Snow is a relatively hard thing to capture on film. With so much white, there’s very little contrast or texture, so nothing to lead the eye. You want to give a sense of being suffocated by all this now, but too much of the same thing in a picture becomes boring. It’s balancing the subject and working with available light that becomes important.

I don’t think we’ve reached the record for snowfall yet, but we’re close. I tried to walk to work, but gave up. Even trudging through the snow to get these shots left me sweating. It’s days like these that I’m thankful that I live in a condo, because my condo fees go towards shoveling the parking lot. People told me they had to shovel their driveways a couple times in one night.

It feels barren today. It’s cold outside, but there’s no wind and the air is still. Everything is so unforgiving and largo e pianissimo sempre.

Usually, my playlists are very carefully planned, and aside from a few organized by genre, are based on emotion and experience. However, there was there was one morning when I got up, and found myself outside on a chilly fall day, with everything was covered in an early winter frost. Past the buildings and the trees, a wall of cloud hung over the river, fazing stark whites through pale reds, coloured by the early sun.

This playlist was inspired by that single morning. The music is a mix of two moods; the first is a relaxed and beat-oriented, while the other is more dreamy and floaty. I recommend it for long trips by bus during the fall-winter transition. The bus really is the best way to pay attention to the landscape and the changing sky.

Portishead — Glory Box
Portishead — It’s A Fire
Portishead — Mysterons
Portishead — Roads
DJ Clue — Exclusive New Shit (feat. Nature)
Nas — Gotta Love It
Dido — Aria
Pinback — Loro
The Fugees — Ready Or Not
Xzibit — Carry The Weight
DNTEL — Why I’m So Unhappy
Cardigans — Explode
Band Of Bees — Punchbag
Modest Mouse — The World At Large
Bel Canto — Capio
Radiohead — Everything In Its Right Place
Radiohead — Motion Picture Soundtrack
Radiohead — No Surprizes
Sigur Rós — Ágætis Byrjun
Omni Trio — Higher Ground
Sylver — In Your Eyes
Dune — Winter Kills

Crashed at Aaron’s last night, and my god how beautiful the sky was at his place. His unblinded windows were filled with an intense gradient, and it really emphasized the stark nakedness of the trees that were barely peering above the horizon. It was the brightest night of the winter, and the room was filled with orange-pink light. I lay on his couch, wishing I could keep my eyes open for just another second longer before I succumbed to exhaustion.

The bus ride home tonight was all beautifully orange and snow.