Inspired by several Vimeo videos, I went out the day after Christmas to capture some nature. I was hoping to find some wildlife, but it was rainy and overcast, so most animals were under shelter. (I did find evidence of some beaver activity, as you'll see.)

I found the singing of the nearby Chagrin river to be appealing, so I shot this video instead. The ice formations were particularly beautiful. (I'm glad I went out that day ... the next day the temperatures rose to an unseasonable 65 degrees (F)!)

I don't usually think of the song "Morning Has Broken" as a Christmas song. I found this version on "A Windham Hill Christmas: The Night Before Christmas." I think the flute solo is particularly haunting, and the entire piece fit my experience of the Chagrin river that day.

I shot this video with my Canon HG10 camcorder with a wide angle lens. I usually use an external microphone, but I wanted to test out the HG10's internal microphone on ambient sounds. I think the internal microphone picked up the sounds of the river quite nicely.

Some of the pans and zooms are a bit jumpy ... apologies. I'm still learning about my camera. :-)

Enjoy!