One of my favorite pastimes is to take a walk with my camera.  It could be my P&S or it could be a DSLR.  There is something that I really enjoy about walking, seeing what's there, and taking pictures.

This particular walk happened in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada on a cold day.  It's late afternoon and as the temperature is close to zero, I am questioning the sanity of my decision.  I have on a long down coat, warm gloves, and a warm hat.  My boots are insulated, too.  But you can still feel the cold finding your skin, just to let you know that it's close to zero and the sun is close to setting.

As I walked, there is a bridge overlooking a river that isn't frozen over completely.  At first I just walk over the bridge until I get to about the halfway point.  I reluctantly walked back a few steps because I saw a shot.  Reluctantly because it's cold and my camera is safely stowed and warm in my bag.

Photographers know that you just can't walk away from those shots.  You suck it in, think warm thoughts, pull out your camera, and compose.  You try not to shiver so camera shaking is evident on your resulting image.  You got to get the shot.  There is something that is compelling you.  Maybe you know it's going to be great, a keeper that you show off.  You just know that it's special.

So, here is the shot.....The View from the Bridge

PAD Feb 21 One Lone Yellow Chair Original There's this one little thing that separates this shot from just another shot from the bridge....that darn yellow chair.  That's the reason why you walked back and took out your camera.  You knew that there would never be a time when the snow was so perfect, the light was just right, and there was a yellow chair that you could place perfectly in your composition to give it a certain look.  The yellow chair that was facing the sun on a cold winter day.

So, I played around with it a bit more using some filters, saturating the color, just a few changes here and there.  It gives the shot an entirely new look around that yellow chair.  More like a postcard or illustration.

PAD Feb 21 One Lone Yellow Chair My self expression:

My vision is with the first image....it speaks to me and expresses the moment so well.  There is a special connection, a special feeling that is evoked when I view the first image.

I like the second image, but it just not the same level of self-expression.  Cool image, but maybe too processed for the feeling that I was trying to convey.

So, what images resonates with you?