Lititz Fire & Ice Festival

Posted by reesephoto on

lititz-fire-ice-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.

Old Mill at Sunset

Posted by reesephoto on

quarry-road-mill-reflecting

I stopped to shoot this old mill because the area above the falls was frozen more than normal and reflected the mill in the ice but I ended up doing a second shot with the waterfall too. The last rays of the setting sun were glowing in the mill windows and on the buildings.The little house on the left had some Christmas lights that reflected in the water to round out the shot.One thing that perplexed me here was the fact that it was 14 degrees out,the water was bitter cold pouring over the edge, but the concrete dam breast right beside me that I was leaning against was almost warm? With no gloves on,I held my hand against the wall and it felt almost warm to the touch. It is hard to believe the sun could have warmed that up in 14 degree weather with the cold of the water drawing into the concrete.

Keep The Lights On

Posted by reesephoto on

historical-society-luminaries2

This is the second image from the historical society property. It was dark at this point so I had to use a long exposure of between 30 and 60 seconds to get the sky to show some color. The texture in the snow is from being shoveled but it still looked decent. the lamp-post had to be lit with my spotlight because it does not seem to work. This former residence is now part of the historical society property and now houses all the research data and information for those researching the history of the area.Of special note is the large clock on the right side of the image,which once stood a few blocks away at a bank until it closed and has now been situated here as yet another piece of history to enjoy.

Illuminating History

Posted by reesephoto on

historical-society-luminaries

This is my second attempt at shooting this location,which is a local historical society.This time we got just enough snow to cover the grass so I went for the shot in case we get no more snow this year. I took my own luminaries along to add a little seasonal cheer.I drove by the location two hours before and nothing had been shoveled but when I returned the walkways were done but that was okay.Numerous cars slowed to look and several people walked by and asked what the special occasion was and I said just a photo shoot going on,and they all said how beautiful it was with the luminaries.Tomorrows post will feature a second shot I did after this one from up the sidewalk looking the opposite way.Special thanks goes to Cynthia for turning on lights inside for the shot.

Last Train Out

Posted by reesephoto on

strasburg-railroad-snowy-station2

This is an image I did at the Strasburg Railroad recently and every bit of illumination except the lamp-post was added by me to create this scene. I directed my flash into the train car and the station buildings to give the appearance of it being open for business.I have a short pole to extend my flash about 8 feet up which helped light the roof line. The temperature was right around ten degrees so it was a rather chilly shoot.

Biting Cold

Posted by reesephoto on

talmage-frozen-stream

I shot this a few days ago when the temperature was exactly four degrees and a light breeze blowing which multiplied the effect. The problem was I decided to walk 50 yards from where I parked without gloves and carrying a metal tripod.After a minute or two I could not feel my hands and the pain got so intense it made me dash for my vehicle. It took at least 5 minutes till the pain subsided and I got warm again. Hope not to repeat that anytime soon. I also walked onto what I thought was the solidly frozen stream but as I took the third step I heard cracking,so I gingerly backed up

Can I borrow a Heater?

Posted by reesephoto on

amish-buggy-cold-weather

This image was taken this week as temperatures hovered  around the single digits in the morning.I was cold in my truck with a heater so imagine how it felt in the buggy. At least they don’t need snow tires,and I often wondered how deep the snow could get and still have this setup navigate okay? It seems the wheels would offer little resistance and the horse should get through a foot at least with no trouble.