Winters coming…

It’s still Autumn here, but today I felt the chill of winter approaching. After a heavy downpour, I took a rare stroll through the garden…

… okay, I was just having a smoke and felt like a walkabout… and was pleasantly surprised. How did I miss these beauties before? Had to go back inside to get the camera.

These fellas though, almost appear to be defying Winter. Wonder how long they’ll hold out? Seems like I’ll have to take more strolls through the garden and keep an eye on them. Hope they won’t mind the ciggies.

What’s that I see?

The pink, purple and white blooms are poking their way through the roadside vegetation once again. Cosmos!

On the South African highveld this only means one thing. Winter is coming. Glorious, beautiful winter. I’m in ecstacy already!

Hurry up and piss off, extended-Summer! And please take your fucking mosquitoes with you…

Photo #13: Winter of my contentment

Pink Cosmos

I spotted the first cosmos yesterday morning on my way to work. They seem to spring up overnight here on the South African Highveld, lining our roadsides with a beautiful yet tangled display of whites, pinks and purples, poking out from the last bits of green and emerging brown grass.

Today I made a point of getting some photographs and these are some of them.

It’s a clear sign that winter is about to start; the season I love the most. I can already feel the slight chill in the air every morning. I can’t wait for the end to this simmering heat that’s been plaguing us recently.

Cosmos by the roadside

Am I the only person who loves winter so much?

Photo #2: The Mighty Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls at night, winter 2007

Date taken: 30 December 2007 @ approximately 20H52

Nikon D40, 35mm focal length, 30 sec exposure F/6.3, ISO 200

The Canadian winter can be very cold at night, and it took some time to get the shot I wanted. My fingers were a trifle sore after about half an hour. I did not have a tripod, so I placed the camera on a wall fronting the river just before the falls. The surface of the wall was uneven, which made keeping the horizon straight, very difficult. I have to get myself a bean-bag for such occasions. I then had to crouch down, my face touching the cold wall, to look through the viewfinder; very awkward. Given the conditions, I think my composition came out okay.