Snowstorm

Just a quick post on the snowstorm that's been throwing things out of gear here in Montreal and the surrounding areas over the last couple of days.  I decided to work from home because I had a really hard time driving back in the snow last evening.  The car skidded a number of times and once I got home, I had an even harder time trying to get the car into the parking spot.  There was way too much snow and it felt like I was driving into a snow bank.  I was nervous as hell, this being the first major snowstorm I've driven in, and I just didn't want to risk driving back and forth today, especially after a freezing rain warning.

 

I had wanted to get to the last row of trees you see in the background.  The white field of snow beyond that row of trees is actually the frozen river :)

My bedroom blinds were pulled down, so I hadn't a clue what was happening outside since the morning, till I got up to go to the kitchen to grab something for lunch.  Lunch was forgotten when I saw that the snow was coming down in humungous flakes.  I donned my protective clothing, packed up my camera, picked up my tripod and headed out into the snow.  

I was optimistic about being able to get close to the river, because I wanted a shot of the Champlain bridge across the river in the snowy haze.  But no such luck!  The snow was at least 6 - 8 inches deep, and there was no way I could go in there.  I didn't have a lot of time, since I had to get back to my work, so I just put down my tripod any where I could and shot off a few frames.

I'm not totally satisfied with the compositions for a couple of reasons - I had to hurry back, and you cannot really do a lot when you are strapped for time.  I was using my 17 - 50 mm lens, but the snow prevented me from going further back to be able to get more of the scene.  So, I just mostly stayed in one place and did what I could.  Additionally, the snow was getting on my lens and it just didn't feel safe.  So, I packed up after about 10 shots or fewer, and headed back home.  I got some curious looks from the occasional drivers who were brave enough to be on the road - I just smiled back at them, knowing what they might be thinking - what a crazy woman she must be! ;-)

The white blotches in this image is snow on my lens :)

A Cold and Misty Morning

I remember the first time I had seen the mist over the river one chilly winter morning last year.  I had been on my way to work and when I'd looked out of the window, I'd seen mist curling up from the water's surface.  I hadn't seen anything like that before, and I remember being intrigued by it.  I was on the bus, no camera handy, so all I could do was whip out my cellphone and click a couple of snaps before the road curved and the river was out of sight. I mentioned it to a colleague and he told me that he had seen it before and that it happened on a chilly and bright morning right after a mild day during the winter.  It made sense that the cold air would mist up when it came in contact with the relatively warmer waters.  And since that first time, I'd seen this once more after that.

Since I'm on vacation, and I thought it might be nice to do some photography at sunrise, I decided to wait for a mild day followed by a really bright and chilly one.  I checked the weather, checked the cloud cover, and then checked the temperatures.  Seemed perfectly what I was looking for!  So, I set the alarm for 6:30 am.  

I would need about 15 to 20 mins to reach the spot I had in mind, and then another 5 mins. or so to set up.  I would have at least 20 mins, before the actual sunrise at 7:33 am.  Except when I reached the spot, I realized that the sun had moved during its annual journey and the sunrise wouldn't be visible from that spot any longer.  I was frantic.  I walked down another 500m or so and found the spot where it looked like the sun might be hiding just below the horizon.  Praying that was it, I set up.  

The temperature was minus 19 deg C and with the windchill it was around minus 23.  I was dressed quite warmly and I hadn't planned on staying out for long anyway.  But the wind, especially because I was right next to the river, was bone chilling.  My ears and nose started to freeze first, and then my fingertips.   

And then the magic happened!  The sun started to peep out just above the horizon and as it got a little bit brighter, I saw the mist curling upwards - slow, small curls to begin with, and then it suddenly seemed like the river water was boiling and steam started pouring forth. The wind blew the mist right up to the shore, and it was absolutely breathtaking! 

I forgot my fingers, and my toes.  I just kept my eyes on the river.  And all of a sudden, a flock of ducks landed on the water.  That was a once-in-a-lifetime sight that I wasn't prepared with my camera for.  I had no idea that there would still be ducks in this kind of weather, but the winter had been really mild up to that point, and I have a feeling the birds, and the trees are thoroughly confused by it.  

I wasn't carrying my long lens, so I took a couple of shots and zoomed in on my LCD to see what species of ducks they were.  Although they were back-lighted by the sun, the shapes of their heads and bills told me they were Goldeneyes and Mergansers.  It set me wondering if these ducks remained in this region all year round, but that would be difficult because when the river finally freezes over, they would find no food!  

Anyway, I am planning to make another trip down to the river in the next few days to see if I can find them again. I also saw a Mallard family swimming closer to the shore than the other ducks and it would be interesting to see if they hang around during the winter as well.  I do remember seeing a pair of them early this year, when there was still a lot of snow on the ground and the little lake in the forest was still frozen.

Since I'd missed the photo op of the ducks landing on water, I thought I might be able to see them leave.  But no luck - I waited for over 2 hours, but they stuck around happily swimming in the golden mist!  They looked beautiful like that, but I know they would look beautiful at take-off.  And my half-hour outing had turned into 3.5 hrs, and I couldn't feel my toes and fingertips any more.  I was scared I'd get frostbite, and therefore turned to head home.  And would you believe that I had hardly left the scene, when I heard the ducks take flight?  I looked out over the river again.  There indeed they were, flying off into the distance, and being behind a cluster or really tall trees, it made no sense to even attempt a shot.  

Well, damn the ducks, at least I had the opportunity of seeing the mist over the river that morning!  

Day 283 - Out in the Snow Again

I think this week's theme will be snow!  That will also force me to go out and get some fresh air everyday.

Patterns in the snow

This brave girl walked all the way on the frozen river, kicking up the snow and ice!  What courage!  I was tempted to go down there and do the same, but I remembered in good time that I would be tempting Fate, since I don't even know how to swim! 

Reaching up and reaching out?  

Day 282 - Frozen to the Bones

I went out with a friend to do some outdoor portraits as he's a very athletic guy who loves winter sports.  We wanted to capture his outdoorsy nature, but how much can you smile or click in frigid temperatures and knee-deep snow?  Going out in the middle of the afternoon with the sun right overhead didn't help matters one bit.  But we still got a few fun shots.

And this last shot is to only demonstrate how much snow we battled on location.  I wish I could also convey the extreme cold in some way, but alas, you might as well just take my word for it!

Day 222 - Frozen

We had buckets of snow this morning and I was itching to go out.  However, consideration for my camera kept me indoors while the snow came gliding down in huge flakes - like bits of fluffy cotton.

I looked out of the window and saw some kids with their siblings and parents building snowmen and snow castles.  I don't know what I was thinking when I asked my son if he wanted to go out and do that with his friends.  The answer was of course an expected "NO! Why would I want to do that?!  I play in the snow on schooldays!"  So much for trying to get him to go out.

So, once it stopped snowing, I picked up my gear and left to go to the riverside, hoping to find some birds.  I carried bird seeds in my pocket, and was worried that the poor creatures were going to be hungry since they couldn't really go out foraging in this miserable weather.  As expected, however, I hardly saw any birds, except a few chickadees, and another warbler-like bird that I saw vaguely, but couldn't get a proper shot of.  So, I scattered some seeds around the place and moved on.  Maybe they found them and fed their hungry selves?

I was out for an hour and a half, until the wind started to pick up and it started to drizzle.  There was freezing rain in the forecast, and I didn't want to be out in that, and neither wanted to damage my camera.  So, I just stashed everything into my bag and beat a quick retreat.  

Here are some shots from the afternoon:

208 mm, f/7.1, 1/50s, ISO 800, Manual Mode, AWB

Didn't really get a good shot of the chickadee which was sitting high up on this tree, quite a distance away

250 mm, f/8.0, 1/60s, ISO 1600, Manual Mode, AWB, Flash fired at -1 stop to add fill light and freeze the swaying branch as there was a lot of wind

208 mm, f/8.0, 1/60s, ISO 1600, Manual Mode, AWB

90 mm, f/2.8, EV +1, 1/100, ISO 400, AWB, Shutter Priority, Flash fired at -1 stop to freeze the motion as there was a lot of wind

146 mm, f/5.6, 1/30s, Manual Mode, ISO 100, Flash fired at -1 stop

Day 217 - The Blizzard

Just a quick post for yesterday.  This shot was taken through my second floor bedroom window.  The glass was dirty and I had the wrong lens  but it did its job.

I felt guilty taking photos of this little kid struggling and stumbling through knee-deep snow.  But this is life here - I did the same on Monday.

Day 216 - The Snow Continues ...

... with winds howling outside my window, blowing the snow around and throwing everything out of gear!

I was expecting the snow storm since I'd been keeping close tabs on the weather forecast and so I decided to bring my little point & shoot camera with me to work today.  I didn't want to risk getting moisture into my other camera since it's really a basic camera and neither the body, nor the lenses, are weather-sealed.

After being busy all day, I realized that the light was waning fast on an already gloomy day.  So I walked over to our cafeteria and shot down on the blizzard from the fourth floor windows.  I couldn't get many decent shots either by way of composition, or by way of settings.  There's hardly any optical zoom, so the digital zoom on the camera got me a lot of noise and I couldn't really crop in tight either.  And there were reflections on the glass window to boot.  

These were the best shots from the evening.

The patterns caused by the footprints in the snow were pretty interesting, especially in the second shot.

Day 207 - Snow-Crowned Sparrow

Nah - there's no such species like that!  Read on, and you'll know what I mean.

We had the first proper snow of this season.  When I awoke this morning, I was greeted by a white blanket that God had decided to lay over the sleeping world.  It looked beautiful, and I always enjoy watching the snowflakes come gliding down.  But today, it was windy, really windy, although not too cold.  I picked up my camera, donned a jacket over my jammies and got out on the balcony for the first shots.

I probably scared the sparrows as I stepped onto the balcony and I suddenly heard a big flapping of wings and squeaks and chirps and then saw a cloud of sparrows rise up and take itself to the trees nearby.  I saw a pair of them that sat together and as I aimed my camera at them, I saw one of them lean over and eat snow off one of the branches.  I was quick enough to catch the action, however, it was so windy, the branches and the motion of the sparrow kinda blurred the shot a bit.  And then I saw the little bit of snow that had collected on this sparrow's head - he looked adorable, the little snow-crowned sparrow!

Serious birders would have a heart attack if they were to see nothing beyond the title of the blog post!  ;-)

In the above shot, I think I see a mist from the sparrow's breath.  I might be hallucinating entirely as well.