Remnants of a winter snowfall
Greetings photography enthusiasts. It’s Friday, and time for a new monthly foto flog.
Please note that this is a reboot of a series that went to seed a few years ago. I know that there are some photo hobbyists like me who post here already. Hoping to incite a bit more “community behavior” in our community blog. AndiF and BobX used to curate the old foto flog. Others contributed quite regularly, and I suspect I’d miss way too many people if I tried to name them all.
I don’t use anything especially fancy. Right now my Samsung Galaxy 6 keeps humming along, and it continues to serve me well for most general photography purposes. Unless that phone goes bad, I plan on keeping it for at least the next couple years. Some of our regulars have actual professional equipment, and before Photobucket turned into such a drag, we were graced by some absolutely stunning landscape shots, close-ups of flowers and insects, and some abstract photography.
So, I am hoping to incite a few of our hobbyists to post some photos – ideally winter themed this month. If you don’t want to post photos, just use it as a regular cafe – we can always use a safe space or two to just shoot the breeze. Next month, I’ll be back with another Foto Flog. Enjoy.
Tips and recs are warmly appreciated.
Photography started out as a hobby for me about four decades ago. I pestered my parents for a cheap Kodak Instamatic camera and finally got one around 1977 or thereabouts. Got involved with my school’s photography club and had a good time. I developed my love of landscape photography around that time as well. I used that old camera until I could get my hands on a proper 35 mm camera, which I still have after more than three decades. One of my kids has developed an interest in this hobby as well. I just made sure to start her on something closer to professional-quality from the get-go. In the intervening years, I’ve been able to capture some of the beautiful scenery that I’ve had the good fortune to experience. There are plenty of photographers who are far more talented than I could hope to be, but I always have a good time with whatever talent and equipment I have at my disposal. Ultimately that’s what matters, especially as a hobbyist.
Our one dusting of snow from last year:
Not enough to build a snowman, unfortunately. I’ve been hoping this year would give us more to work with. Winter’s far from over yet, but so far, it hasn’t looked promising in my neck of the woods. I’ll hold out hope for a while longer.
A beautiful evening to take a walk by the river:
I’ve always gravitated toward taking casual walks around sunset. The scenery, especially around where I live, has a certain serenity to it around that particular time. Winter and early spring are when I have taken some of my favorite sunset photos, both in my region and on those rare occasions when I get to travel to central Europe. There is a stark beauty and a briskness to the air that truly has to be experienced to be appreciated. I find the experience quite becalming.
This was taken in Vienna (just a few blocks from the convention center) last March, just a couple days after the Spring Equinox.
Once upon a time, we had several members who took some fantastic nature photos – JimF, AndiF, olivia, Indianadem and others come readily to mind. I’m primarily focused on urban landscapes and the green spaces within those urban landscapes, but that inevitably has a different vibe. I would love to incite some fellow photo enthusiasts who get to consistently spend more time away from urban/suburban/exurban existence to get into the habit of sharing photos. I think we have an opportunity here to tell a story about how we as humans are treating our planet, and perhaps document what we may soon lose if we are not careful. Just a thought.
Peace Park in Columbia, MO, taken many winters ago:
We got a decent snowfall and then almost immediately lived with consistent temperatures below 0 (Fahrenheit). Those were the conditions when I took this photo. Of course, that meant I got my car warmed up enough to drive and took some more photos. But this one is still my favorite from that particular set of photos.
Forgot to mention that this was also from mid-Missouri around the mid-1990s. It still gets plenty cold there, but it seems that the sorts of consistently frigid winters like the ones I experienced back in the day are a bit fewer and farther between.
Many thanks for continuing this series. Let me see if I have anything worthy.
Always appreciate the support. At its best, the old foto flogs were a great space to bring a bunch of hobbyists together. I know your paintings are based on photos that I presume you took – so if I am making the correct inference, I get the feeling you’ve got some worthy photos. 🙂
The ones I posted from one of my early winter experiences in the Midwest were taken with my trusty old 35mm. Before all hell broke loose a couple years ago, I began scanning my old photos onto my hard drive and backing them up onto a cloud account. I am hoping to get back to that task, which will be quite time consuming, later this year. I’ll likely scan photos in dribs and drabs as time permits. A few of those will probably grace this blog.
Do you have something planned for tomorrow? If so, no problem. If you don’t, I’d like to post one featuring nominated songs at this year’s Oscars.
I’ve got a crazy busy Wednesday, so Midweek Cafe and Lounge, Vol. 49 is all yours if you want it. 🙂
I want it. I’ll do it. I have the music, now to find the drink.
Awesome! You knocked it out of the park last time around. I can hardly wait to see what you have in store this time. 🙂