Frozen serenity in a sunroof

I think at some point in my photographic experiences, I’m going to find ways to enjoy what appears on the sunroof of my 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS, my beloved compact sportscar that I’ve nicknamed “The Blackbird.”

A couple of days ago, I found just such a moment.

Before I continue, you should know something about my car.  It came with a power sunroof.  Press a button and the window on the roof of the Blackbird slowly opens.  This is great when you’re driving along a country road in the summertime and you want some of that fantastic Adirondack air.

In the winter… not so much.  In the winter, you hope that the sunroof is closed and sealed, or else you get some nasty drafts.  That, or maybe some snow leaking into the front seat.  Not cool.  Figuratively, not literally.

Now back to a couple of days ago.

I woke up, and was about to head to work when I looked outside.  The night before, the Capital District went through a winter rainstorm, which eventually evolved into freezing rain.  So this morning… my car had that “freezing rain in the morning” glaze on it.  Okay, break out the scrapers.

And it was at that point that I saw the sunroof.  Or, more specifically, I saw the frozen ice droplets on the sunroof.

Back into the house I went – and I fetched my Nikon Df camera.  I’m not wasting a chance to get this picture.  The Df still had the 58mm kit lens on it, so I positioned the camera on the sunroof… and took this shot.

That is sweet.  Chilly and sweet.  For sure.  And there’s a seriously shallow depth of field – which is why the droplets in the front of the picture are out of focus, while the ones in the center are tack-sharp.  Next time this happens, I’m going to use a tripod and a smaller f-stop to get everything in deep focus.

But again, this is me getting used to my new Nikon Df camera.  And with that sweet 58mm f/1.8 kit lens, I decided to take the next step with this gear.

For Christmas, my girlfriend Nicole gave me a gift card from B&H Photo Video.  And yesterday, I used that card to purchase some 58mm lens filters for my camera gear.  I already have 52mm lens filters for my other lenses, but it’s nice to have that same variety available for my new gear.

Among the filters I purchased?  A 58mm Hoya 400 neutral-density filter, the same one that I used to capture my Poestenkill Cascade photo from two years ago.  You know, this one…

You know that these test shots I’m doing with the Nikon Df camera – whether it’s capturing chilly waterfalls in the Hudson Valley, or frozen raindrops on the sunroof of my car – these are the early tests of what I know will be fantastic photographs as time progresses.

And that feels good.

Even on a cold, chilly morning.