The Calm Before Spring / by Todd Henson

The Calm Before Spring

It was the first week of April. We were transitioning from winter to spring. The day began cool, almost cold, but it slowly warmed to a more comfortable range. Most of the trees still lacked leaves, though that will have changed by now. To the right were a couple of weeping cherry trees in bloom. The rest of the cherry trees wouldn’t bloom for another week or so.

It was a fairly calm day. I liked the idea of creating an image with a reflection of the trees on the far shore of the lake. I decided to set up my tripod on the gazebo on the lake, pointing back towards the rest of the park. I put on a filter to slow down the shutter speed and smooth out the surface of the lake as much as possible. I wanted something simple and quiet to reflect the calm before spring.

I would very much like to return to this location and attempt additional exposures as the seasons change.

Filter Geekery

This was my first photograph with my new Singh-Ray I-Ray 690 Infrared filter. The 690 is not a pure infrared filter. It allows both infrared and near-infrared light to enter the camera. This gives a different look than the pure infrared filter (Singh-Ray I-Ray 830), and it requires far less time to create an exposure.

I look forward to experimenting more with the 690 filter and comparing its results to those of the 830. These sorts of filters can be a lot of fun.


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