Here is a quick example of how adding light to a shot can transform an image. Top image as shot and bottom image as shot with flash thrown in the mix. I enjoy being able to change an image by simply using light to bring out texture in one way or another. This is a very simple technique but it does require a few tools to pull off. First camera on a tripod, a wireless flash sender on camera and receiver on flash and a tablet and camranger to fire the camera and see the image on the tablet. So in sequence, my tablet triggers my camera, then the camera triggers the flash remote, then my flash receives the signal and fires and finally my camranger wifi mounted to the camera sends the image back to me on my tablet where i can analyze if i need to move the light, add power or whatever and there is no need to be at the camera so it opens up a whole set of creative possibilities.

Some side lighting brings out the texture in the various snow covered landscape features.

This row of trees sits along the driveway leading to the farm just over the crest of the hill. I was hoping a buggy would come out the lane for a little visual interest but my patience just could not wait on this pipe dream anymore.

This is another night of late night shooting after a snowstorm had passed. The normally busy road was all but devoid of traffic on this evening. I even shot several shots with my tripod set up in the middle of the road! This is one of my favorites from this winter. I can imagine family and friends on an old sleigh going down the road all the while sipping hot chocolate!

This sleigh just left the snow covered roadway as it heads across the field back to the farm. The two men in the distance are using a horse drawn plow to clear the driveway for the milk truck. You can see the old time bells around the horse on the left and they add such a pleasant sound as the sleigh approaches.

This buggy being pulled by two horses is not a very common sight in Lancaster county but occasionally I come across it. Images like this are the result of observation and awareness of your surroundings. I saw this buggy heading into town and quickly decided what might make a nice background. I drove ahead till I found my background and simply waited for them to come into the composition and rattled off a sequence which allows for me to have options. There was a car parked in the driveway that was noticeable in half the shots, but a select few were just right!

A local business has a lovely decorated window that looks out onto the town square helping to spread joy during the Christmas season for all who pass!

A little holiday decor welcomes visitors.

Yet another image from the farm. Light from the barn made a nice backlight for the clingy snow.

Another view from yesterday’s location. I think the owner built all the stone structures on the property.

This is another image from the light snow we got in late December. It is the research library at our local historical society. I noticed the lead research leader was working late and the warm light caught my attention. After I captured the basic shot I knocked and to my surprise she opened the door! We know each other and she kindly allow me to go upstairs to light up the one room and also blast my flash out the front window to create the light Ray’s on the snow!

This old truck has been placed at the entrance to a local park for the last few holiday seasons and serves as a photo spot to capture the season with family and friends. The snow was light but it clung to trees in an awesome show. This little dusting caught me off guard with it’s beauty and I set a new late night shooting record by staying out till three in the morning. To be honest I actually should have shot till the sun came up because there were tons of opportunities but I am not exactly the young stud I used to be!

I photograped this church that is celebrating it’s 275th anniversary. I captured this a week before the actual Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, which was most certainly even more beautiful than this!

A light snow provides a nice accent to this photo showing the local hometown bank decorated for the season.

Let me first say I have been trying to access my site for the last month and only now could do it on my tablet so my apologies!

Hopefully this method works for now! As I have in the past I went out on Christmas Eve to see if I could find any nice scenes despite no snow around. You might be thinking who does this on a night when you should be home celebrating with family? Well this time of year is when depression seems to rear it’s head and for me keeping busy distracts my mind from dwelling on negative things! So now we can move on to this lovely porch scene. This was a scene I noticed in the quaint small town of LItitz, Pa as I was heading home and I simply decided to stop and knock. It was getting late but I was pleasantly surprised when the owner answered the door and gave me her blessing. For the next 45 minutes I lit the scene to capture it in all it’s beautifully decorated style. Hopefully I will be able to share more of my seasonal images despite the login troubles.

We have had a decent fall foliage show despite dry weather, but this year I have seen so many ginkgo trees stealing the show wherever they are. If you see a ginkgo changing color, it is only a matter of days till the whole tree is bright yellow and a few days later the leaves drop in what almost feels like a few hours.

The trees around the V.A. hospital are particularly stunning this year. This yellow giant dominates the landscape but is complimented nicely by the smaller trees wearing their brightest hues