Magical Winter Morn

Last weekend, there was an unexpected snowfall on Saturday night into Sunday.  When I saw the snow in the morning, I threw on some clothes, grabbed my camera and took off in my car to photograph the magic of a winter morn.

Winter Tree Stand

There was something about the textures and shadows of all the trees gathered together that just begged for this to be a black and white image.  Color would only get in the way of the pattern that the trees created.  Even the fence posts, with their caps of snow, and the wire fencing added to the overall textural effect of this image.

Winter Barn

On a snow covered dirt road, I happened upon this quintessential winter scene.  The snow that remained on the trees perfectly framed the old red barn, which seemed to glow in the soft morning light.  The tops of the grass still showing above the snow line adds a bit of warmth to this image and gives you the feeling of looking at it from the inside of a nice, warm home.

Early Winter Morning

The sky was especially photogenic on this winter morn.  It was shades of gray, with some almost cream color in the sky.  You can even see the sun rising just above the horizon.  It, too, is shrouded in cloud cover, so its light is muted.

Long Hard Winter

This poor little cabin has been a favorite photo subject of mine for several years, and it’s now in such a state of collapse that you wouldn’t know it used to be a cabin unless you’d seen it in better days.  It still has plenty of character and reminds me of how hard winters could be on the plains in years past.

Barn in Field

This barn just caught my eye – a bright spot in the midst of grey and other neutral colors.  I liked the texture of the fence, weeds and old grass peeking up from the snow.  I feel like altho this is a quiet moment, activity lies just around the corner when the rancher’s family wakes up.

Pale Blue Winter Sky

There’s nothing quite like the pale blue that a winter sky can be sometimes.  I liked that you can see it thru the delicate pattern of the winter trees.  The fence in the foreground serves to ground us so we don’t all float away into the blue!

Tree Line

While driving on a seldom traveled snow-covered dirt road, I noticed this different sort of tree line.  I’m not certain if someone planted them in this way years ago, or how they happened to be lined up so perfectly on the side of the road, but they remind me of soldiers lining the route of some dignitary.  That would certainly not be me!

Enjoy!

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Napier Sunset

When leaving Napier, we had another lovely sunset!  We have been so lucky on this trip to see so many.  So, without further ado, let me share this latest beautiful ending to the day.

I love the way the sun is dipping behind the cloud front on the horizon.  You can really see the texture and shape of the clouds as they are silhouetted against the bright setting sun.

Things seem to quiet down, and the colors are becoming more subtle as the sun continues to set.  I also love the little wisps of clouds in the upper right of this image.

I’ve always heard about the “afterglow” when the sun sets, but never saw such a pretty illustration of that.  I felt the impression of the sun’s rays in the sky, without actually seeing them.  Just a perfect end to the day.

Enjoy!

Artful Blooms in Wellington

There were some beautiful blooms all along the city of Wellington, altho most were found in the Botanic Gardens.  It was spring there, and provided a lovely counterbalance to the autumn we were experiencing at home.  Take a look ~

This lovely bloom was found in Old St. Paul’s Church, in Wellington, New Zealand.  The lighting was naturally dramatic, coming in thru a window next to the flower.  It truly accented the beauty of this bloom.

Poppies were blooming in force and served as the perfect subject matter for this digital watercolor sketch.  You can almost feel the breeze that they were swaying in.

I’m glad I noticed the layers of petals that this rose had.  I felt that I needed to capture it from the side, showing off all the layers of its being. Having it be a digital watercolor sketch softened the look a bit.

The name of this waterlily is St. Louis Gold, and it certainly is standing tall in the pond at the Botanic Gardens.  The subtle shading of it adds to its delicate beauty.

The dramatic coloring of this Black Prince Waterlily really highlights it.  It makes a quiet, yet bold statement in the pond.  Nothing else there could quite match these striking colors.

Enjoy!

Photo Imagery at Christchurch

There was certainly a lot to see at Christchurch and some of the images just begged for a more creative process to be applied.  Hope you like the results –

New Regent Street is a very cool section in Christchurch.  It has quite a few shops and cafés and the hop-on, hop-off trolley runs right down the middle of it.  Altho there still some earthquake damage, it’s more charm than damage, and I found it to be a great subject for a digital watercolor sketch.  This is the section of the street showing several shops.

Here’s one of the beautiful flowers we saw today, and this one really fit with this quote. It’s true all the time, but when I think of what this area went thru with the earthquakes, the damage and the deaths, this thought really becomes powerful.

Back to New Regent Street, this time to have a look at the open air cafes.  I know it was early November, but remember, that’s spring down in the Southern Hemisphere, and today was a great day to have a bit to eat, a cup of coffee or tea, and just soak up the lovely warm weather.

Here’s a more formal painting type effect of some of the lovely pink blooms at the Botanic Garden.  The fragility of the petals is accented by this effect and the image seems to reflect the soft breeze that was slipping by at the time.

One of my favorite things about the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch were the benches along the Avon River.  This scene just seemed to want to be more of a sketch than a photo, and that was ok with me.  I don’t know how to draw, but I could imagine sitting on that bench actually sketching this scene, in an artistically perfect world!

 These tiny little blooms were very low and close to the ground.  It would be easy to miss them, with all there was to see in the gardens.  But, how much richer my experience for having looked down to see this little treasure.

Enjoy!

Low Church Gems

As we walked the road thru the village of Easo, on the island of Lifou, in New Caledonia, we came to a wonderful old Catholic church.  Altho it is obviously cared for, it no long seems to be used.  There are other photo images of it in my travel blog (http://travelswithnadineandjeff.blogspot.com), here are some sort of hidden gems within the overall scope of the church that I thought generated more art-like images.

Low Church Side Door

There was another church that sat high on a bluff in this village, and consequently, that church is commonly called the “high church” and this church the “low church”.  The side door of the low church was a true hidden gem.  I’m sure most people missed it, because they were so wrapped up in the front of the church.  But, this side door, tells the tale of those who worked and prayed at the church – the priest, alter boys, church caregivers, etc.  I’m sure this was there “main entrance” when they came to do the business related things that go along with prayer.

Low Church Front Door

The front door to the church is also something somewhat easily overlooked, as it sat with a very deep entryway.  But, when one focuses on it, the carving of the doors, an art in itself, becomes like a beacon welcoming all.

Low Church Window

This window was off on the far side of the church.  Again, most people would notice the series of windows on the other side, as they approached from the direction where a good number of villagers would come from.  But this singular window, aged and weathered from whatever storms may visit the island, has its own wonderful character to share.

Enjoy!

A Pretty View of Apia

There were some views of Apia that fell more into the category of art, than travel images.  Hopefully, you will agree!

As we walked down Main Beach Road, we approached what I thought was most likely an old estate home that was now a hotel.  I was certainly surprised to find out that today, it’s a casino!

In a previous post, I talked about how bright colors were used in slightly unusual ways.  This clock tower is such a bright pink color – most unusual, but somehow, appropriate in Apia!

This image of the colorful flowers found in town just seemed made for a watercolor sketch, and so that’s what it became.  It is one of my favorite images from this day of all the lovely ones I took.

I have no idea what this flower is, but I absolutely love it.  The shading of the orange apricot petals offset by the green foliage behind the tiny little blooms is almost delicious.

And, finally, this great image of a palm tree with coconuts up high.  I made sure to stand so that if a coconut fell off the tree, it didn’t hit me, and I couldn’t help but think of the song that talks about the lime in the coconut!

Enjoy!

Samoan Sunrise

When we got to the town of Apia, on the island of Upolu, in Samoa, we had the most different sunrise that I believe I’ve ever seen.  It seemed like the sky was trying to decide whether or not to rain or storm.  So, the sunrise was a bit muted, yet sort of golden, and then even sepia toned before the clouds decided to let the sun begin to shine thru.  Take a look.

Enjoy!