Anything But Typical, Utterly Unpredictable, the Adirondacks

For 2 out of the first 3 weekends of 2010, I have been fortunate to be blessed with plenty of winter, and time to enjoy it in the Adirondacks. Save for last weekend, when it was a holiday, the Adirondack Ice Festival, and downright unseasonably warm, I have enjoyed 6 days of 20 in the Adirondacks. Had it been a bit colder, I'd have made it 9 of 20. That is a darn good batting average if you ask me!

As many days as I've spent in the Daks, I really haven't shot that many frames. Snow, cloud cover, extreme cold, and my poor fitness have conspired to keep creativity to a minimum. Of course, the beauty of nature photography is if the weather doesn't pan out as expected, you can just revert to being a hiker.

That being said, my primary focus wasn't really photography anyway, not having a personal trainer with a VO2 max of 240 anymore (Lance Armstrong's freakish VO2 max is about 80 as a reference point), I am badly out of shape, and never really motivated to get back into shape till winter arrives. So the last few weekends, photography has been secondary to being a hiker, which will then lead to being a climber the second half of winter, when the ice turns February plasticky, rather than January bullet proof. All of which will lead to better photography since I will be able to carry more equipment and cover more ground.

In years past, my mountain guide would set the pace, glare at me when it was getting late early, and overall remind me of how disappointing it was to have such a slow bi-ped as a caretaker. I've never been good at setting a pace, but this year I have little choice.

At the same time, keeping things simple is nice, one lens, minimal filters, and the unpredictability of the Adirondack weather...