Snow Trees at Ashton Court

“Simplified”

Snow is magical. Growing up in the mild South West, I thought it was the rarity of snow and ice that made them appealing. Yet after living in Russia for the best part of three years, I still haven’t got my fill of cold, crystalline conditions.  Of course, it’s impossible to single out one reason for snow’s mystique—personal and cultural associations as well as romantic symbolism all mix in my feelings towards it. However, since I took up landscape photography, my favourite thing about snow is that it simplifies a scene. Anyone who’s lived in Bristol will have walked past this pond in Aston court. I had never seen a photo opportunity here; there is a path that runs diagonally through the scene and the pond shore is muddy from thousands of dogs who love to bound into it. A dusting of snow hid these ‘blemishes’ and transformed the mundane into something else.