The bleak midwinter

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago

Christina Rosetti

Yet even in the bleakest part of winter, there lie patches of color that gives us hope of the spring to come. The Chicago area had one of those times of snow on snow last weekend. Actually it was more like snow on ice, sleet on ice, snow on sleet. This photograph was taken just as one more snowstorm moved in.

The sable tones of the dried grasses and green hues of the moss that clung stubbornly to the trunks of the trees were a welcome break in the white-on-white landscape.

I used a roll of 400 ISO film to shoot these winter pictures. I sometimes use a faster film in winter scenes because its relative graininess adds texture to snow (you can't get that effect with digital photos without some PhotoShop work). In post-processing I pushed the contrast and sharpening just a little farther past the point I usually like – giving the photograph the look and feel of an etching.

21 days until spring.

Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2007 James Jordan.

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Update: This photo was selected Photo of the Day at Earthshots for March 3, 2007.