OutdoorType

Friday Evening, originally uploaded by Brian Knight Photography.

Whew. So, I’m in the middle of one of those weekends where after it is over you need another weekend or holiday just to recover (ie. it’s been a really good weekend so far)…

I bailed out of work yesterday afternoon in time to catch the magic hour light at the battlefield. A couple inches of snow still covered the grounds and the sky was crisp and clear and I wanted to see what I could do with that kind of light. Turns out, the really interesting thing about those conditions was the fog that formed as the sun set. Sometimes, on the rare occasion that I’m driving down 66 in the early morning, I see fog on the battlefield and wish how I could take photos instead of present powerpoint slides. Yesterday I got to shoot fog AND the golden light. See the photos here on Flickr.

When I got home though I had a huge headache (maybe from hanging heavy cameras off my neck I wonder?) and it took several hours before it dissipated enough that I felt like doing anything important (like reading and responding to emails, and editing photos, and oh yeah, making dinner).

(Dinner, by the way, was delicious. I had all the ingredients for waffles so I whipped up a batch from scratch and then made sure to document some of the process.)

After the jump… why I stayed up until really early, plus some skiing pics!

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Around 2:30 this afternoon it was time for a break and I decided to venture out to the battlefield for an hour or so of hiking and photography. The roads were still mostly unplowed and the three or four inches of accumulated snow made for some nice four-wheel drive action (the best part of this being the alleviation of guilt that I carry around so often for driving an SUV in the first place. I do like being able to say that I use the car for its intended purpose…)

The battlefield most easily accessible to me is a short drive from the office and before long I was heading up the back road and squeezing past evergreen trees that straining against the weight of the heavy, wet snow, had taken on a significant lean. Under normal weather conditions I walk around with just one camera and a set of lenses, stopping to change them as necessary. Today though I wanted to minimize the moisture exposure and so I brought two camera bodies, one for a long lens and one for a wide. To the 20D I attached the 70 – 200mm IS 2.8 lens (and then left it stuffed inside my jacket for the majority of the trek – which I am sure looked just ridiculous). The Mark III got the magic 35mm 1.4 lens. Strapped to my back was my new favourite camera bag from Think Tank just in case conditions began to deteriorate rapdily.

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A little before noon today a friend in DC reported via text message that it was snowing.  In slight disbelief I went to my office window and cranked open the blinds and was confronted with the sight of snow covered cars, and snow covered streets, and snow blowing sideways with fat flakes reducing visibility.  It was snowing and how!

There was only one thing to do… I gathered my camera and jacket and keys and headed for the door leaving quick word that I was “stepping out for lunch.” After a short drive I was turning onto one of the battlefield’s gravel roads and began to make my way, camera in hand, across a field…

It was really cold and the wind blew snow sideways and I was dressed only in jeans and a button down shirt covered by a thin gore-tex shell.  No gloves, no hat, no wind deflecting Buff. I had even forgotten my protective amber shades and my eyes teared up and suffered for the mistake.  I did carry my camera, the Mark III with the 70-200 IS attached, that big white lens.  The several pounds of cold, heavy metal worked to further draw heat from my extremities.  My fingers became red and painful down past the second knuckle.

Despite all this, despite the pain, and the cold, and the wind that buffeted my camera each time I lifted it from my side and the protective eddy my body formed, it was awesome. It was awesome to be out of the office if only for a few minutes, running across the snowy field, head down, hood drawn.

I would stop, force my head up, compose, shoot, put my head down, and run some more. Run, stop, compose, shoot, run, stop, maybe not so much compose, shoot, run. Repeat as necessary.

Eventually I had to get out of the wind and sought shelter in my favourite barn. I shook the snow off my pants and shoes and changed lenses. I shot some more while protected from the storm. But then it was time to go.  I ran out across the field and back to the car, and back to the office, and back to reality.

More snowy photos on Flickr. 

First Snow, originally uploaded by outdoor_type.

Went out for a late lunch today but got distracted by the snow and the image of this boardwalk trail. It starts up near the Old Stone Bridge and passes through a section of the battlefield that I suppose must get kind of soggy at times. I’d passed by earlier in the morning and already the walkway had collected a fair amount of snow compared to the rest of the area. It was a wide white line passing through trees and I made a note to come back if I had the time.

Coming here was a tough call because I’d have loved to visit my barns. There’s always tomorrow… Hopefully the snow will stick around a bit longer, at least for another lunch time walk. Maybe I’ll get up really early and catch the sunrise… ha, yeah right!

Check out the rest of the photos over on Flickr.

A showing of limited edition, fine art prints created from digital photographs.

From the “shot heard round the world” at the Old North Bridge to the “miracle bullet” of Dealey Plaza please join us in viewing twenty-two new photographs that explore several historical landmarks from a unique perspective that sets aside events of the past in an attempt to find a certain quietude in the details that remain.

Opening Reception:
Saturday, December 8
7pm – 11pm

RSVP with the Official Evite!

Closing Reception:
Sunday, January 5
Afternoon

Other times available by appointment only. Contact to arrange a viewing.

The Huckleberry Inn is located in historic downtown Herndon, Va.

630 Oak Street
Herndon, VA 20170

(Plenty of FREE parking at the Municipal Lot. Just a three minute walk to the Inn)

View Official Website with Artist Statement.

Soon to be me, originally uploaded by outdoor_type.

2007/11/21 11:33 :: Periodic updates as time and batteries and network connections allow…

IAD = ghost town?, originally uploaded by outdoor_type.

2007/11/21 11:59 :: Wtf? It took exactly ZERO minutes to get through security (ok, I’m exaggerating, but only a little. It took maybe two minute top). Also there was no wait to check my bag with US Air. The economy lots are filling up, but unlike over Veterans Day weekend there are people at every intersection waving flags and directing traffic and there were several buses waiting at the Purple Lot stop #8.

I am now sitting at the gate using one of the only nice features of my phone… its ability to hook up my laptop to the web via bluetooth.

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Frosted, originally uploaded by outdoor_type.

Frost!, originally uploaded by outdoor_type.

My treat for waking up before sunrise this morning… For waking up, for getting out of bed and out the door… For noticing the frosty fields as I sped past on the highway…

The first frost of the season blanketed the fields near my office this morning and though I had an 8am meeting (a meeting I was responsible for leading) I quickly calculated that yes, I probably had a few minutes to try and capture the scene that lay before me.

Pulling off the highway I switched from Morning Edition to the Eddie Vedder Into the Wild soundtrack that has lately received heavy play time in my car and served as partial muse for my recent outings. In the passenger seat to my right my camera bag lay open… the camera was on, the lens cap was off, memory cards were formatted and ready.

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Green Vista, originally uploaded by outdoor_type.

Spent a little more time at one of my favourite photographic stomping grounds after work tonight.

Yeah, it was raining, but I happened to have an assortment of water proof clothing in the car. Shoes, jacket, wide-brimmed hat… I was all set. All set except for my pants, my jeans, my 100% cotton jeans which if presented with a wilderness survival situation might meant certain doom. Luckily tonight I managed to keep doom at bay.  My car was within site at all times and though my pants did absorb a disturbing amount of water in the hour that I meandered around the park, I made it home without even the slightest snivel. One warm shower later and I was all set for another round of photo editing…

Check ‘em out on Flickr.