Well, the Winter has begun … we had our first real snow of any consequence, and all the little old ladies that live in my building were doing their usual act of how it's so awful, how terribly cold it was … etc., etc. I expect they have reason to complain … they have enough trouble getting around when the weather is more moderate. And it is said that old people feel the cold more … I have found the Norwegian saying to be of some help: "There's no such thing as bad weather; there's only bad clothes." Aside from a bit of nipping at the fingers, I haven't had any trouble. And I love the cold, the snow … partly because I don't get overheated so often. I have a very poor heat-regulator in my body, and I'm nearly always too hot. When I had my house and would spend hours outside snowplowing and shoveling, I'd frequently just wear a light jacket over my underwear. My wife would look out the front window to see me roll in the snow, just trying to cool off.
Anyway, this snow was an invitation to me … out I went, with my little camera under my vest (I notice you have to keep didgies much warmer than conventional cameras, or else they "ding" at you when you turn them on, complaining about empty batteries. Wussy damn things.) And I didn't get a lot; the snow was driving pretty hard and kept plastering over my lens, and the storm wasn't that visually interesting, but I got some:
A tree that managed to retain some colour.
I liked this one especially well … it gives a good impression of what it was like.
der Wandersmann 
PainterWoman
December 6, 2008 at 7:12 am
I like the one with the school bus too. This is what my daughter was hoping for when I was visiting her in North Dakota a couple of weeks ago. She wants me to experience a blizzard. I keep telling her…I have, I have. There was just a couple of days of light flurries. The temp was 23 deg. and really wasn't too bad unless the wind blew. I borrowed one of their jackets which was excellent for keeping you warm but the wind cut right through my jeans.
Tabmartel
December 6, 2008 at 9:12 pm
We have had snow here since mid November.It's starting to get a little chilly, though I'm not one to complain.I have a similar problem in that I get too cold. Even with the heat cranked up, I am unable to maintain a decent body temperature during the winter months.During summer months I over-heat, and pray for the snow.This is a common problem that individuals affected by addisons disease face. It's not enough to keep indoors though! The Redeau Canal will be open for skating here soon enough, and I'm stoked!Excellent photographs! Thanks so much for sharing them.
BookWorm93
December 7, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Ew. Snow. it gets cold enough wre i live without the snow but then again beople in alaska would think its summer time.
luckeeleo
December 11, 2008 at 7:12 am
I have found the winter in Lake Placid to be a treat.Jumping off the roof of the cabin into 12 ft. snow drifts.Clothing optional.
luckeeleo
December 11, 2008 at 7:12 am
I never understood complaints about the weather. What can one do?I love the hard rain and thunder.The flakes of snow that land on an eyelash. Fireworks of lightning in the sky.Life is bland without
derWandersmann
December 12, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Schneewalzer?LOL
luckeeleo
December 13, 2008 at 7:12 am
Eiz tanzen,then falling on your arse.
derWandersmann
December 13, 2008 at 9:12 am
LOL
luckeeleo
December 13, 2008 at 3:12 pm
nice to hear from you again dW.hope you are well.Do you have plans for the holiday?I will finally be back where I belong in San Francisco.Are you still snowed in up there?Where are these pictures taken? Minnesota?I know how cold it can get around the Great Lakes.I was stationed at the Navy Base outside Chicago in the winter of 1977.60 degrees below zero with the wind chill.We had to march in the snow every day and at night they had this thing called snow watch. Which entailed spending 2 hours shoveling the streets and parking lots.But I never would have met my wife if I did not get Pneumonia that winter. She nursed me back to health in 4 days. Oh to be young again!Always a pleasure dW,keep in touchdas Leo
BitzyMe
December 14, 2008 at 6:12 am
Hi there, been a while.Yahhh.. those batteries don't last long in the cold. I've actually had instances of my lens freezing up on me. I've learned to wear a big loose jacket, carry the camera underneath the jacket and only take it out when I'm ready to take a shot of something. Then the lenses.. view finder or my glasses fog over.. 😆 It's challenging. Middle of last week we were at a windchill of -25F. Definitely bonechilling.. frozen nose hairs weather. Yesterday, it stayed in the single digits so the trees are still coated with ice from the freezing rain that we got Friday (on top of 5-8 inches of snow). An 11 mile commute to work took me about an hour. My Cairn Terrier presented me with 5 pups on Dec 4th so have been pretty busy with that. Looks like you've been keeping busy and delving into your art work.. will have to explore. Hope you are well and good to see you posting again.Bitzy
derWandersmann
December 16, 2008 at 10:12 am
I remember a few times in the "old days", i.e., film, when I was out at my buddy's farm near Elgin, Illinois in Winter … Illinois gets Winters from Hell, or rather, from the Arctic, pretty regularly … even I got chilly sometimes out there.It would be pretty far below zero (0°F, –17.7°C, for you Europeans), in the range of –20° to –30°. These Continental Winters can be brutal. The first couple of times, not being experienced at cold-weather photography, I had my shutter freeze up, or damned near … it got slow enough that I could hear that something was wrong. This was in an old Retina IIIC folder that I had rescued from oblivion, with a synchro-compur between-the-lens shutter. Damn, I love that camera, even today! Quickly enough, I figured out what the trouble was, closed the camera up, and stuffed it inside ('WAY inside!) my jacket. In a few minutes (I told you I cook hot!) it was working fine, and I got some of my best exposures ever on those outings. Not digitised, of course. Sigh!I never had that problem with my Mirandas, which were SLRs … It's a good thing,too … I couldn't have got them into my jacket, they were too big. The only trouble I ever had from cold was with the longer lenses (135mm Macro and 200mm). I had made my own lenscaps from a thick plate of brass that I turned on a lathe, and lined the lips with leather to provide a gripping surface on the hood … they fit so tightly that they didn't allow air movement in and out … the cold air would expand when I got into a warm place, and blow the lenscap off. LOL I finally redesigned the 135mm cap to lock onto three screws that I tapped into the hood.
luckeeleo
December 16, 2008 at 7:12 pm
I have mostly had problems with condensation on the inside of the lens after bringing the camera out from warm to cold temps.But have gotten a gauzelike effect.Good or bad? depends on the lighting.
jwfreeman
January 10, 2009 at 10:01 am
Some of the guys I know here bitch & whine like old women too bud