As an iPhone photographer and a proud, native son of Cape Cod, I’ve always found myself drawn to the vibrant hues of spring, the golden light of summer, and the rich tones of fall. These seasons, especially on the Cape, for me, offer a plethora of opportunities for capturing the beauty of coastal nature and culture, in its full glory.
Not surprisingly, there’s something about the desolate landscapes of winter that has always left me feeling uninspired and unmotivated. Yawn. The whole season makes me want to pull the covers back over my head and keep sleeping. Brrrr.
The barren trees, the gray skies, the biting cold – it’s all a far cry from the scenes I typically seek out with my camera in hand, in the beach destination I love most.
However, on this recent trip to Cape Cod, in the dead of winter, I found myself, unexpectedly, drawn to the bleakness and inhospitability of my surroundings. Rather than shunning the harsh elements, I decided to embrace them – to lean into the windswept shores and barren landscapes with my iPhone as my companion and shoot some Black and White.
Wonderfully, I found this whole photographic experience a pleasant combination of bleakness and meekness.
Now, and underscore this, meekness is not a weakness but a strength under control.
Sometimes as a photographer, used to shooting in less hostile environments, it takes emotional strength to fight against your natural tendencies to retreat and retire rather than welcome and envelope what lies obviously in front of your lens.
At first, it was a challenge. My fingers chilled by the biting cold, my breath visible in the frosty air, I struggled to find beauty in the starkness of my surroundings. But as I ventured further into the wintry landscape, something shifted within me. Instead of seeing the desolation as a hindrance to my creativity, I began to see it as an opportunity – a chance to explore a different side of my artistry that I don’t normally explore
In the midst of the bleakness, I discovered a quiet strength – a meekness, if you will, that belied a deeper resilience. It wasn’t about overpowering the elements or forcing my will upon the landscape; it was about finding beauty in the simplicity of the scene before me. It was about embracing the inherent challenges of winter photography and allowing them to shape my artistic vision. Click.
As I captured images of this barren and colorlessscape, I realized that there was a certain grace in the bleakness – a quiet beauty that spoke to the resilience of nature itself. And in that moment, I found myself humbled by the sheer power and majesty of the world around me, in graphic form, in Black and White.
In the end, I came away from my winter sojourn with a newfound appreciation for the meekness of my surroundings – for the strength that lies in embracing the harshness of winter with open arms. And though I may always prefer the warmth and vibrancy of spring, summer, and fall, I now know that there is beauty to be found in every season – if only we have the courage and stength to look for it.
All images here, in the post, were shot on my iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Then, for each, I applied the Noir filter at 100% (one of the built-in 9 filters in the Photos app) and, independently, slightly increased the contrast slider too, also using the simple Photos app.
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Jack
