It is going to be a white Christmas, at least in Sudbury. Where we will be in Goderich, who knows.

A recent episode of brutally cold temperatures ensured that the snow would be staying, even though we experienced a short mild spell.

S_17_0484 Soft snow falling and a lack of wind have ensured a white Christmas.

The freezing temperatures that followed created interesting ice formations in the creeks.

S_17_0532

S_17_0524 To all, a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Ecard Xmas 2017

The 2018 "Wild and Scenic Ontario" calendar, by BrownTrout Publishers, features two of my photos.

S_13_0164 This photo that I made along Lake Mindemoya on Manitoulin Island is the cover image for this calendar. It is also the image for July.

S_13_0126 This photo that I made close to home, along Chief Lake Road, is the image for March.

Promo, for which I receive no compensation: this calendar would make a great Christmas gift. It is available at Chapters and other calendar retailers.

Another genre of abstract photography centres on man-made objects. I will sometimes focus in on everyday things, often the familiar.

1-abst-objOil storage tank 2-abst-obj 3-abst-obj

At other times I may isolate the subject and not show anything around it. The frame of the photo then contains only a segment of the subject, thus leaving the rest to the viewer's imagination.

4-abst-obj

5-abst-objDetails, old tractors 6-abst-obj Sometimes the abstract photo is about only colour and form.

8-abst-obj 7-abst-obj 9-abst-obj Repeating patterns are another of my favourite abstracting techniques. This is apparent in the above image and the next three photos.

10-abst-obj 11-abst-objMannequins 12-abst-obj

I'll conclude by showing four other examples of abstract photos of found objects.

13-abst-obj 14-abst-obj 16-abst-objPainted window and door, Carna, County Galway, Ireland

15-abst-obj

As you can see from this, many of the techniques are not exclusive. The methodology does overlap.