It’s hard to convey just how bitterly cold it has been here the past week. We’ve been well into the minus 20s and minus 30s all week, and when you add in the effect of the wind (aka “wind chill”) the net result has made it feel like the minus 40s. LOW minus forties on several occasions.
About the only positive note is that it has been nice and sunny, and the viciousness of the weather has made me feel less distressed about being without my main camera, since even I would have been hard pressed to go out and get photos in these conditions, although it has been known to happen in the past.
I’ve been reminded of some of the things that don’t work well in the extreme cold, such as the plumbing to my studio (high up on the house and on a north wall), and the water pipes at the barn, which tend to freeze up depending where they are located, and despite everyone’s best efforts to prevent this from happening. The seat cushions of a car that has sat outside in the driveway in these conditions acquire a certain distinctive ice-block-like consistency, with no give whatsoever. Ditto the wheels. Steering takes a while to function right, too.
At least the car is still starting, given enough time with the block heater plugged in. Other than necessary trips out for supplies and to the barn, though, I’m not going anyplace much, and I have developed a tendency to wake up in the middle of the night and worry about my poor elderly retired Thoroughbred. He has grown a good enough winter coat, has a shelter (if his “difficult” pasture companion will let him in it) and also has the option of a winter horse blanket and/or an indoor stall for the truly bitter nights, but still he’s a concern. Few remaining teeth mean he’s hard pressed to take in enough calories to keep his weight where it should be in the winter, so it’s all a cause for concern. He lives at the acreage of a friend who is a genius at managing the old boys in an optimal fashion, so there’s not much I can do other than hope for the predicted warming (and that’s a relative term) trend to come quickly. And worry in the middle of the night.
On the camera front, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that I have bought a new camera (picked up this afternoon) and the bad news is that I *had to* buy a new camera. The old one had so many things needing to be fixed (including a new shutter) that I just wasn’t willing to invest the money required to make it right. I admit to being very hard on my camera bodies, as I use them heavily year-round, usually in difficult conditions (heat, dust, cold, wind, snow, rain, you name it) and am just generally a demanding if not mildly abusive camera user. I’m going to try to be a better owner to this one, but don’t make any bets on my success rate at this. I do what I am able to in order to be nice to my cameras, but I’m not about to change my shooting style.
So far I have managed to attach the strap to the body (don’t laugh, this is usually the most challenging and irritating part of setting up a new camera body) and that’s about it. I’ll spend some time tomorrow sitting in the comfy chair with the camera and the manual and get it up to speed and set for my style of photography, then I’ll be good to go. Tonight I’ll try to cowboy up and install the software package that came with it. I tend to be quite phobic about any sort of computer installations, assuming (sometimes correctly) that it will all go terribly wrong and I’ll be up the creek without a paddle. I think I spent too much time with the old PC that was a nasty piece of work, and I still think of that as the default level of performance for computers. I now have a very lovely and compliant (mostly) Mac, but I still live in a state of mild apprehension that it will all go south with no notice and am consequently always amazed when everything goes well.
Since I didn’t take any photos this past week, I’ve delved about in the files for today’s shots, all thematically related to the season and the current weather. The first three shots were collected under very cold conditions in the past couple of winters.
Shot one was taken a couple of winters ago, at a get-together of drivers and teams on a day that was pretty much like today. It was well into the minus twenties with a seriously nasty wind. Despite that, a large number of drivers with many and varied types of horses and conveyances turned out for the event. I thought this fellow had the best set-up. He’s out of the wind, and to judge by the chimney in the front, he also has a heat source in the form of a little wood-burning stove. Now that’s sensible. Almost as sensible as staying home and not venturing out at all would have been.
Shot two was from a client horse shoot, which took place in the usual cold and wind, but with the added element of a snowfall thrown in for good measure. The barn cats were happy just to observe the world from the doorway of the barn.
Shot three was one of the mares from my favourite mixed herd south of the city. Yet again cold and windy that day. Judging from her shape, I’d say this was into the new year, as she was in foal and starting to show the effects.
I’ve been working away in the past while converting some of my images into card format. Some will be available as free e-cards on a horsewoman’s website (I’ll post a link once they are launched) and others I will print up for sale myself. Shots four and five show a couple of the card designs.

©Copyright 2009 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.