This tree trunk has become one of my regular spots to photograph. The trunk I am referring to is not the upright one, but rather the fallen log in front which is mostly covered in snow. What makes this particular piece of wood so interesting is that the end of the log is absolutely covered, I mean completely covered with bracket fungi.

This trail circles a swamp and passes over numerous small waterways which feel into it. This is one such waterway. I am pretty sure that the intense orange “clouds” in the water are some sort of algae bloom that is not a particularly healthy thing. But still the colors and textures and the way they contrast with the surrounding snow was visually stunning. One thing about photographing water, and in particular things underneath the waters surface, is that the reflections from the water are much more noticeable in an image than they are when you are standing there. The way the brain processes the visual data from the eyes focuses your attention in a way that the reflections are not so noticeable. The key to getting clear photographs like this is to use a linear polarizer which can be oriented to preferentially filter out the reflected light.

This view from the boardwalk in the middle of the swamp shows the snow just beginning to pick up. Interestingly in this photo I was still using the linear polarizer I had mounted for the previous image. Instead, this time I used it to maximize the reflected light from the surface of the water in order to enhance the reflections of the trees and sky.

Here I am at the edge of the swamp, about to enter the wooded dunes. The snow was falling nicely at this point and the whole feeling of the place was very peaceful and quiet.

I liked the patterns formed by the tangled branches of these very thorny branches. This part of the trail is lined on both sides with sometimes dense patches of these things. Accidentally kneeling on one of them while trying to line up a shot of something on the ground definitely gets your attention.

Near the end of the days hike the snow was coming down at its heaviest. It was a heavy wet snow which made me glad I had invested in a pair of water resistant winter hiking pants which as it turns out really are very water resistant. Had I been wearing jeans I’d have been pretty well soaked through by this point considering all the kneeling and sitting I did while taking photos and the heavy snow fall.