Snowfall in York County on Wednesday night ranged from 5 to 11 inches. In lieu of an assignment that was canned last-minute on Thursday, my editor decided to send me to John Rudy County Park and told me to wait/look for cross-country skiers.
He really wanted cross-country skiers.
I really doubted I’d find cross-country skiers, even if I were to hang around for hours.
But I went out to the park, and first spent some time in the open-leash area, also known as Canine Meadows. (Supposedly it’s ranked in the top 10 dog parks in the nation?) Then, as the light started to fall (and become prettier), I headed over to the main area of the park… and, in the parking lot, happened to meet two people who were about to go snowshoeing.
© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Linda Ranker, of Springettsbury Township, begins snowshoeing in John Rudy County Park on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011. Snowfall in York County ranged from 7 to 11 inches on Wednesday night.
© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Tom Allen, of Springettsbury Township, adjusts his snowshoe straps in John Rudy County Park on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011.
© 2011 by The York Dispatch. Tom Allen and Linda Ranker, of Springettsbury Township, snowshoe up a hill in John Rudy County Park on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011. Allen and Ranker said this was their second time using their new snowshoes, which are lighter-weight than traditional wooden ones.
So, I guess I lucked out. It ain’t cross-country skiing, but it’s definitely something other than sledding or shoveling.
Side note: Allen and Ranker definitely had the physical advantage over me — that is, I didn’t have snowshoes. Keeping pace with them while making pictures was pretty difficult, especially since I was almost up to my knees in snow.
(And yes, that vignette is in-camera.)
- ADDENDUM — Jan. 28, 12:56 p.m. EST —
I’ve received a few comments and questions about whether that vignette really is in-camera. Proof:
These are the original files, as seen in Photo Mechanic.
The only toning I did was some contrast (via curves) and color balance. I did not perform any selective editing.
Words and Light 
Just wondering why the vignette is a concern? So what if it wasn’t in-camera? Photojounalists have been vignetting images from the early days of b&w darkrooms, to emphasize the subject of a photo, what’s the problem?
Vignetting in post-production/Photoshop is something students have often seen in (and done for) photojournalism competitions. It’s been discouraged for use in those competitions — namely, CPOY and POYi — if it was added after the photo was taken. I haven’t seen too much discussion about vignetting in the context of ethics (whereas cloning and excessive burning/dodging have been discussed), though.
Given that, and the fact that more than a few people have questioned whether the vignette in that picture is legit, I figured it couldn’t hurt for me to be transparent and show that raw frame from that shoot.