Winterland

Remembering how I created this image always makes me smile, even though at the time I was not quite so happy. This is a very small woodland area close to the main highway on the Dutch German border. There is nothing special about it, but it can be special in the right conditions, by which I mean densely foggy conditions, to hide houses and meadows from sight. Being close to houses meant that one particularly vigilant shepherd dog spotted me and whilst I was photographing this hound from hell was growling and biting at my calves whilst I was trying very hard to not come across as afraid and also to control the trembling. He stopped snapping at me, but kept his nose pressed against my legs whilst I pretended to be totally unaffected by his affections and created this image. It was a very cold winter morning and hoarfrost had sugarcoated the rims of the leaves and the tiny branches on the trees making this look like a still and serene scene, even though I might not have actually felt that serene