December 11, 2009

Night skiing deserves a quiet night.

DSC00063

DSC00069

28 comments:

Pastafarian said...

Beautiful photos. Are they retouched at all? That color is remarkable.

Ann Althouse said...

The second one is not touched up at all. The first one has a little added saturation and contrast. And I've turned the temperature down to 15. (In iPhoto.)

kentuckyliz said...

Looks good!

I haven't used my xc skis since I moved here. Subtropical climate.

OMG I have to look at Pastafarian's profile pic!!! Click "Post a Comment" to see what I mean.

Pastafarian said...

That second photo is just stunning. It makes me wish it would snow down here in Ohio like that.

If Meade took this, he's getting better at composition. I really like the effect of that building on the right with its whiter roof and artificial lights.

Pastafarian said...

kentuckyliz -- that pic is from the Fail Blog (hopefully they won't sue me for using it). It's titled "militia fail".

I've found other photos of this same character on other sites, and they're some of the funniest I've ever seen -- in one, he's lying on his side, in his underwear/loincloth, with his black socks, next to a few of his prized possessions, mostly consisting of cheap firearms and kung-fu-looking weapons of dubious effectiveness.

Most liberal commenters here assume that this profile pic is my self-portrait.

kentuckyliz said...

Oh Pasta, you have made my evening. Good belly laugh.

Unknown said...

Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening...

Very iconic.

Meade, that you can go out that late in that kind of temperature - Kipling said it better than I ever could.

Ann, that you could turn down the temp to 15 (?), doubly so...

Pastafarian said...

That second photo is just stunning. It makes me wish it would snow down here in Ohio like that.

Don't you dare say that! I'll come over wherever you are and hit you with a stick. (That storm barely missed us, do you want it to hear?)

Wince said...

Perhaps my very favorite song lyric.

The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago,

Turned around backwards so the windshield shows

Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse...

Peter Hoh said...

I guess R.E.M. might have written that, had they grown up up north.

There's something magical about dusk when the ground is covered in snow.

It's not just the light; the snow absorbs sound nicely, contributing to the other-worldly feel.

Joan said...

I do miss that, the silence of absorbed sounds that snow produces.

(Not enough to ever move back, you understand.)

Snow produces a profound silence, even after it has stopped falling.

Ann Althouse said...

I meant -5, not 15.

And Meade has always had fine composition.

David said...

She's hooked. Lined and sinkered too.

kentuckyliz said...

The color is fake but accurate.

(Like my hair. Historic preservation.)

Peter Hoh said...

Have you tried editing photos after they're on flickr? I prefer their editing tools (picnik) to the iphoto tools.

Perhaps it's because I'm still using an older version of iphoto.

JohnAnnArbor said...

Next, you can try snowshoes.

Peano said...

A bit of touch-up on the second image. Very pretty scene.

blake said...

Echoing edutcher: The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

Pastafarian said...

Althouse said: "And Meade has always had fine composition."

His comments have always been well-composed, but his photos...

I don't know; maybe it's the port causing me to misremember, but I seem to recall a few less-than-stellar efforts from Meade soon after your coupling. If I recall correctly, they involved a marathon or a bike race or some such thing; and they were blurry, but not that good intentional blurry, but rather more like I'd taken them. And the horizon wasn't quite level, again, not in a good Batman's nemesis sort of way, but in an unintentional way.

But maybe he was nervous. And I am somewhat drunk.

Unknown said...

Ann Althouse said...

I meant -5, not 15.

And Meade has always had fine composition.


Even more, you have more sand in your craw than I to go out in that kind of temp, although I think the chill is drier there than on the East Coast. The moisture in the wind around Philadelphia can make the air sting like a dagger.

As to composition, the first photo, where you appear to be beckoning him to follow you has a nice, understated, romantic feel to it.
My impression, of course.

Donna B. said...

"And Meade has always had fine composition."

I'm not sure that Althouse is talking about photography here.

:-)

J. Cricket said...

An Althouse suck-up thread!!!

Can't wait for the award of The Biggest Suck-Up.

Who will it be??? So many candidates!!

Unknown said...

Thank you, Ebenezer.

Roger J. said...

XC skiing is a wonderful pasttime--its obvious at this point in your XC career you are doing what is called classic or diagonal stride skiing--as you get better you might want to try skating--longer skis without much wax and much faster--but whatever you do enjoy the thrill and pleasure of XC

My recommendation would go to Austria--Kirchdorf precisely, and ski on the Kaiserlauf trail--gruelling but punctuated by side trips up to Griesbach alm where you can enjoy goulash soup, beer and a goerm knodle--and at when you get back to kirchdorf, and evening in the sauna and hot tub--about as close to heaven as you can get

Roger J. said...

The other wonderful XC trail would be out of Oberammergau in Germany--it runs thru Ettal and then up to one of King Ludwigs estates--the community spa in Oberammergau features a wonderful pool that goes outside in the cold weather but with body temp water--

Look up the world loppet series of cross country skiing--a major race (or ski trip) every week for ten weeks starting in Austria (the Dolometan lauf in southern Austria out of Lienz),normally done by racers but can be enjoyed by people that just enjoy XC
skiing

amba said...

Wow. That looks like more than fun. Elating.

Michael Haz said...

You'd better whip it into shape pretty darn quickly. The American Birkebiner is February 27 in Hayward, and you need to compete.

TMink said...

Nice coinkydink, I am listening to Night Swimming while surfing and looking at skiing.

Trey

Corky Boyd said...

What is that funny white stuff on the ground?

Corky Boyd
Sanibel FL