We've had our first dusting of snow here at the studio and it is so pretty to see the smallest details of leaf and twig etched in white against the dark and grey forest now that all the leaves have browned and fallen off. Up in the mountains a few weeks ago they had their first snow and it was at a time when we down here at the lower elevations were still enjoying colorful leaves of autumn. Naturally a crazy idea got sparked and I decided to see if I could bridge the two zones with a bit of creative expression.
I had a small house I had been working on but the roof was not finished on it so I decided to quickly change course and made a delicate twig frame to support a leaf roof. I then took the house and drove up to the mountains in search of fresh snow, stopping at several good maple trees that were still in their autumn fire best foliage display along the way. I collected leaves and attached them to the twig frame using Hawthorne thorns (my go-to natural stapler). By the time I cleared the village between myself and the high mountains, I had a fully covered leaf roof that was gloriously bright and festive.
I headed for a small lake that often has good rocks along the shore for scenic shooting and hoped that I could find a place to set up the house before the sun went behind the ridge. But I did not count on the fact that it would STILL be snowing up there! Thick clouds swirled and blew a blizzard of flakes in every direction. I was woefully under-dressed but I still had an inkling that a good shot could be had if I just persevered and found the right spot. I tried several locations and the sky looked even darker each time I tested the shot thru my viewfinder. I could see that I had just a few minutes left before the pale disc of the sun (when it was visible thru the raging clouds) would dip behind the cliffs and all hope would be lost for a good shot.
There was one more lichen-covered rock right down by the shore that looked very inviting. I scrambled down, shivering and determined. A misplaced foot went into a hidden boggy part and I fumed at myself...what was I trying to prove? Why bother? This is ridiculous I railed at myself while I set everything up. Then I waited. And waited. And finally, a break appeared in the cloud cover and even though the sun was no longer able to shed light directly on the scene, there was still sufficient golden ambient light to take some shots. One had some of the magic I had hoped for.... this one:
In our area it is very rare to get snow AND fall foliage at the same time so I'm glad I followed the nudge from the faeries and went up to the mountains to have this little adventure, and it is fun for me to share it with you now.
Speaking of sharing, it is WELL past time for me to start sharing some of the actual pages from the book. There is so much to say about this book I hardly know where to begin. I'll just share a few snapshots from the pages with you right now and then, in my next post I'll begin to describe in detail what each chapter is about and what you can expect to see and learn from the pages of this book.
Here are just a few snapshots for you to enjoy now:
1 comment:
lumineux !
Post a Comment