Snow Storms and Snapshots
A winter walk with my camera through a record-breaking snowfall
Howdy everyone,
On the weekend of February 15-16th, 2025, Ontario was hit with a severe winter storm, dumping up to 60 cm of snow in some areas, on top of the 20 cm we had just gotten a few days prior.
The weather outside today is a beautiful -8°C feeling like -15°C with the windchill, winds gusting up to 42 km/h and scattered flurries forecasted all day.
Going out in a car in this weather, especially when you don’t have to is ill-advised. But I didn’t see much harm in walking around my neighbourhood just to see and experience this winter storm.
I brought my camera with me, my trusty Fujifilm X-T20, with a Super-Takumar 50mm F/1.4 lens. When I’m not out in nature, I prefer the smaller form factor of the X-T20. I find that I can stuff it into a pocket or small bag easier.
I’m not a film photographer, so you may be wondering where the Super-Takumar lens came from. I inherited it from my Grandfather when I was younger. Despite not shooting film, I kept the lens safe and it eventually found use on my X-T20.
I’m generally strictly a nature photography guy. I’m usually not inspired to take photos in urban environments, but when conditions like this present themselves, it’s hard to pass up the opportunity.
I was joined by my girlfriend on this adventure. As soon as we headed out, we encountered a very Canadian or stereotypical winter scene, a car was stuck on the road, the snow too deep to get through.
As we made our way around, we came across a snowman that must have been from several days ago. It looked like the snowman had begun melting, and unfortunately was starting to fall over. After looking at the snowman for a moment, it looked like it was taking a final bow at the end of its performance. So I snapped a photo of it.
We then decided to head over to a nearby park. As we walked down a small shovelled portion of the sidewalk, we passed a row of street lamps, trees, and an awning, that when put all together, I thought looked quite nice.
As we made our way off the shovelled portion and into the snow, we quickly realized just how deep it was. The snow had come up to my knees, and it was quite difficult to walk in. This would definitely be a good time to have some snowshoes.
We started to feel the effects of the weather and both agreed to start heading home. While making our way home, I spotted this house for sale. I quite liked the overall scene that the house was in, so I pulled out my camera for one last shot before heading home.
Once we returned home, took off our many layers and warmed back up. I then sat down and looked at the photos I had taken.
I was quite happy with the photos, despite not usually enjoying urban scenes. It was great overall to get out and experience these conditions and I’m glad that I ventured out.
If you’re experiencing this storm too, I hope you’re staying safe and warm!
Until the next post,
-Greg