A couple of weeks back, I decided to take a hike through town, and beyond, with the goal of enjoying a nice winter’s day, and maybe getting to make some photographs. I was thinking I would go to the Broadway Bridge and head East along the Huron River, past the University Hospital complex and on towards Gallup Park. But when I got to the bridge, I though I’d just run down to the Argo Dam first and see what was happening there. And I just kept going in that direction. Looking upstream, the river was well and truly frozen (on the surface at least).

I crossed the river on the dam’s walkway, and kept along the West bank until I could again cross the river, by now to the North bank, at Bandemer Park. Having gotten this far, I thought why not go on to Barton Dam, and I knew I could take the direct route along Barton Shore Drive. I had only gone a short distance when my attention was grabbed by a small woodland between me and, the Amtrak? Barton Nature Area? the Huron River? can’t be sure. Anyway, I was taken by this slight sense of mystery as you looked to the distance, plus the regularity of the planting. By now I’d been out for over 2 hours, and it would be at least an hour to get home, so after I tried a few different lenses, I called it a day. The top photo is one from that first visit.

I thought the effect would be even greater if I could be there when the sun was shining, and preferably from the side. So having looked up when that would be, I headed out a few days later, this time in the car, and had another go. Even when I get the colors to where I think they should be, I don’t think this conveys what I first saw. The contrast seems to have lost the feeling that first attracted me.

Another day, another attempt. This very much has the sense that first caught my eye. It seems simpler as well, though maybe one of the other compositions from that day might be better, as the area on the left feels it might be superfluous.

It was only when I had done some test prints from the 3 visits, and looked again at the top photo, that I realized that one of the things I liked there was having the foreground tree on the left, even though all the others I did on subsequent visits put it on the right, and generally they matched what I had first responded to. Oh well, the snow is still there, and maybe I’ll get a chance to try again. Which is a very rare thing, even when I am photographing locally.