offers a living history lesson to visiting students” Lisa Allmendinger (May 29, 2011) The Ann Arbor News.
- “Lens Filters: Camera Lens Filters Explained” Exposure Guide.
- “Photographing Falling Snow” Jeff Newcomer (January 12, 2014) Getting it Right in the Digital Camera.
- “The Beauty & Challenges Of Winter Storms” Dave Welling (January 17, 2013) Outdoor Photographer.
