Today, and for the rest of this week, I am putting aside some time each day for a project called Winter Sunflowers.

I was chatting out back this afternoon with my neighbor who is a stained glass artist. She was commenting on the beautiful colors of the park in winter. It’s hard to believe that winter is so full of color but it really is, they are just more subtle and they fool you into thinking that they are not there. The blues, purples, greens and golds are sometimes just taken for gray. But they are definitely there, creating a palette that is beautiful in its own quiet way.I always notice the winter palette more on days like today, when there is not sun, and all the colors are cool.

For me, winter is also about texture. Typically, that is what I notice first. Sometimes that’s all that’s left.

No color in the first image from Winter Sunflowers. Just texture. The big sunflower at the bottom is my favorite.

Winter eSessions are kind of cozy but really they take much cooperation with the weather. This was really a perfect January day to do one, too. I think it was about 60º or close to it. The sky was overcast for a lot of it with just enough brightness. And of course the most important ingredient….another great couple. Fun, easy going, and into it.

I think it shows :)

Here’s the slideshow….just click the image.

 I kinda miss the summer. I’m starting to make some plans for summer trips so that helps a bit, but I really miss the warm sun.

I was looking at the sunflowers yesterday. They are still standing in the garden because I never cut them down. The birds really enjoy them that way, especially the Cardinals. Anyway, they are obviously dead, but they still look really cool. I want to head out back tomorrow to photograph them. I may also bring them inside and make a post-mortem arrangement out of them and photograph that. I love the texture of dead sunflowers. I don’t think other flowers look as interesting when they are dead.

Six degrees on the thermometer this morning!

There’s what I call my Zen Waterfall in the unheated vestibule, and it was frozen with little icicles coming down it this morning when I went to get the paper. Had to get a picture of that.

If there is one question I get asked time and time again, it’s how do I get the colors I do in my photographs. Until now, I have kept that a closely guarded secret, but today I have decided to tell the world how I do it.

It’s a button.

It’s actually button #54 on my Xkeys, and I have named button #54 quite appropriately. So, whenever I see an image that has great potential, it might look pretty darned good right out of the camera, but when it gets button #54 the magic really happens.

So, that’s it….. button #54.

WOW.

Winter eSessions can be a challenge with the unpredictable weather, cold, lack of vegetation, etc. But, I kind of dig the colors that winter offers. I did an eSession with Jenna and Robbie today and I’m not ready to blog it but I really liked this shot when I was downloading.

This was my Christmas card design about five years ago and I ran across it while doing a little housekeeping on the ole ‘puter today. Still appropriate. So today, it is a New Years Card!