\nDocumenting the magic of winter before it becomes \u2018normal\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Winter can be a polarizing season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For some, it means glistening snow, skating on frozen ponds, and enjoying the holidays, while for others, it amounts to bitter cold, short days, and enough shovelling to create sore backs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But what would it be like to experience winter for the first time, with fresh eyes?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many residents of the Pembina Valley are cold-weather veterans, so it\u2019s difficult to imagine, but for Ade Adediran, the milestone came last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For him, it was a unique opportunity \u2014 and he made the most of it.<\/p>\n
The experience also contributed to his growing love of Morden.<\/p>\n
Adediran’s photograph of snow on a branch.\u00a0
\nDocumenting the magic of winter before it becomes \u2018normal\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adediran moved to Morden in 2024 with his wife, Jola, after living in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a trained biologist with an affinity for nature and a photographer accustomed to documenting landscapes, people, towns, and products for companies like Samsung, Adediran naturally turned his lens to his first winter in Canada.<\/p>\n
He realized that, before long, the quirks of winter might become more routine, or maybe even lose their sparkle.<\/p>\n
“I know that being here for a while, I’ll start seeing these things as normal, but before they become normal, [I\u2019m]\u00a0documenting the unique things I’m seeing and enjoying,\u201d he explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hoary trees and the amber light of a snowy sunset\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some of the photographer\u2019s unique experiences \u2014 which all combined into the magic of a first winter \u2014 included the sensation of experiencing subzero temperatures for the first time, seeing the landscape change daily as the snow shifts, melts, and falls again, and witnessing the special way light bounces off the snow during a winter sunset.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He also said that when he told his friends in Nigeria he had seen the northern lights before the snow arrived, they said he was \u201cliving [their] dream.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adediran’s photograph of the northern lights.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the photographer, the silence of winter was also something to get used to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have few people walking around the streets because it’s cold, obviously, and [it’s so] quiet and silent,\u201d he said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried to take pictures of empty streets and everything, and it was really, really interesting. I’ve never seen a space where people live [be] so quiet and almost empty because people are all cooped up in their homes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Related stories:<\/p>\n
For Adediran, who is keen to capture fine details, all these features were well worth documenting. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI took so many pictures, from leaves and twigs and trees with snow building up on top to park benches where you could see how many centimetres of snow had fallen overnight,\u201d he said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was such a beautiful thing. These are the things that I know a lot of people would ignore and … not see anything special in, but I did, because it’s new to me.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
Learning to shoot in winter\u00a0<\/p>\n
Learning how to take pictures in a snowy environment was also a part of Adediran’s first winter.<\/p>\n
One task was finding the light settings that work best in the snow, but this came quickly thanks to the photographer’s experience capturing white beaches in Nigeria.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even so, an important hurdle remained, and Adediran smiles when he thinks about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hardest part is trying to get your fingers to work through the gloves,\u201d he said, adding that snapping pictures was slightly challenging at Morden\u2019s Winterfest last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Morden tree in winter. Photo by Ade Adeiran.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u00a0remember how hard it was. I would pull my gloves off and try to take a picture.”<\/p>\n
This year, Adediran is ready \u2014 he practiced taking photographs with a pair of gloves throughout the summer in preparation for the hand-seizing temperatures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A philosophy that the Pembina Valley complements<\/p>\n
Nature as a subject aligns with the method behind Adediran’s craft more than almost anything else.<\/p>\n
The photographer considers Morden the perfect blend of nature and history, and he finds the harmony of brick buildings, aged trees, and stretching landscapes inspiring.<\/p>\n
Adediran with his camera.<\/p>\n
“I prefer doing a lot of inanimate photography because I am keeping history,” he explained.<\/p>\n
“I’m taking a moment in time that might not repeat.”<\/p>\n
He added that many of the things he sees are also new to him, including the presence of wildlife like squirrels.<\/p>\n
It all helps grow an appreciation for Morden.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like [that] it’s in the centre. If you go towards the left or towards the east or the west, you’ll see a vast expanse of land where you could also do some nighttime photography. It also has beautiful lake \u2014 where you could just spend your time sitting down [and] taking pictures of the whole landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lake Minnewasta captured by Adediran during autumn.\u00a0
\nAn impulse to protect nature<\/p>\n
While the photographer jokes that you can\u2019t throw a stone in the air without hitting someone in Lagos, which has 20 million people, life in southern Manitoba is very different, and he likes it.<\/p>\n
\u201cCity life does have its appeal and everything, but\u00a0coming to Morden, I think you just appreciate life more, and appreciate your environment, and want to protect it,\u201d he said, adding that with his biology background and being taught to respect nature from his botanist father, conservation is also something he explores through his work. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c[I] understand why people work so hard to protect this environment. The air is clean, and there\u2019s no noise pollution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The friendly (and impactful) faces of Morden\u00a0<\/p>\n
Through his art, Adediran has also come to appreciate the people of Morden.<\/p>\n
He said that beyond feeling safe in town no matter at what time of day he takes pictures, people are always quick to share a wave or a smile.<\/p>\n
This picture is special to Adediran because it’s the first one he took when he arrived in Morden.<\/p>\n
His experiences in the city reflect what he\u2019s learned about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve been learning a lot about the history of the town and how … it has come to where it is right now, and as much as it’s developing, the soul of the city\u00a0is still being kept,”\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n
“I’m one person who believes if I live in a space, I have to make the best of it, enjoy it, understand it, because if you’re going to stay here longer, then you have to be part of it, and when [you have] kids, you’ll also teach them the values that the town upholds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adediran’s picture of an empty street in Morden.<\/p>\n
He added that in winter, one act in particular during the cold months represents a facet of Morden that he enjoys being a part of. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the winter, I’ll be walking from afar, and somebody will open the door and wait for me patiently at the door. I say, \u2018No, please go inside,\u2019 but no, they’ll insist. They’ll wait for me till I get there and open it,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI will also do the same thing for other people because this is something they will do for me, and everybody’s smiling, everybody’s happy. Nothing beats that. It just makes your day easy.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Just take pictures\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a self-taught photographer who learned primarily through online videos, Adediran\u2019s advice for those who might also want to record winter through their own experiences is simple.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJust take pictures \u2014 there are no hard and fast rules. Everybody has a style, everybody has an approach. Start with your mobile phone and take pictures,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He added that one shouldn\u2019t be pressured to purchase a top-of-the-line camera right away, because, in the end, it\u2019s not about that, despite the changing landscape of the craft.<\/p>\n
A black-and-white picture of a flower captured by Adediran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s sad now that there’s [competition] from AI images … but I think people should not be intimidated by that and still keep taking pictures because what is real is real. You are freezing a moment in time. Take pictures\u00a0of your family, your environment, your pets, everything, and you’ll see over time how much you\u2019ll appreciate it,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt allows you to control your own narrative of things and let people see through your eyes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adediran added that, for this winter, he\u2019s looking forward to capturing a sundog, which he missed last year, and to finding a single snow-covered tree in the middle of a field.<\/p>\n
Another tree in wintertime. Photo by Adediran.<\/p>\n
As he enters his second cold season with a little more experience, the magic of winter remains.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a whole lifestyle. It’s interesting, it’s unique, and I love every bit of it,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Click here<\/a> to see Adediran\u2019s prints or follow his Instagram page<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n