Yesterday when we stopped for a lunch break during our skiing, I noticed these snow covered tables and chairs off in one corner of the courtyard up in the Mid-Vail ski ‘hut’. Usually they have the BBQ running and there are a ton of folks milling about getting some fuel for the rest of the day’s running the mountain. Not today. So these were sitting idle, collecting some snow.
I had figured out how to get my DSLR tucked into my ski jacket, even with the 17-40 mm lens, no mean trick, as this jacket was going on 15 years old, and I am a size or two larger than when I bought it. My goal was to photograph ‘skiing’, using a 2 stop neutral density filter, keeping the ASA at 100 and stopping down to f/9 to get a longer exposure time while using Av mode. I could get a longer exposure by stopping the lens down further, but then I would be getting well past my optimal f/7.1 and reducing my effective resolution. I was looking to pan the camera and introduce some blurr with a spot of focus, a take-off on my drive-by’s. And NO I was not doing this when I took my tumble, thank you very much. I am very selective when I do this photography manover, as it’s kinda of tricky since I am a clutz to begin with.
So I am thinking one kind of photograph (actually taking some of the photographs that I want) when I see this other potential image, about 180 degrees from what I am doing. After taking a couple of photographs, I find that it is not working for me. But I still see the potential, when I notice the stair case running up behind the tables. Bingo! It was just the advantage that I needed. After lunch, I stopped here again to bracket a couple more images and slight variations on this theme. I think that this was the second image I made from my new advantage point. But this was a chance encounter. I figured out a way to pack along the camera (and I really must have looked like a dork with that camera under my jacket), but then I was prepared for something that I had no idea would be there waiting for me. It was a real monochromatic picture, but in color, with the shadows, a tad too much blue, so for me the black and white mojo was the proper creative fix.
Might even make the cover of a book, eh?
Best regards, Doug
Singular Images 
This one is mesmerizing. Hope the ice packs have done the job.
Good decision with the b&w conversion. Like this image a lot…especially with the clumps of snow on the tabletop.
Great shot, somehow reminds me of Bresson!
I really like the image, too. When I first saw it, I thought: “What nice while chair covers.” They did look comfy until I looked closer and saw that they were snow. :-)
This image is not an original concept, bordering on a cliche, but it was just so perfect of an arrangement, that I just had to work with it;- )