Der Schwarzwald In Transit

The title to this post is not as enigmatic as it appears. It is in the flavor of my recent posts of light and darkness, black and white. In my just finished visit to the Rhine Valley I was fortunate enough to catch a spring snowfall on the very morning that I was approaching the Black Forest (viz., Der Schwarzwald). This was such a contrast in not only the visual but also the experiential terra firma where the unexpected was suddenly upon us.

Unfortunately, I was in a bus traveling along a narrow road with magnificent scenery around me. I was spell-bound, but I wanted to take a picture to capture this transcendent moment. My first impulse was that it was not possible traveling in a bus with a camera that was not my best (simply a small tourist camera), but my wife stated emphatically, “Yes, indeed, take the photos!”  As an obedient spouse I compiled, not having much hope of success.

Needless to say, my wife was right. I was able to salvage several quite extraordinary moments. Whether these moments translated into good photos was another matter. This photo of a farm on a mountainside in the midst of a sudden spring snow storm is my attempt to relay a very transient moment. On reflexion, this appears that many great photos are all about these transient moments (hence, “in transit”), that try to capture the ephemeral but also the equally eternally transcendent.

The shot was taken with a Canon Powershot G3X, 24 mm, f/8.0, 1/800, ISO 125, enhanced with DxO Optics Pro, with tonality adjusted in Photoshop.