"It's so cold out, even the statues are wearing a hat"

**Manfred M** · 26th January 2015, 02:51 AM

I had wanted to get a winter shot of this statue of the great jazz pianist, Oscar Peterson, for some time. Location is outside of the National Arts Centre, in Ottawa, Canada.

I was out early this morning, shooting something else in the area, and actually had great opportunity to take a shot, as nobody else was stupid enough to be out in the cold. Someone had put a hat on the statue's head. A passer by said to me "It's so cold out, even the statues are wearing a hat".

He was right!

"It's so cold out, even the statues are wearing a hat"

This was actually a bit of a pain to photograph, as tall marker poles are all over the place to ensure that the snowplows don't get too close to the statue and damage it. I managed to line up my shot in such a way that I kept all but one out of the frame; that one had to be cloned out.

My eyes were drawn by the red Christmas decoration in the planter behind the statue. I framed the shot so that the explanatory plaque frames the statue's head.

**FootLoose** · 26th January 2015, 03:59 AM

The snow around his feet makes his smile seem more like an grimace of pain.

**Mike Buckley** · 26th January 2015, 04:07 AM

One of my favorite jazz pianists. I had no idea he was Canadian.

**MatthewWilliams** · 26th January 2015, 06:58 AM

made me feel cold looking at it. now don't take this personally or anything ---.. but if you could.. keep that cold stuff on your side of the border, we've been having a very mild winter in Wyoming and thats nice..

**IzzieK** · 26th January 2015, 08:45 AM

Nice shot. The Christmas decoration behind him is a nice touch to break the scene a bit. Pity the snow is dirty. At least it is not yellow. ha!

Take heart Matt...Spring will be here soon. We were having quite a mild winter over our way too. There are times that our house is colder than the weather outside.

**Shadowman** · 26th January 2015, 09:46 AM

Nicely composed.

**Manfred M** · 26th January 2015, 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by Mike Buckley

One of my favorite jazz pianists. I had no idea he was Canadian.

Yes, he was born in Montreal and made his home in the Toronto area. His father was a Jamaican immigrant who worked as s railway porter.

**Manfred M** · 26th January 2015, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by IzzieK

Nice shot. The Christmas decoration behind him is a nice touch to break the scene a bit. Pity the snow is dirty. At least it is not yellow. ha!

Take heart Matt...Spring will be here soon. We were having quite a mild winter over our way too. There are times that our house is colder than the weather outside.

The downside of the statue being located on a busy downtown street corner. We had a fresh overnight snowfall, but a few people still managed to mess things up....

**Manfred M** · 26th January 2015, 02:36 PM

Originally Posted by FootLoose

The snow around his feet makes his smile seem more like an grimace of pain.

Although it might surprise you, but snow is actually an effective insulator. A good snow cover ensures that plants, seeds, bulbs, etc, survive the winter. It may sound a bit counter-intuitive, but temperatures near the freezing point are preferable to the -20C or lower ones.

We had a very cold winter last year and when I spoke with some of the wine growers in the Niagara area, they told me they lost a many of their more delicate varietals because of the lack of snow insulation.

**Manfred M** · 26th January 2015, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by MatthewWilliams

made me feel cold looking at it. now don't take this personally or anything ---.. but if you could.. keep that cold stuff on your side of the border, we've been having a very mild winter in Wyoming and thats nice..

I think we are doing our best to do that. It's really cold out again this morning...

**Mark von Kanel** · 26th January 2015, 03:51 PM

Cool... Literally!

**AlwaysOnAuto** · 26th January 2015, 08:49 PM

Nice shot. I was also thinking his feet are probably frozen. I know mine would be.

Not to rub it in, but, we're suffering with a 78*F day here with clouds that have come in from the south. We're hoping for some rain, but I don't think we're going to get that lucky.

**IzzieK** · 26th January 2015, 11:08 PM

Is that a joke Alan? 78°F? I can't invite you for hot chilli tonight for dinner...

**AlwaysOnAuto** · 27th January 2015, 12:22 AM

Originally Posted by IzzieK

Is that a joke Alan? 78°F? I can't invite you for hot chilli tonight for dinner...

I WISH it was a joke Izzie.
It has finally started to rain.
Nothing pisses my wife off more than summertime temps during the winter.
Now that the rain has started the temp has dropped to 61*F.

That's OK on dinner, I just put a meatloaf in the oven. =;>)

**selig1656** · 27th January 2015, 02:41 AM

I love the pic , but not sure something in the color of the snow seems a little off to me.You would know better than me. thanks for the neat photo and brav'n the cold for a shot.

**Manfred M** · 27th January 2015, 03:22 AM

Originally Posted by selig1656

I love the pic , but not sure something in the color of the snow seems a little off to me.You would know better than me. thanks for the neat photo and brav'n the cold for a shot.

Snow in the city looks nice when it has just fallen, but with cars driving by and people walking through it, it gets dirty looking all too quickly; and that is what you are seeing. The sidewalks here are salted and sanded to reduce the risk of slipping, so the brown tint comes from the sand. Lots of footprints show where the dirt and sand have been tracked about.

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