Showing posts with label frost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frost. Show all posts

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

Winter wonderland

Two weeks ago the Scottish landscape was covered with a beautiful blanket of snow, not only in the mountains but also on lower ground.

View from our house to Scolty Hill 
©Fenfolio 2012

As always, the weather can change rapidly here so you have to take the opportunity when it comes!
My first trip was with the ski mountaineering club and I would meet a few members at Boat of Garten on Saturday night. Normally I drive via Tomintoul and small ski resort The Lecht, but due to heavy snow drifts the road closed down just when I arrived there! The weather forecast looked really good for the next day so I decided to go for an extra two-hour drive to get to my final destination Fraoch Lodge.

The next day we started at Cairngorm car park and skinned up to Lurcher's Crag, continued our way up to Cairn Lochan and then skied down in descent snow to skin up again to the top of Cairngorm itself. The hard physical work of about 4 hours walking uphill (legs burning!) was all forgotten when we skied off-piste back to the car park. Heaven!!


My silhouette with map of Cairngorms in snow  
©Fenfolio 2012


Me in my element!  
©Fenfolio 2012


The group enjoying the splendid views
©Fenfolio 2012




View from Lurcher's Crag
©Fenfolio 2012



Ski touring on Cairngorm plateau
©Fenfolio 2012




Almost there!
©Fenfolio 2012


A few days later I tried out my new Nordic skis along the old railway path in Banchory. It was just in time because in the afternoon the thaw set in and since then the snow has gone completely on lower ground and in the mountains it has set off several avalanches. Let's hope the crispy cold weather will be back soon!


Skiing the Deeside Way
©Fenfolio 2012



Skiing along the river Dee 
©Fenfolio 2012









Monday, 6 February 2012

Artistic Explorations: Layers & Lines (2)

Recently I was approached by a community project coordinator who asked me whether I would be interested in sharing my creative skills  for a new project called Youth Industries, specifically aimed at youngsters between 16 and 20. It didn't take me long to say yes to this new challenge! Although I don't have any experience in leading groups, I do think I can give them creative inspiration and that's what it is all about.
Soon I hope to hear who would be interested in abstract photography and (mixed media) art so I can start organising the sessions. I hope the group will be as excited as I am!

With all of this in mind, I made a beautiful walk along the partially frozen river Dee yesterday and brought along my little compact camera just in case I saw something that I could use for my own artwork and for this project. Well, it was hard to miss the beautiful ice shapes on the river bank. After some tweeks in Photoshop and Lightroom, this is the final result.

Ice shapes ©Fenfolio2012