Chocolate snowmen

During my lifetime, and in the places I have lived, snow has made only an occasional appearance at Christmas. When I was young that was a source of disappointment: these days I'm rather glad. That's not to say I dislike snow entirely. It suits me fine to have a few days of snow that doesn't hang about too long. Or to live near mountains where I can see and visit the snow when it suits me. You'd think the reality of the relative absence of snow in England would be reflected in popular culture, but no, the Victorian imagery of a white winter continues, even if its only in the wrappers of chocolate snowmen.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

The first snow of winter

The first snow of winter fell on us recently. There wasn't a great quantity but what there was did linger due to the temperature registering below zero, sometimes substantially so, for several days afterwards. As is often the case in our part of the world, the snow was enough to please the children but not so much that it significantly impeded movement. The first falls of snow were also enough to tempt me to go out with the camera. Our walk coincided with children, parents and sledges heading for a much used local hill.

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photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Snow on the fields and woods

The weather forecast predicted heavy snow that materialised as light snow. But it was enough for us to put our boots on and venture out quite early to see if there were photographs to be found. Quite a few people had the same idea. This photograph shows the narrow section of woodland that connects Penyard Park and Chase Wood on the hills overlooking Ross on Wye. The man in the red coat gave the cold looking scene a single spot of colour. Ten or so minutes later the steep hill he is climbing was dotted with parents, children and sledges.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Dog walking

I often think of dog walkers in the same way that many think of motor-cyclists - relatively harmless on the whole, but the majority are tarnished by a small minority. The spoilers in terms of motor-cyclists are those who speed, accelerate too rapidly, and deliberately make their machines excessively loud. The dog walkers who smear the reputation of others are those with untrained dogs, the sort that rush up to you barking as the owner shouts commands to no avail. The dog in today's photograph was well-trained, inquisitive without looking threatening, and its silhouette along with its owner's made a good point of visual focus among the whites and blues of the snow, the shadows, the clouds and the sky.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Photographing the photographers

A light dusting of snow, blue sky and bright sun all suggested that the Malvern Hills would be a suitable destination for walking and a little photography. Others clearly had the same thoughts and so one of my subjects was the photographers with cameras and phones. This is the best of my shots mainly because it's quite simple and I can imagine a little dialogue going on between the subject (left) the photographer (right) and the dog with the hang-dog appearance (centre) being banished from the composition.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Malvern Hills with snow remnants

Our relocation from Lincolnshire to Herefordshire coincided with the snowiest winter of recent years. There have been three substantial falls, all of which have left remnants, usually drifts, that have lingered. A recent sunny morning in late March found us walking along the crest of the Malvern Hills enjoying the views and braving the icy wind. From the Iron Age hill fort known as British Camp I took this shot along the Hills. The light gave the view an appearance of spring but the temperature, the patches of snow and the muted colours told only of late winter.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100