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Merry Christmas from the edge of the wilderness

Steve Foss

By Steve Foss
in Photography and Photo Sharing

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Steve Foss Grand Master

Steve Foss

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Here's my Christmas card for all of you. I can't imagine a better bunch of online hobnobbers than the crowd on this board, and I want to take this opportunity to wish you the best of holiday seasons, one full of joy and togetherness.

Please feel free to post in behind me on this thread with Merry Christmas images of your own.

I just got back from a C-C-Cold shoot at Robinson Lake to get this image. Those who drive Hwy 169 between Tower and Ely will recognize this tree as the one put up by homeowners along the lakeshore for the joy of passing motorists. I've been wanting to shoot it for four years with that indigo sky tinged with orange for a background but hadn't gotten to it.

So when the sun shone all day I knew it was my day.

I knocked on the door of the homeowner to explain what I had in mind and give them a heads up but no one was home. So I parked 1/4 mile down the road, put on the snowshoes and walked out onto the slushy ice to wait for the right moment.

As I was waiting, I wondered if they'd get home in time to turn on the tree lights before things got too dark. Just as I was wondering if they maybe were on a timer, they blinked on, and then it was just a waiting game. Keep the camera warm, make mock compositions, keep the fingers warm, wait.

I was just about ready to start shooting when my cell rang. Usually I shut it off when I'm shooting because I need to concentrate. This time, for some reason, I had not. I was nonplussed when the woman on the phone identified herself as a photo editor at National Geographic. I thought my heart was going to stop. After I hung up I got so excited that I almost forgot why I was there! grin.gifgrin.gifgrin.gif

But my mission came back to the forefront just in time after I danced a little jig on the ice (darn glad the homeowners still weren't home). Shooting hard for a couple minutes, I realized that I had to toss aside the tripod and lay down flat on the snow to get the best angle.

I REALLY wanted to be on a 10-foot stepladder shooting down at the tree so the tree was not bisected by the horizon and would have had a background of pure snow with the horizon above it, but I couldn't manage that, so here's what we have. I also wished the tree would have been plumb, but when you get a gift, you'd best just shut up and accept it, and I was pleased that the subtle diagonal wash of cloud texture that was barely there did show itself in the image after some pp. grin.gifgrin.gifgrin.gif

Canon 30D, Canon 17-40L at 17mm, iso250, 1/60 at f4.5, handheld, full frame

christmas-tree-lake.jpg

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WCS Rising Star

WCS

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Gotta love those awesome winter sunset colors. I just love the deep blues in the western sky on a cold clear winter night. Thanks Steve...you made my night.

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Steve Foss Grand Master

Steve Foss

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Thanks, guys.

WCS, reactions like yours are one of the reasons I take pictures.

Jonny, sweet work as always. Very sentimental and warm. Definite Christmas card sentiment.

XT: NG could also stand for No-Go. It's like if Scorcese's casting director gives an up-and-coming actor a call to come in for a screen test. On one level it's great that they've seen talent in your work.

On another level, it's all business. If you have exactly what they want, you're hired. If you're close but not quite the cigar, out you go, but they'll remember your name for next time. If you're not really in the ballpark, they'll bump you out the door and forget about you.

We'll just have to see in which of those directions this goes. In the big leagues, they don't have time for shillyshallying. It is however very nice that they've seen some potential in this minor league prospect. grin.gifgrin.gif

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buzzsaw Grand Master

buzzsaw

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Quote:

On another level, it's all business. If you have exactly what they want, you're hired. If you're close but not quite the cigar, out you go, but they'll remember your name for next time. If you're not really in the ballpark, they'll bump you out the door and forget about you.

We'll just have to see in which of those directions this goes. In the big leagues, they don't have time for shillyshallying. It is however very nice that they've seen some potential in this minor league prospect

To steal a line from WCS, thank you, Steve... I have never heard the word " shillyshallying " and it has such a unique sound to it that I just started laughing for some reason. grin.gif It made my morning. laugh.gif

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MN Shutterbug Grand Master

MN Shutterbug

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Quote:

XT: NG could also stand for No-Go. It's like if Scorcese's casting director gives an up-and-coming actor a call to come in for a screen test. On one level it's great that they've seen talent in your work.

On another level, it's all business. If you have exactly what they want, you're hired. If you're close but not quite the cigar, out you go, but they'll remember your name for next time. If you're not really in the ballpark, they'll bump you out the door and forget about you.

We'll just have to see in which of those directions this goes. In the big leagues, they don't have time for shillyshallying. It is however very nice that they've seen some potential in this minor league prospect.
grin.gifgrin.gif

I think it's an amazing compliment just to get a phone call from a publication this worldwide renown and famous for it's awesome photographs. Way to go.

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jonny_redhorse Grand Master

jonny_redhorse

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A wonderful Christmas card Ken!...again, the chickadee is one of my favorite birds...."chickadees and balsam".......

If I remember right, here's how I used to remember the greetings at the Christmas gatherings as our family's got together years ago:

"Hauskaa Joulua Ja Uutta Voutta" grin.gif

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