Finding the Beauty

I hate winter and I hate the cold, however, this weekend I had the opportunity to go out and discover some of the beauty that winter can bring.

First off let me set the scene. I set out around 4pm on Saturday knowing that the light was just about to be perfect. It was about 6 degrees but with a wind chill that made it feel more like negative 2. Even with the multiple pairs of socks, pants, and shirts, I could still feel the wind chilling me down to my bones. If you need to suffer for your art I certainly did this day.

IMAGE ONE:
I saw this as I was driving by. The sun setting through the trees casting those long shadows, it was eerie and yet beautiful with the light and the pattern. Situated on a sharp curve and hill I had to park down the road and walk back to this scene. Woo wee! Was that a cold 15 minutes spent walking and photographing.

IMAGE TWO: By the time I got back to my car I was ready to call it quits. My feet were starting to hurt from the cold and my face was actually starting to go numb despite the hat and scarf I had wrapped around it. But then I saw this scene, the sun setting spilling golden light out, the long shadow of the bare trees. It was not the photo I had set out to take, but it was by far my favorite one I took on this journey.

IMAGE THREE: This was in scene I had been hoping to capture. When I pulled up next to it a huge gust of wind picked up the snow and blew it across the field creating beautiful glittering clouds. Excited by the idea of capturing this I then spend a good 20 minutes standing in a snow drift waiting for nature to maybe repeat itself. Luckily for me it did.

Needless to say despite the frigid temperatures I was able to find some job in capturing some unexpected scene and beauty.