I wasn’t sure if my box lights were designed for the winter.  I decided to take a chance and take one outdoors for a night photo shoot in my backyard.

Technically, my backyard is a mess with an overgrown passion flower vine that is now dead.  Plus there’s a variety of other dead plants and also bushes that will return in the spring.  To the casual observer, it’s a mess.  But through my camera lens, it is a winter wonderland.  I’ll show you what I mean…

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My outdoor patio table.  I’m glad I got this shot.  Having the box light on for an extended period of time was thawing out the patio furniture.

I’m not entirely sure –  I think this is a crepe myrtle.  One of my favorite shots.

Branches.  I included the specs to help compare this shot with the next.

F-stop:  f/2.5
Exposure time:  1/30 second
ISO speed:  ISO-3200
Focal length:  50mm

Same shot but this time you can see more color in the background.

F-stop:  f/13
Exposure time:  1.6 seconds
ISO speed:  ISO-3200
Focal length:  50mm

Another one of my favorite shots.  To get this photo, I had to notice a tiny detail like a blade of grass that was not embedded in the 1 1/2 inches of ice on the ground. How’d I notice?  At the time I was lying flat on my stomach taking photos of other plant-icicles.  I took extra shots to make sure I had at least one photo that worked.

While I was on the ground, I broke a plant.  So I made use of one of the leaves.  This is another one of my favorite shots.

A patch of grass in the flowerbeds.  While not the appropriate place for grass, I liked having it for the photo shoot.

By this time, I was embedded in the garden, among the vines and trees.  I used my tripod to ensure steadiness.

This is the same view but just pulled back a bit so that you can see more vegetation.

This is a close-up of the passion flower vine.  It has spiral tendrils that latch on to virtually anything.  But this time the ice got it!

This is a Rose of Sharon.  I stood behind the tree and carefully positioned the box light toward the tree.  I really like how it glistens.  The faint orange color that appears is the brick on my home.

Camera used:
Big Bertha (Canon EOS 5D Mark II)

Additional equipment:
Tripod:  many shots were impossible without the tripod.  For some shots I carefully placed the camera directly on the ground.
Box light:  I don’t own a flash on my camera yet!   The box light worked well for my needs.  It illuminated much of the backyard making it possible to take some great shots.

Tips:
Look for different perspectives when taking photos.
Look for details – such as frozen leaves, tendrils or even a blade of grass.
Don’t let night time prevent you from taking photos.  Tripods make all the difference.

Date:  
December 2013