Happy New Year from Hollywood Beach

Welcome to 2014!  Our New Years gift in Chicago is snow, lots and lots of snow.  Below are some photos of the Chicago lakefront on New Years Day.  These were all taken on or near Kathy Osterman Beach, colloquially known as Hollywood Beach due to it's proximity to Hollywood Ave.


"Enter, Winter Wonderland" © Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/640sec at f8, ISO200.


"Edgewater" © Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/1000sec at f8, ISO200.


"Front Row Seats" © Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/1000sec at f8, ISO200.


"The Water's Great" © Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 16-85mm lens, 1/1000sec at f8, ISO200.


"Hollywood Beach, New Years Day" © Andy Marfia 2013 All Rights Reserved. Nikon D7100 w/ 55-200mm lens, 1/1250sec at f8, ISO200.

I have an internal debate that happens every winter regarding how to process winter photos.  With the photos in this set, if I had processed them strictly for realism, they would probably all be a little darker, as that's what it looks like on an overcast, stormy day.  But my brain wants snow to be white even if it's not actually white.  Also, I like photos that have full tones!  So in the end what you see is a compromise-- the snow and the sky are both a tad lighter than reality, but still a nice grayish tone that I think captures the mood.