Tree by Road - Snowy Day

Our second tour of duty in Germany, we lived in the small town of Sankt Leon, part of the hyphenated towns of Sankt Leon-Rot, south of Heidelberg past Sandhausen and Walldorf. If we wished to avoid the traffic light in Rot, we could use a pair of field roads that brought us out very close to home. Besides driving that road, we had many pleasant walks and bicycle rides on it out toward the lake or on over toward Reilingen. Looking at this picture, you can see what I like about snowy or foggy, even misty weather - the simplification of the scene to its basic elements. The road and the tree are what we really need to see. Speaking of seeing, are you beginning to notice that I seem to like receding perspective, or items arranged in rows (or lines), or both? Here is how style works. I did not go around saying “I plan to have such and such a style” and making my pictures conform to it. But, after making many pictures and deciding which ones I liked the best, I could not help but notice that scenes that appeal to me, and the ways in which I have handled those scenes that satisfy me, do tend to have certain characteristics in common. I have had the habit of saying that I tend to look for symmetry and balance, but as I look at this show, I am beginning to wonder if that is true. Hmmm. See what I mean about style?