Sunday, January 4, 2009

Day 4 >

January 4th; Freezing rain overnight left the roads covered by a sheet of ice keeping me at home for the morning hours.
At noon I was really feeling the itch to get out to capture the daily image, so after scraping all that ice off the car's windows, I headed to nearby Fort Howard Cemetery since it wouldn't involve driving very far on the very slippery roads.
As I drove I wondered if my luck with stumbling upon interesting subjects would hold for another day or if this would be the first time I'd have to settle for a less interesting image than those I've captured so far for this project. Once Spring arrives I expect that I will have so many subjects available that I will actually have a difficult time choosing which photo will represent each day. Winter, however, is a different story. Each day has proven to be quite a challenge with the earth buried under two feet of snow.
I arrived at the cemetery and strapped snowshoes to my feet (to aid in traversing the aforementioned two feet of snow) grabbed my backpack and camera and made my way toward my first possible subject; a weathered statue of a seated woman atop a large base. I'd shot this statue several times before so I didn't have high hopes it would become the day's image but thought I might find a new angle of view or that the snow that had fallen on the figure might provide some added interest. At first glance I was fairly sure I'd have no reason to pull the camera from it's bag but then I noticed something out of place just below the woman's right hand and realized it was a small wasp's nest.
It never ceases to amaze me how ingeniously hives are positioned to protect them from the weather but this one seemed especially well placed.
The wasps instinctively built the hive in the shelter of her hand while she seemed to be demonstrating a motherly instinct to provide that needed protection.
I took the photo and moved on but felt confident that I'd captured the winning image for day four.
So my lucky streak continues. I've got my fingers crossed for day 5.

1 comment:

  1. I think this photo is just beautiful. I find it very calming.

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