1512_0902 The Winding Path - a photo on Flickriver

1512_0902 The Winding Path

            Winter means cold, snow, frost, fog, and all manner of related phenomena that we are programmed to avoid. In all honesty, I like sitting here at my desk where it's warm, where amusement is a keyboard stroke away, where refreshment and comfort are easy to find. It's the easy life.

So why go out there, where life isn't easy? I think that being human also includes yearning for adventure. Only by removing ourselves from our comfort zone do we become fully alive. Why bother living if we can't motivate ourselves to experience life fully? Nature and outdoor photographers may be more in touch with this spiritual necessity than many others in our comfort-driven, acquisition-oriented society. I have met enough of my fellow-Flickrites in person to believe this.

Most of us have gotten wet, or cold, and certainly tired and footsore at times while pursuing our art and craft - attempting to unlock the vast mystery of the natural world in a way that will resonate with both others and ourselves. It's a small price to pay. A blister will heal. And it's less damaging to us than an overhanging beer gut from too much time on the couch in passive mode. 

This is the dyke trail that runs past my prairie village, alongside the river. It's an easy walk, even on a cool day. If the tones look strangely warm, it's because the sun was rising and its light was bending toward the red end of the spectrum; note that the colour of the snow is pretty much neutral. Kind of a magical, mystical look, enhanced by the hoarfrost.

But what I like most here is how the path disappears into the fog ahead. It's the road of life. We can't know where it leads; all we can do is walk it. And if we only walk it when the sun is shining and the breezes are warm, are we not missing out on a good portion of what life offers? I've always been a proponent of foul weather photography. The best images arrive when things look a little... different.

Photographed at Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2015 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Taken in: Canada / Saskatchewan / Val Marie (show map)

Taken on: December 20, 2015

Tags:

landscape

dawn

fog

early morning

walking

path

winding road

snow

snowy

cold

hoarfrost

frost

S-curve

beauty

Wow!

beaufiful

nature

natural

wild

prairie

Val Marie

Saskatchewan

Canada

copyrighted

James R. Page

2015 « less

Sets appears in: • Best 2015 • S-Curves more » • Roads, Paths, & Trails • Val Marie, Saskatchewan « less

Groups appears in: • Color Escape: NEUTRAL COLORS

Camera: Nikon D800, f/32.0, 1/8 sec, 105mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D800
Lens:	105.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture:	f/32.0
Exposure Time:	0.125 sec (1/8)
Focal Length:	105mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 22.5 (Macintosh)
Show full info

Stats: 2,741 views / 27 comments

close tools panel

Badge creator

Use Flickriver Badge Creator to create a badge linking to your photos, your group or any other Flickriver view.

You can place your badge on your Flickr profile, Blog or Website.

Add to your iGoogle or Netvibes page

Flickriver widget for iGoogle or Netvibes can display almost any Flickriver view - most interesting today, by user, by group, by tag etc. Once added to your personalized homepage, just edit widget settings to select your desired view.

Clickr on one of the buttons below to install:

Embed on your Web site

To embed this view, Copy and Paste the following HTML code:

Black background (preview):

White background (preview):

Firefox and Chrome addons

Adds a 'Flickriver' button to your browser. While viewing any Flickr photos page, click on this button to open the same view on Flickriver.

Install in Firefox
Install in Chrome

Search plugin

Add 'Search on Flickriver' to your browser's search box. Works with Firefox and Internet Explorer. Install search plugin

"View on Flickriver" Greasemonkey script

A Greasemonkey script that adds Flickriver links to various Flickr photo pages - user photos, favorites, pools etc, allowing to quickly open the corresponding Flickriver view.

Also, allows quickly viewing any Flickr photo on black background in large size.

Install "View on Flickriver" script

Bookmarklet

While viewing any Flickr photos page, click on the bookmarklet to open the same view on Flickriver.

To install: drag and drop the following link to your Bookmarks toolbar.
IE users - add the link to your Favorites under the Links folder