Old Man Winter

Seasons change. And when late fall is finally done, Old Man Winter does more than just turn down the thermostat. His icy breath also blows away color like a strong wind ridding the trees of their last leaves.

When the snows come, those same trees often become part of a new black and white fairyland that evokes an entirely different set of emotions.

As a photographer at this time of year I see new textures and transitions that would be completely obscured by color in the summertime. The master black and white photographer Ansel Adams often stated that color can not only be distracting, but may also interfere with one’s control over the scene before him.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love color for what it can do for a wide variety of photographic images. But without it I can often see subtle patterns and dimensions that infuse the resulting photos with a entirely new kind of reality.