Church Infrared

Posted by reesephoto on February 28, 2015

Wreckers from the Past

Posted by reesephoto on February 27, 2015

These old tow trucks sit in a lot slowly rusting away, and after driving by them numerous times I decided to stop and ask to shoot them. The owner said I was not the first one to stop and he gladly agreed to let me snap a shot. The color version was done with my spotlight after it was pretty dark and the other was done with my infrared camera. The color shot took maybe twelve different exposures with the light till I got the whole truck lit.I would rather do 3-10 second exposures than 1-30 second exposure because if I mess up with the light I hate waiting thirty seconds till I see the error. These old classics probably have many stories they could tell of coming to the aid of many a motorist over the years.

View of the Park

Posted by reesephoto on February 24, 2015

This is a second angle of the chair ice sculpture in the Lititz park.It has a perfect view of the train station and chocolate factory.

A Warm Seat Awaits

Posted by reesephoto on February 23, 2015

Actually a warm seat awaits across the street at the Tomato Pie Cafe in downtown Lititz ,Pa. I photographed this ice sculpture yesterday and thanks to a stretch of bitter weather, it is still hanging around from last weekends fire and ice festival. The cafe recently added sunday hours and judging by all the footprints in the snow,it seems half the town was headed there. I light painted the scene to add some texture to the snow on an otherwise overcast and flat light morning. I would have preferred fresh untouched snow but folks must have been out and about saturday night leaving all the tracks so it works for a cool shot. This was the first day temperatures climbed to the freezing mark and seemed downright balmy while I shot this.

The Park Bench

Posted by reesephoto on February 22, 2015

Might be a bit cold to sit and enjoy the park in Lititz,Pa right now, but this was a great photo spot during the lititz fire and ice festival to sit with friends for a snapshot.The colors in the ice come from playground equipment behind the ice sculpture.

Galloping toward Spring

Posted by reesephoto on February 20, 2015

A Lititz ice festival carving sits frozen for the time being with no signs of thawing anytime soon.

Cross Your Heart

Posted by reesephoto on February 18, 2015

Another ice sculpture from the Lititz fire and ice festival this past weekend. This particular one was located in front of the post office and despite my complaining over the brutal temperatures,the upside was there was no one else out to get in my way while I did the photo. Brutal cold just makes the whole process more complicated,from batteries that die too quickly to tripods that are harder to operate to fingers that hurt so bad you almost want to scream,but you push on because you love the experience. I guarantee every time I see this image, I will instantly remember the whole experience including the bitter cold.

The Apartment Complex

Posted by reesephoto on February 17, 2015

Fresh snow adds a delicate accent to this colorful housing development for birds. Everyone must be staying in bed because the snow is still on the holes. The poor resident in the top unit probably still thinks it is night-time because his hole is covered.

Warm Heart on a Cold Day

Posted by reesephoto on February 16, 2015

This shop window in downtown Lititz was the only hint of something warm on an otherwise brutally cold day yesterday. A light dusting of snow added a nice contrast on the sidewalk.The only other folks I saw were three guys clearing the sidewalks and one of them had nothing more than a single sweatshirt on. Now I know common sense is in short supply these days but seriously who wears only a sweatshirt in 3 degree weather with a wind chill of minus 18?

Lititz Fire & Ice Festival

Posted by reesephoto on February 15, 2015

Last night a light snow moved into the area and since the small town of Lititz,Pa was holding its annual fire and ice festival this weekend I decided to brave the elements and get a few shots. I woke at 5 am today,went back to bed and laid there pondering the choice of staying nice and cozy in bed or going out into 2 degree weather with thirty mile an hour winds that made it feel a wonderful minus 18 degrees. Well I finally mustered the enthusiasm to get bundled up and head out and this shot of old man winter blowing his air was very apropos for the day. I lit this with flash and intentionally did a shot to cast the shadow onto the snow for added interest. Ice is very tricky to light and getting the right angle takes a little work to reveal the carving details.

I shot for about twenty minutes till my two batteries were drained, and then I sat in my truck with the heater warming them up to bring them back to life for a few more shots. I bounce back and forth between really enjoying mother natures intense weather and asking myself what possesses me to go out in weather like this? Inevitably I must take a glove off to change camera settings and today that was a really numbing experience after about a minute of the glove off. The upside was there was only three other brave souls that I encountered taking photos of these things and they all had cell phones. The guys who carve these do a great job using a variety of tools from chain saws to grinders to blow torches and the event is always packed with visitors from near and far.