Snowbound
Regular viewers of the Sun’s Photograph of the Week may have detected that this department is curated with a predilection for images that can be appreciated both as documents and as abstract compositions.
Yesterday’s unusual hours-long blizzard was chronicled throughout Sierra County on social media. Yards and their blanketed contents—from outdoor furniture to vegetation to statuary—was the photographic subject du jour. This closeup of a metal cactus festooned with snow departed from the norm by forgoing an overview of mounds of snow and focusing on a detail that told the tale with beautiful economy.
Notice how white background sets off the jewel tones assumed by the cactus stem, paddles and blossoms in the dull light. The subtle texture of the snow rewards closer inspection. Finally, the atypical, shot-from-above perspective adds to the viewing pleasure by permitting a reading of the metal shapes as simultaneously three-dimensional and flat. All these elements contribute to the photograph’s strong graphic appeal.
—Commentary by Tom Hinson, editor, Photograph of the Week
Editor’s Note: Click on the photograph to view it in a light box for even greater clarity.
Professional, amateur and phone-camera photographers alike are invited to submit images to the Sierra County Sun for possible publication in the Sun’s “Photograph of the Week” feature. The deadline for consideration is every Friday at 5 p.m. For further information, click on the Help Us Report button on our home page and then check the box labeled “I want to submit a photo to Photograph of the Week.”
