Posted February 28th, 2018

Face in the Snow

Snow sculptures are always a part of the annual Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous festival, held in Whitehorse at the end of February. This face was a small element of a large sculpture at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre. It was carved into the shaded north side of the snow block, which meant that on this sunny afternoon it was primarily lit by the brilliant white fresh snow that covered the ground, while the blue sky provided only secondary illumination. Contrast was very low, but I like the modeling effect that this unusal lighting produced. The blue of the sky light proved overpowering and I could not colour balance it without making the light areas a very warm yellow, which did not suit the subject. So I converted the image to black and white, later adding a touch of purple toning to impart an appropriately cool look.
Pentax K-1, Pentax HD D FA 28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 ED DC WR @ 80mm, f/7.1