“In the flat gray light of winter, the familiar landscapes change their character. The summer sand becomes an icy vista, serene but raw at the same time.” – Ed Lehming

Above is another image made yesterday, Boxing Day in Canada, the day after Christmas. After a few days indoors feasting and celebrating, it was nice to stretch my legs and get in a few kilometers outdoors, hiking along the shoreline of West Lake, in Canada’s Prince Edward County.

The Dunes are a long series of high sand dunes that separate West Lake from Lake Ontario to the west. It’s a stunningly beautiful place in the summer, but for me, equally fascinating in the winter.

We had our first significant snowfall a few days ago, and the wind has sculpted that snow to match the sand dunes, which are barely discernible from the sand. Both sand and snow are equally bright, even on an overcast day like I had yesterday. It really struck me that the trees clinging to the dunes don’t look much different in the winter, except for the obvious lack of leaves. They still stand in stark contrast to the brightness around them. This became even more evident when I took off my sunglasses to change lenses. I looked up, and everything washed together in brightness, which inspired this photo, which is slightly overexposed to get the effect that I was experiencing. I would have exposed a bit more, but then I would have lost the subtle texture of the clouds behind the dunes.

This is also an iPhone photo, but I adjusted the exposure to get the effect. I do promise to share photos from my D800 over the next few days.

iPhone 14 Pro Max back triple camera 24mm
1/2352 sec, f/1.78, ISO 80