Introduction
This is going to be a story, where I had a an idea and a plan. And – maybe not surprisingly – reality turned out completely different, but offered some rather unique photographic opportunities.
Here is what happened: My wife and I took some days off for a longer weekend in the beginning of April 2022. We were debating whether we should go high up into the mountains where we could still find proper snow, or whether we would stick to the lower regions and enjoy spring instead. We agreed on the latter and therefore planned to stay in the Lake Geneva area hoping for a lot of flowers and sunshine.
Already on the first evening when we arrived, the weather did not look very friendly. A storm was brewing above Lake Geneva. Strong winds picked up and the temperature dropped rapidly.
Very quickly, it was so dark and moody, that the world appeared almost black and white. There was hardly any color in the following image to begin with, and so of course I decided to get completely rid of it. It’s somewhat similar to the images I showed in an earlier blogpost about photographing during bad weather.
Snowfall in Spring
The next day, we woke up to fine snowfall and already slightly powdered surroundings. Well, that was that with our plans of enjoying springtime. So we decided to enjoy winter instead.
We walked to a nearby valley, where all kinds of trees from all over the world were planted during the last century. There was a hillside with lots and lots of magnolia trees in full bloom, but now powdered with snow.
This is how it looked like when we entered the grove. The weather was changing constantly: the snow melted away, followed by heavy snowfall which again covered everything.
Magnolia Flowers during Snowfall
While this was of course not what we originally hoped for, the combination of magnolia flowers and heavy snowfall is not be frowned upon. I find it’s not only a unique combination, but also a very fitting one. The bright flowers and the big snowflakes appear rather similar.
On some images, you may wonder whether the air is filled with petals. And some of the magnolia trees filled the air with heavenly scents.
The two images below are my favorites of this trip.
The one above has such a unique atmosphere. And the panoramic aspect ratio makes me feel like I am looking only at a part of a scene, and there is much more to discover.
The image below is almost the same scene, but this time it feels like I am actually standing in this very spot, in the middle of all the magnolia trees and heavy snowfall.
The magnolia tree grove spread out towards the near forest also giving some unique views. On the edge, you get the impression of looking at a full blooming magnolia forest.
Photo Editing Workflow
For the image “Magnolia Flower during Snowfall” I created a short 1 minute video featuring the editing workflow in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, which you can find on my facebook page. I hope you enjoy it 😊
Conclusion
I hope you enjoy these images as much as I do, along with the reminder that making the best out of every situation – planned or unplanned – can produce beautiful results.
Do you have experience with such situations or questions to this story? Which image do you like best? Please leave a comment down below and I’ll make sure to answer as soon as I can.
Hallo Theodor, ein schöner Beitrag und schöne stimmungsvolle Fotos. Die Kombi von blühenden Magnolien und Schneeflocken ist ein Traum. Planen kann man sowas definitiv nicht. Umso schöner die Überraschung solch eine Szenerie unverhofft anzutreffen. Mir gefällt das von dir favorisierte Panoramabild auch am besten. Aber auch das letzte Bild ist sehr schön mit den diversen Farben.
Danke viel mals dass du dir Zeit genommen hast meinen Beitrag zu kommentieren, das bedeutet mir viel. Es waren ein paar schöne Tage mit vielen ungeahnten Überraschungen 😀