I’ve been slowly sorting through and editing all the pictures I took that day – To say I took a lot is putting it mildly, I’ve got macro shots, shots of Lizzie Gardens and The Cathedral and Cathedral Close.  I’ve almost finished all the editing, just got 5 or 6 shots left I want to work on.  However the set I named “Iced Rosemary“ is amongst my favourites and very much a standalone set in it’s own right. They were taken just down the road from where I live using my macro lens on the K7 Pentax DSLR.

The sun was just perfect and the brilliance of the snow and the glow of the reflections in the ice droplets had me totally enthralled for quite sometime.  I’m sure I got a few weird looks as people passed me by on the street, but what price the perfect capture?

I have edited and uploaded the best of the iced rosemary shots to flickr and they can be viewed in the set conveniently named “Iced Rosemary“. However, here are a few of my absolute favourites and a little explanation as to why.

Ice drop - Copyright R.Weal 2010

I was fascinated by the way the iced droplet distorted the reflection in this capture.  I also liked the contrasting textures of the wood, leaves and ice.

Winter reflected - Copyright R.Weal 2010

One of the many droplets that were starting to melt under the winter sun allowing me to capture a perfect reflection of the garden in which the rosemary resides.  It took a few attempts to get a shot in focus with the right amount of light, but it was well worth the effort.

Frozen Drips - Copyright R.Weal 2010

Part of me toyed with the idea of calling this one “reptilian rosemary” due to the pronounced textures of the rosemary sprig through the magnification of the ice.  In the end I decided not to call it that, hoping that people would see the texture and make up their own minds about it.

Ice Drop on Rosemary - Copyright R.Weal 2010

I really liked the overall tone and composition of this shot.  The blurred snow in the background and the detail of the individual ice crystals within the snow in the foreground.  The smoothness of the rosemary sprigs, the roughness of the wood and the frosted glass effect of the ice droplet.  It all added up to a beautiful shot in my eyes.

Wealie x

Snowy view from my study - Copyright R.Weal 2010

Well it’s December again, the shops are now well and truly filled with Christmas goods, everywhere you go they’re playing those terrible Christmas songs (personally I could do without them) and Mother Nature herself has decided to join in and lend a bit of Christmas like cheer to the UK.

The snow has fallen all across most, if not all of Britain over this last week.  Here in Salisbury, we’ve been pretty lucky to miss out on the full scale snowed in status, but it was falling thick and fast last night.

In the end I’d say we had around 3 inches, but other areas had much more. It’s amazing how just a little bit of snow can bring this country to its knees. We’re a strange bunch the British, we seem to be so preoccupied with our weather, but we’re never prepared, I can’t quite work out how that should be? Answers on a postcard to Wealie please.

Snowy Lanterns - Copyright R.Weal 2010

Below is a very short little video that I took on the iphone of the snow falling. The flakes were just so large and fluffy that it was too much to resist.

Enjoy the winter wonderland folks!

Wealie x