Altered View of January

We are having a strange winter here in Wisconsin. Chalk it up to a fluke, or global climate change, but we have had almost no snow this season. The lakes are still open water and none of the skating rinks are open. I imagine the ski hills are having a rough year.

I wanted to try something a bit different to capture the feel of what I see around me. The colors are not a completely uniform gray-brown, yet a normal photo just looks like November. Rather than a straightforward shot, I thought I'd dial the aperture down to its smallest setting (f/22-29 depending on focal length) and the ISO to s-l-o-w (100). This forced the shutter down to 1/5th of a second or even a bit longer.



I like the results. It captures the mood and the bright gray of the sky, dark gray of the lakes, and the bare trees. I looked primarily along Lake Monona for the images I wanted to capture, and as there are many parks and walking areas, there is also some playground equipment to add some color. Again, I hoped for the suggestion of what was there more than the thing itself.



I took about twenty images and got five that I liked. Not bad. I think I might try the same technique at Olbrich, perhaps with the Thai Pavilion as the subject, on another day. These were all 'targets of opportunity' along my drive home from an errand. [If you do not have your camera with you, you cannot take pictures!] I like this last one because an obliging walker was coming down the path as I was taking the shots.



I hope you enjoyed my altered vision as much as I enjoyed altering my mind-space to go for the effect. There was no Photoshop used, merely a bit of adjustment to brightness, levels, and saturation. Oh, and this is an excellent way to discover if you have dirt on your sensor! It really stands out. *grin*