Welcome to the Blog of Samuel Barr Photography!

This past weekend, despite the sub freezing temperatures (i.e. -11 degrees F with the wind chill factor), I decided to go outside and capture a few images of the snow falling on the trees at a local Forest Reserve.  It wasn’t that bad until the wind blew and then it was stupid crazy to be outside in the snow and ice.  Well, shortly after I arrived the snow stopped (that should have been a sign to turn around and go home) and the sun briefly broke through the clouds.  So, what started as a :30 minute “snapshot” diversion turned into a 3 hour winter photo session. 

My afternoon excursion turned out to be a wonderful trip enjoying God’s creation.  Even in frozen snow and ice there is beauty to behold.  Drudging through the snow, sometimes as high as my knees, for somewhere between 2-3 miles was definitely a workout.  But, when it was over I walked away in awe of our Creator’s limitless ability to display His glory and create beauty in everything He touches.  Originally, I thought I would finish the day with 30 images.  Instead (you’re gonna laugh) I walked away with 400+ images.  So, here’s a few photos that I thought you would enjoy from my winter walk in the woods.

This is the entrance into the park.  What do you see when you look at this image?  When I view this photo it says to me, “stop, turn around and go home where it’s nice and warm.”

This is where the hard work really began.  But, it was worth it as I needed the workout.

Although the sun only visited us for a few minutes it’s orange hues transformed the scenery and produced a beautifully rich blue sky that was a joy to behold!

I was surprised at my reaction to looking at all of the farm equipment covered in snow.  I can’t explain why but these sites left me feeling kinda melancholy as they reminded me of Dinosaurs who had died and were set out to pasture.  I don’t know, maybe the sub-freezing wind was getting to me.

Now, this is one of the signs that are everywhere along the trails.  But, it didn’t say anything about frozen ice…

…but, I should know better.  I wanted to capture a landscape image of this open area with that old hunting shack in the background.  But, I couldn’t remember if this was a large body of water or just grass.  I thought it was grass but soon discovered that it was water.  The sound of ice cracking under my feet should have been a sign.

Those are my footprints as I attempted to walk on water.  I didn’t suffer much damage but the cold water did get inside of my left foot’s boot.

But, it was worth it as I was able to capture images like this.

So, I bid farewell to my beloved winter haven and look forward to returning after our next big snowfall to focus on capturing portraits of the snow and ice.  Hmm, I think for my next hike I will pull out my old film camera and shoot “old skool”. . . this will be interesting.