My mom and I talk on the phone at least once nearly every day...and often we chat several times. This time of year if it is cloudy and raining at Mom’s place in Ohio, she’ll say: “We’re having a Seattle Day;” and if it is cold but sunny here in the Pacific North-wet, I say: “We’re having an Ohio Day.”
The images I’m posting today resulted when two Ohio-ish winter weather phenomena converged in Western Washington yesterday -- circumstances so unusual here, in fact, that Seattle morning TV news breathlessly covered our day’s weather like it was a breaking news story.
The two events?
1: The sky was clear, and Seattleites saw sunshine (the TV reporter pointed to the sky, where, sure enough, viewers could discern a bright yellow ball.)
2: The air was unusually chilly (the live TV shot followed the reporter as he crouched down to show us that rain puddles lingering from earlier in the week had now turned to ice.) The reporter told us that driving conditions might be slick. The TV shot flashed back to the news anchor who looked earnest and concerned, and said: “Scary!”
TV news loves to scare us.
I summoned my courage and went outside into the scary world where, yes, I did find ice...but it was beautiful. The patterns I saw were otherworldly and abstract. I photographed the ice from this angle and that, first envisioning color images, then thinking: No, this would be amazing in black and white.
After some time I went back in the house, where, as I glanced toward the kitchen table, yet another photographic possibility presented itself. Sunshine and shadows, such a rarity in a Northwest winter, gave me material for additional visual note-taking.
I couldn’t wait to tell my mom all about my Ohio Weather Day.
