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And Winter Came...

Posted by
Darkelf Photography (Perth, Australia) on 15 August 2023 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.

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Now, there is a photo of season and scenery that you would have hardly ever seen from me over the years - winter. What is more, it is beautiful snowy winter in Australia. Yes, it does exist in the land Down Under, in case anyone has been wondering. The Alpine region across Victoria and New South Wales gets its fair share of snow over the winter months, depending obviously on weather patterns each year. There is actually a number of ski resorts which operate between the months of June and September. So if you were ever unsure where to go for your next skiing holiday, Australia may well be your answer ;-)

I remember thinking about snow when we were planning this trip but I thought that it might be too early for a substantial snow fall. I was also a little apprehensive about encountering this kind of weather because we have not driven in the snow and ice previously. When we saw the forecast for the day when we planned to drive across the mountains towards the south coast, we knew it was going to be tough. We had to pick up snow chains on the way up towards Mount Hotham as otherwise it would not be possible to cross through that area. Our alternative was to drive a long way around but surely seeing snow was the better option here. We passed a few strugglers on the way and also saw some people stranded at the top. That made our decision to hire chains even more worthwhile, not to mention fines for actually driving in such weather without chains.

What was especially beautiful about the snowy conditions was that it was at least a couple of weeks before the skiing season started and the snow was so fresh and pristine everywhere. It was still very quiet with just a few tourists present and also some maintenance staff preparing for the new season around the place. Snow cover was probably twenty to thirty centimetres at its thickest. Other than road tracks, there were almost no foot prints anywhere. It was just so wonderful and pristine. Last time I saw snow like that must have been at least around thirty five years ago.

As we were driving past Mount Hotham Village and Dinner Plain, I was looking out for interesting places to try out some winter photography. Having fresh snow had the added benefit of hiding any messy foregrounds. There were a few opportunities to take some photos but one idea that I had in mind was a lone tree somewhere in the fields. I was hoping to find one with fresh snow still hugging the branches and with the kind of interesting texture which a mix of snow and trees can provide. This is the tree which I managed to find and I really liked how it stood out giving the scene a minimalist feel.

This is an image with probably the least amount of processing that you will see from me. Other than minor global and local contrast adjustments, and gentle colour grading, there was not much else that I needed to do to achieve the result I was looking for. All I wanted was this almost raw winter scene with the big tree as the main focal point, gloomy sky to set the mood, and fresh snow to complete the scenery. I liked how some of the grasses poked through the snow to give a little bit of texture in the fields. The scene felt almost monochrome in nature but if you look close enough you might just be able to see a hint of a yellow tone in the grasses around the base of the tree. I liked that touch of colour as well.

This was the first time ever we saw snow in Australia. I always thought we might see a gentle sprinkling here and there, if we were lucky but we certainly did not expect full on winter. We saw hints of frozen snow in the preceding day but this was an amazing experience in every respect and I was really glad for the extra jackets and boots we took along with us. I can also say that the hot coffee in one of the open cafes on the way never tasted better than on this day and in this weather.

Canon EOS R5 1/40 second F/8.0 ISO 100 87 mm

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