Photographed a few weeks ago in a local conservation area after a recent snowfall. It would not last long so I had to get out with the camera while there was fresh snow and little wind. Winter is normally pretty drab here and these conditions are rare. I was drawn to the large pillow-shaped piles of snow on the boulders in this creek creating little snow-covered islands. With a fresh blanket of snow the scene was simplified to this dark amorphous shape of the creek cradled by snow. The fresh snow in the trees provided the atmosphere.
Post-processing was somewhat minimal: no initial color adjustments, local reverse dehazing of the highlights to strengthen the atmosphere, slight orton effect applied, color temp reduced to cooler tones in the shadows, and very slight vignette applied around the left and bottom to bring back a bit of the texture in the snow. Gear: Nikon D3200, Tokina 11-18 mm, 1/40 s, f/8, ISO 100, and polarizer. Focus stacked 2 images.
Black and white is something most people either love or hate. I'm the former so I think this image is stronger in black and white because it eliminates the slight blue color cast in the foreground snow, as well as the little bit of brown in the trees. Makes the scene look more pristine. Just my 2¢.