A Bird (or two) in the Hand…

February 18, 2015 | drawandshoot

1&2 nuthatch

3,4 &5 female downy woodpecker

6&7 chickadee

8,9 &10 male downy woodpecker

Finding the sweetness of winter. It’s a cold one…

The Tree Swing

February 12, 2015 | drawandshoot

An early winter photograph made from a moving car (subtly layered with a similar drive-by image). I didn’t notice the swing at first but it now seems rather fitting for the dizzy ‘merry-go-round’ feel of the image.
~A placeholder for summer~

Winter Light (Abstracted Landscapes)

February 4, 2015February 4, 2015 | drawandshoot

I made the above series of photographs a while ago and had decided that they were pretty much failures. Except.

Except there is something about that luminous winter light and those subtle tones. And perhaps I am reconsidering these images because I recently saw the visually sumptuous movie ‘Mr. Turner’ and these sort of ‘landscape sketches’ have taken on a slightly different meaning. Or perhaps they are still failures, I haven’t quite decided. Either way they are an interesting part of the image making process (for me) so here they are.

Different light on a different day.

[Each one of these images is a ‘drive-by’ photograph, made from the passenger seat of a moving car]

Seed Pearls

January 26, 2015January 27, 2015 | drawandshoot

[Another Winter Garden with fresh growth from the self-seeding frost on the cold window ~ the glow of the frozen water drops made me think of seed pearls.]

Winter Garden 2

January 21, 2015January 21, 2015 | drawandshoot

Every winter I find myself pressed up against this window holding my breath while I turn my lens on the forming frost. A tiny new garden grows during each cold spell and it’s never the same. You can find last January’s ‘Winter Garden’ here .

(spirit of ) Evergreens at Dusk

January 18, 2015January 19, 2015 | drawandshoot

during snowfall…

[Layered exposures, made with camera movement]

Karen McRae, 2015

Winter Field ~ Sunflowers

January 13, 2015 | drawandshoot

I meant to come here in the summer (and the autumn) to study this field of sunflowers in full bloom but here I am only managing to photograph them in January while their dark heads are bowed with the weight of winter.

Karen McRae, 2015

It’s Better (and colder) In Real Life

January 8, 2015January 9, 2015 | drawandshoot

I can’t resist the call of the river, even at (especially at?) -25c. The way the cold transforms the landscape is always captivating and I especially love visiting the places where the water runs fast and manages to defy the freezing temperatures. It can be difficult to truly capture the majesty of the winter wonderland but perhaps that is part of what keeps me coming back.