Sentinels

The bare trees seem to be standing watch over the pavilion in a pond in Forest Park. Much of the snow is gone by now, with temperatures just over freezing. Today, though, we expect falling temps, a little more snow and high winds. Not the best day to go out shooting but I'm out of material.             

Grove, Black and White

We've visited my favorite park in STL before, Tower Grove on the south side. It was laid out in the 19th Century on the model of an English walking park. Unlike its more famous and much larger cousin, Forest Park, it is quiet, even intimate. There is a central east-west road which, at this point, splits into an oval. It has a tall stand of trees with the same split down the middle, maintaining the view from end to end.          

Semi Frozen

An artificial stream in Forest Park with a tiny waterfall and some ducks sitting on the edge. Cold enough to freeze the quiet water but not what is gently moving.           

Madeleine Monday

The kid has no fear of cold (not that it gets bitter cold around here). What she did object to was dragging the sled back uphill by herself. Daughter Emily didn't own a pair of snow boots and wasn't about to trip downhill in her street boots with 2 inch heels. So, it was declared to be hot chocolate time.

Yesterday morning she and her mom built a snowman in front of our house. I think that's a baby carrot for the nose. Nothing handy for a mouth but her old broken sunglasses were an inspired addition. 

              

We're Not Used To This

Okay, no sniggers from northerners. I've been lazy about posting lately but this is what has been going on around us. We don't get a lot of snow most winters. This weekend has been an exception.

It's unusual for me to get a shot from the passenger seat of a car. I had to have my neck magnetically resonated on Friday. It's messed up enough that they had to give me some narcs to be able to lie flat for 20 minutes and I was not allowed to drive myself home. Mrs. C did the honors. This shot is from mid-afternoon Friday. I'm writing this mid-day Sunday and there is still a little bit falling. The Lou panics when it snows. It took us an hour to get home from the Washington University Medical Center, a drive that would be fifteen minutes off rush hour.           

Too Early

In front of chez Crowe last night. It's not even the middle of November. We have winter, of course, and may get a couple of very cold snaps, but we don't get a lot of snow. A white Christmas is rare. Wasn't quite ready for this.

People in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and New England may stop laughing at me now. However, I had occasion to speak to someone in Maine on the phone a couple of days ago. They hadn't had any yet.

It's Still WInter

We had heavy, wet snow on Sunday. So, of course, rather than being out shooting it, I was at work, catching a few shots from my office window.. The scene includes Eads Bridge, the Mississippi, the north end of the Arch grounds and an apartment building. 

I am now Officially Out Of Material. Scrounge for new or scrounge for old.       

Merry Christmas From Saint Louis

Could It Be?

Local news outlets say that St. Louis last had a white Christmas in 2010. 2016 was foggy, misty and dark (but I liked it). We got the first snowfall of the season in the early hours of Saturday and may get a bit more today. The weather should stay cold enough to keep some of it. So maybe this year?

Ellie woke up yesterday, looked outside and squealed with delight. In no time she was outside making snow angels. According to the family botanist (not me, since I grew up in the concrete jungle) the plant just below is called heavenly bamboo. Doesn't look like that to me but I love the berries. Ellie deigned to pose before it. Lastly, chez Crowe with extra white accents.       

Don't Eat Green Snow

There hasn't been snow for the St. Patrick's Day parade in my memory. Some people dealt with it just fine. The weather was not as bad as originally forecast but it held down the crowd. That was a good thing. It made the difference between pleasantly busy and it's-so-packed-I-can't-move-another-inch. The cool but windless weather was easier on my old body.

Lots of other interesting people and things to come.           

Snowballs

I got a number of good shots during the botanical garden's spring snow. The topic will eventually become tedious but I like this one.

We are thinking of taking Madeleine to the garden on Saturday, when it is expected to be warmer. Some of you may have noticed that there have not been any pictures of her for a while. The child has become impossible to photograph indoors. She is 31 months old and is fascinated with her own image. She knows that when we take her picture it appears on the back of the camera and demands to see it. She can't type, of course, but knows the basic operations of iPhones and iPads, and can easily turn on videos we made of her. She loves to bang on our piano (and can find middle C on request), leading to demands to see "me piano!" on the screens. The only way I'm going to get anything new is to take her outdoors and hide in the bushes.                          

Au Printemps

A bit more spring snow at the Missouri Botanical Garden. If you visit our area (which no one ever does) it's a don't miss. These photos were all taken around the elaborate Japanese garden.                         

First Day of Spring

It got cold Saturday and there was some snow Sunday morning, the first day of spring. That's one of the rare things that could get me out early on a Sunday morning and down to the botanical garden, where the cherry blossoms and other flowering trees were popping. Worth the effort.

There are some more of these to post but tomorrow is a special event.                  

A Bit Of WInter, Finally

It has been a mild winter so far. The temperature has started to slide a little. Yesterday we got our first hint of snow. It didn't last but it did get quite cold last night by our standards.
 
Alexander von Humboldt observes the event in Tower Grove Park. He was quite an interesting guy, a geographer, explorer and naturalist, but is no longer well known, at least in this country. A new biography was recently published to very favorable reviews. It's on my list.                 

The Case For Orange Golf Balls

A public golf course in Forest Park, so I suppose it was technically open. Using a conventional golf ball would be problematic.

I'm not a golfer or anything-er. Devoid of athletic talent. Still, I don't understand the sign below. Divots I get. But ball marks? Golfers?                      

Vue 2

There is more of a difference between yesterday's picture and today's than landscape and portrait. Both are HDRs, shot in color and converted to black and white. I've been going back and forth about whether I prefer Photoshop Merge To HDR Pro or Photomatix for HDR processing. Yesterday's was Photoshop. It keeps the final image pretty simple while bringing in a wide range of tonal values. This one is Photomatix. Color photos made with this application can be lurid and overblown, IMHO. The B&Ws still don't look natural but can have a lot of dramatic pop.

Any other HDR technicians out there? What do you prefer?                        

Back In The Lou

Costa Rica is beautiful but St. Louis has its charms. After all,  I choose to live here. Some new local material is in order. We've had a bit of snow so I went wandering around Forest Park looking for interesting snowscapes.

This is the west lawn of the art museum. What's with the metal tree? It's a placebo.                         

Lace Maker

Another shot from Forest Park last weekend. I think the plants in the foreground are some kind of fancy prairie grass (please correct me if I got that wrong). With a dusting of snow, it reminds me of the lace you might see around the neck and shoulders of people in 17th Century Dutch painting.               

Soft Light

The snow was starting to fall on Sunday when I took my camera to Forest Park. Days like this can be a wonderful time to shoot. The sky is a giant softbox with the light intensity brought down two or three stops. The mist itself deadens sound. The loudest thing around may be your shutter.                     

Early Winter

We got enough snow to cover the ground on Sunday. I looked at some meteorological information and found that the first snowfall in St. Louis hasn't been this early since 1938. And as I write this Monday evening the weather pundits are telling us we should blow the doors off the record low temperature overnight. 

The U. S. Weather Service says there is an equal chance of warmer or colder than average conditions in the upper Midwest this winter. A private company predicts very cold. Who knows - ask me in April. These photos taken Sunday in Forest Park illustrate the point.