“Planet Mars”
by Tim Webb
February 16, 2010
I was talking to my friend and fellow photographer Kellie Carter yesterday about how this has been a unique winter. Seems like we haven’t had winters like this since I was a kid. I told Kellie that even though I was busy, I needed to get off my butt and go out and shoot some snow scenes. Who knows when we’ll get another winter with this much snow again.
As I was getting ready for bed last night, I looked out the bedroom window and saw a scene of painted snow, created from the neighborhood street lamps. Even though I was tired and ready to go to sleep, I put my shoes back on and went outside to shoot some nighttime snow scenes. It was definitely worth the effort! The wind was howling and blowing, as the snow resembled a blanket of rust. It was a strange mixture of red and yellow light, spilling out from the lamps. I only spent a few minutes outside shooting, but I was glad that I took the time and made the effort to go out and capture this unique scene, literally in my front yard.
When I came back inside, Natalie looked at my images and said, “These first few look like they were taken on the planet Mars.” I took that as a compliment.
It’s so easy to fall into a rut. As photographers, we sometimes forget why we started taking pictures to begin with. I don’t know of a single photographer who became a professional the first time they picked up a camera. Most all of us got into photography because we enjoyed taking pictures. Sometimes we forget about the simple joy of our craft.
Going back outside last night was a good reminder of why I’m a photographer. It only took a few minutes. Shooting in the dark was fun and different. I came away with some images that I’m proud of…and when I got back upstairs, my warm bed was still waiting on me.
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