Last month before I went to New York I had the pleasure of taking a trip with the family, to the mountains. The difference with this trip and another trip I shared with you last year, was that this time the mountains were covered in snow.
Join my today as we take a look at the snowy mountains of Greece. These are actually a fifteen minute drive from my tow
n.
We set out with nice weather but once we got to a certain altitude we saw these icicles which indicated that it was indeed cold up here.
It was at this point that I had edited most of the photos but some of them looked flat. Lots of blue, white, and grey. And so I did something different. I decided to channel my inner Ansel Adams and switched some of them over to black and white. I’ve never tried this before but there was a huge difference.
I first discovered Ansel Adams in college and was always astonished by his photography of nature and in particular Western America. He was a true environmentalist.
Without that great big blue sky everything looks starker, there is more contrast. And let’s face it I’ve shown you that sky a billion times by now! It was time to change things up.
Below is a field with raisin bushes all lined up with the village right behind. Or as normal people call them “vineyards”! The altitude here is 831 meters (2,726 feet) and there are only 15 residents. This is actually very common for many villages. Many of the home owners visit in the summer months and have these as their second homes.
Finally we reach our destination which is another village, this time at a height of 1,105 meters (3625 ft). This one has only 4 residents. But it has a cafe and a church.
There is plenty of snow and ice here.
And a spectacular view!
I’ve always found the mountain ridges fascinating, as if something is hiding between the folds.
The rocky formations are very common in Greece. You’ll find rocks everywhere even in the farming lands.
In the last few years we have had quite a few fires in the area. The forests have thinned out.
A bit of greenery peeking through.
There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.
- Ansel Adams
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A moss covered tree full of health despite the cold and snow.
And the church. Wherever you go in Greece you will find churches, big or small, no matter the size of the village.
This view is from the village we visited looking down to the Corinthian Bay.
The same photo in color. And a whole different mood. You may also be able to discern the mountains on the other side of the bay.
It was a cold, brisk day but we had a lot of fun. In fact my daughter the one who has the You Tube channel made a video. You can check it out here to see her antics.
I really enjoyed sharing this trip to the snowy mountains of Greece and paying homage to Ansel Adams. And I hope you liked my unusual take on them in the form of these black and white photos. Are you a fan of black and white photos? Which one was your favorite?
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Beautiful photos, Mary, both the colour and the black and white. Personally, I prefer colour. Isn’t Greece so diverse? Here on Crete, our mountain peaks have a dollop of snow on them while our meadows are beaming with buttercups! It’s breathtakingly beautiful!!
Poppy
Greece is truly beautiful Poppy and that is what I miss so much when I’m away. At this time of the year the earth is awakening and like you said flowers are blooming while we have snow. It is such an incredible juxtaposition and we are lucky to be able to observe it firsthand. .
Whoa Mary, the photos are stunning, especially the black and white ones. Isn’t it amazing when you remove the color how the stark beauty of the landscape just hits you. Beautiful
Exactly Michelle. That blue sky is beautiful but sometimes you want the dramatic lines of the mountains to shine through.
Nice scenery, Mary. You always make me homesick.
I’ve never heard of raising bushes. Aren’t raisins dried grapes? LOL
You know I should have said vineyards. It just looks so weird with all that snow.
Well, maybe they’re already dry… I seriously thought there’s a new animal out there I haven’t heard of yet. We live and learn. Speaking of, I need to learn to proofread before hitting submit (‘raising’) lol.
Oh I love this post, Mary. As a journalism student in college (‘back then’) we had to take photography, both the taking and developing of film — which of course (‘back then’) was done in a dark room. We studied Ansel Adams as the master of the photo and I still kick myself for not going when he appeared in a town a few hundred miles away to talk about photography. My photo instructor used to tell us that anyone can take a good color photo, but a great photographer takes a good black and white photo. You’ve done just that!
Jackie you have just given me the highest compliment. Thank you so much. I have loved his work since my early college days. There is such atmospheric beauty in his compositions. You may not have seen him live but at least we have his amazing photos to admire.
Hi Mary, the scenery around you is simply stunning and put ours to shame. I can only imagine the eyeball rolling that goes on when the part time residence head back to their holiday homes, putting more than one car on the road at a time!
Your photos are lovely and I do like black and white, my favourite is the black and white ‘there is plenty pf snow and ice here’ one.
xx
Debbie youknow how it is the locals resent the part timers but also look forward to a little life in the villages.
I think after this I will be doing black and white more often.
WOW! What beautiful Pictures dear Mary. They are so magazine worthy! Hugs and blessings, Cindy
Aww thank you so much Cindy for your sweet compliment.
Love your B&W’s Mary…you definitely awakened your inner Ansel Adams!!!
Yay! Thanks Michelle. This has been a long time coming. I wonder why I didn’t do it sooner.
Very very beautiful Mary! Wow, I’m really blown away, I wish we’d have a little bit of snow over here….just a little, cause chaos would break out, lol! Your photos are stunning as always and I love the black and white change up!!!
Katrin that is exactly what happened in my town when it snowed. Because we are located at sea level we are not used to snow and the town was paralyzed for a week. I’m also liking this change and I’ll have to try it again. Thanks dear friend
Beautiful pictures Mary! The black and white photos are really lovely. I Love seeing the snow on the rocks, the town on the side of the mountains, and the moss covered tree.
Thank you Linda. We had a lot of fun that day even if it was cold it was still nice in the sun.
Gorgeous photos, Mary! I actually love your black and white photos more than the colored ones. Beautiful!
Carol I think they add something special to the photos that you don’t get with the colored. Thanks for reaffirming this.
Snow is not something that comes to mind when I think of Greece. I love all the seasons (some more than others lol) but these photos prove that Winter can provide a beautiful landscape when we look for it.
Lovely post Mary.
Thanks Leanna. Did you know that in addition to lots of coast line we have a mountain range running thru Greece. This is why we have lots of snow and also lots of ski resorts. Who would have guessed! 😉
Your black and white photos are just gorgeous, Mary!!!
It must have been very cold up there!!!!
It must have been around freezing maybe a little colder. But with the sun shining it was so beautiful. I think those black and whites make it look even colder.
Beautiful photography! Such gorgeous scenery! I’v never been to Greece but my husband has. It is a beautiful country.
I love the black and white photos. I must try some of mine in black and white.
Thank you for your visit. It was great to meet you.
Thank you Bonnie, I’m sure your husband must have been raving. Althought we are famous for our beaches, I prefer to show another side of Greece. Good luck with your black and whites. I had so much fun doing this.
Just last week I saw a couple of videos on Ansel that were produced by his son. It was very interesting to see how resourceful he was with his post production techniques. We are truly spoiled with tools like LR and PS!
Greece never fails to mesmorize me, whether it’s in color or black and white.
XXX
Thanks so much Doreen. It’s always interesting to see things from a different light, or a different altitude for that matter. As for technology, well you know I would not be able to spend all that money on developing my mistakes. haha.
Beautiful photos, Mary! I love the dramatic affects of black & white photography. I so enjoy your photographic tours of Greece. Now I’m heading over to YouTube…
Thank you Marie. It was a new thing for me. And I’m really glad I tried it. Because I was not expecting such a huge difference in the images.
Mary, what a great idea to switch it up and do black and white photos. I love seeing the view through this colorless aspect.. Your pictures always look beautiful. I think my favorite is the photograph of the road.
It was alot of fun and full of surprises Keri. You never know how it will turn out until you try. But it looks way colder than it actually was. The neverending road. I was lucky there wasn’t that much traffic up there.
Dear mary,
soooo many beautiful pictures. I especially like the black-and-white ones and the one of the mosscovered tree.
Have a great day,
Marjan
Thank you so much Marjan. It was worth it to step out of my comfort zone!
What a gorgeous trip. I have Greece on my bucket list now. I adore Black and white, and have long tried to imitate Ansel as well – yours turned out great! I think one of my favorite has to be the line of snow on the bushes and the scenery behind – it gives great contrast
Thank you so much Alycia. He was a remarkable photographer and we can all learn so much from him. Of course it was easy for me to do these since they are mostly covered in snow. I’ll have to try this with a different landscape.
I’m still in shock it snows in Greece at all. It has changed my perception, and I’m not totally sure how to handle it. I have traveled the Mediterranean, and Greece is so close to the hot hot dessert and equator. I just really had no idea. I feel educated, but I’m not sure how to handle the education. I live in Utah at the base of the mountains and it snows a lot. We even get snow in June (rarely, but it happens). But south, its not supposed to snow.
Kellie we have lots of beaches but there is a mountain range that runs the length of Greece starting up in southern Albania. It is about 160 kilometers long. So you see we have plenty of mountains on the mainland. Lots of opportunities for snow. As long as you have altitude you have snow.
Beautiful locations, just wish I could someday visit there. Thanks for sharing these lovely pictures.
Ivory I too wish the same for you. You would love it and now prices are dropping more and more so you never know.