This shot was taken three years ago this evening towards the end of the big snow of December 2010. As it was forecast to thaw by St. Stephen’s Day, I’d spend most of Christmas Eve out along the coast between Dun Laogahire and Shankill and a walk up to the Obelisk on Killiney Hill was the last stop of the day. I’d already set up the camera on the tripod and I was trying to work out the best shot when this family walked up and agreed to be included. They stood remarkably still  for the 30 second exposure at 17mm, ISO 200, and  f11 using my old Canon 40D and a Canon EFS 17-55 lens. In the computer, I adjusted  the white balance using the snow on the ground followed by a little warming and vibrance adjustment - the snow looked quite purple in the original. I also toned down the orange reflection of the street lights on the clouds. Finally, I corrected the “keystone” or falling back effect and brought the obelisk back to vertical using the lens correction filter in Lightroom. For me, it brings to mind the monolith scene from the opening “Dawn of Man” sequence of the great Stanley’s Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”.