December Photo Challenge - Let There Be Light

This month's theme for Donna's Personal Photo Challenge is Light - "Let There Be Light". I have been so busy with Christmas preparations I didn't think I'd find time to participate. You know what it's like in December - too may things to get done and never enough time... I always feel "behind"...
But I couldn't bear not taking part in the fun, so I decided even if I didn't have new photos to share, surely I could dive into the archives and find a few photos which would be worthy of sharing... Here's what I came up with.

This first one is a favourite winter shot (you can see I've used it in my December header.) It was taken on Christmas Eve morning two years ago in Odell Park, a park here in our city popular with walkers and cross-country skiers. It was a crisp cold morning after a fresh snowfall, a beautiful sunny blue sky day. The sun was not yet too high in the sky, making for nice long blue shadows. Although I have some lens flare in the upper part of the photo, I rather like it. What do you think? Would it be a better photo without the flare? I love the sidelighting on the snow on the little bridge. I think the sidelighting from the winter sun really "makes" this photo.... The scene would not have looked the same at all on a cloudy day.

Exposure: 1/250 sec.

Aperture f/8.0

Focal length 26.3mm

ISO 100

This next photo was taken in my backyard last January. We have a fence behind a long angled perennial bed and I love the shadows we get through that fence during the winter. I have taken a number of photos over several winters of the shadows being cast across the snow. Depending on how the wind has drifted the snow between the house and the fence, sometimes I get some pretty "wonky" lines. This is far from a prefect photo - I probably should have angled the camera up a bit to get more of the fence boards - but I do like "the shadow lines". Again the sun was low enough in the sky to pick up a little sparkle in the snow which makes it a bit more interesting too... 

Exposure 1/350 sec.

Aperture f/8.0

Focal length 93mm.

ISO 100

My last photo is an indoor shot of my faithful companion Oliver. He is a sun worshipper in the winter, following the sun around the house and basking in its warmth. His favourite spot is in the family room in the afternoon as the windows face south and there is often sunshine for most of the afternoon. Here I caught him with just a portion of his face lit by the afternoon sun. I love how it shows up the detail of his fur and his beautiful light green eyes. It is perhaps more interesting than if his whole face was "fully exposed". 

Exposure 1/60 sec.

Aperture f/5.6

Focal length 50mm.

ISO 100

All photos were taken with my Pentax K20D.

Please visit Donna's Challenge here to see what other participants have done this month with the challenge.

Peace,

Linda

"The light in winter is most varied; there are days when it's clear and bright, carving the earth into light and shadow like a razor. Yet, at times, the light can be soft and quiet as a whisper...."

~ Peter Fiore