Snowman, Yellow Mountain, China
Tiny snowman under a shelter on Yellow Mountain (i.e., Huangshan), China.
While exploring the spectacularly beautiful Yellow Mountain in China I happened across two snowmen, of the frozen water variety.
Yellow Mountain (i.e., Huangshan) is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited and it was fun to veer off the trail, for a few short minutes, to make a few funny snowman pictures.
In each case the snowmen were freshly made and, for want of a better term, displayed quite quirky personalities.
The first snowman, due to its rather diminutive size, seemed more like a snow boy. A kind of Cartman for fans of the American animation comedy, South Park.
It was certainly my favourite from the series of snowman pictures I made on Huangshan.
Tiny snowman at a rest shelter on Yellow Mountain, China.
Snowman Pictures on Yellow Mountain
You’ll notice that I tried two different approaches to photograph the smaller of the two snowmen.
Initially I photographed from underneath a lovely stone shelter. Notice how I included some of the shelter’s supporting columns in the picture in addition to elements of the surrounding landscape.
The ideal was to employ composition to frame the little snowman and also to help place it in its environment.
Because the snowman was so small I moved in close for a more detailed view.
Of these two snowman pictures I don’t think the closer photo is anywhere near as interesting an image as what I achieved with the wider view. But sometimes the only way to know is to cover your options.
That’s one of the things I love about digital cameras. It doesn’t cost anymore to make extra images.
The trick is to vary your approach so that you’ve got more options from which to choose.
Snowman greets visitors on Yellow Mountain, China during the depths of winter.
Funny Snowman Pictures on Yellow Mountain
The second and larger snowman seemed to display more of an oriental disposition, with ears a little bit like Yoda's.
Maybe it was the altitude, the cold or all the walking up and down steep mountain trails I’d been doing. Either way it was fun.
But photography doesn’t have to end in the camera.
As you can see I added a pretty strong blue tint to this image. I like the effect because it communicates just how cold I felt when I made the image.
Does it add mood to the image and/or make it seem colder than the straightforward black and white version?
If so then it’s probably a good thing. Mood is potent and is likely to elicit an emotive response from the viewer.
Your Camera Photographs Both Ways
Photography provides many ways by which we can both document our world and gain a better understanding of ourselves.
As I like to say, cameras photograph both ways. They speak as much about ourselves, as creative beings, as they do about describing the scenes and subjects we photograph.
With that in mind I’d say these funny snowman pictures say as much about me as they do about the objects I photographed.
About To Travel?
The Experience of Making Photos
And photography, of course, is all about experience.
It’s the fun of recording an image, a moment in time, and it’s about being able to explore our experiences as we interact with the people, places and events encountered on our journey through life.
That’s what photography is for me. And that’s why I’II continue to travel and to make photos as long as I can.
