Inspiration Part 9 - Snow

Welcome back!

Winter had a slow start this year, but has finally arrived and is making up for lost time. Since our (green) Holidays, we have had a few heavy storms which have brought us back to the seasons regular, snow covered standards. The accumulation started off slowly, giving our surroundings a nice, peaceful air… and then this happened.

BAM! Snow.

           This month’s inspiration post will focus on “the white stuff”. The idea for this blog entry came to me after watching countless Christmas themed movies over the holidays. Being able to describe snow in its various incarnations can be a very useful storytelling tool, depending on the application you are working with. It can add ambiance to a romantic scene, such as a couple walking through a park during a gentle snowfall. It can be a plot tool, like a blizzard trapping characters in a cabin. Or it can be an obstacle, like an avalanche chasing the protagonist down a mountain.

For those of you who are not Canadian or do not live in areas which get snow, here is a quick list of items you might want to research further. Keep in mind I am glossing over these terms, and there is much more information to find for those interested in learning more.

Types of snow

• Snowflake: Single ice crystal with multiple facets.
• Polycrystals: Snowflakes composed of multiple ice crystals.
• Graupel: Single ice crystal which has become rounded and. Normally 2 to 5 millimeters.
• Hail: Solid ice precipitation, usually in rounded clumps of 5 mm or higher.
• Sleet: The result of freezing rain, manifested in transparent ice spheres.

Types of snowfall

• Blizzard: Violent storm, accompanied by strong winds, subfreezing temperatures and a decent amount of snowfall.  
• Drifting snow: Storm caused by strong winds blowing the snow that is already on the ground.
• Flurry: Precipitation that lasts for a short period, with little snowfall.
• Snow squall: Brief storm, accompanied by strong winds, poor visibility and snowfall.
• Snowstorm: Normal levels of wind and temperatures, but accompanied by a large amount of snowfall.

Types of accumulation

• Cornice: Overhanging accumulation of ice and wind-blown snow
• Crust: Hard layer of ice covering a softer layer of snow.
• Ripples: Formation of waves on a snowy surface caused by winds.
• Sastrugi: Irregular snow formation caused by winds. Often fragile in nature.
• Barchan: Horseshoe-shaped snowdrift.

           Now that we have established that snow is much more complicated than it sounds, we can move on to the photography portion of today’s post.

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

©Wendy Papenburg 2016

That is all for this month's Inspiration post. I hope you enjoyed it and managed to  learn something in the process. In closing, I would like to thank Wendy Papenburg for generously supplying the pictures, it is truly appreciated.

Until next time.

Cheers

            Patrick Osborne.