To make the most of the situation, I spent a lot of time making photos and wandering through the large Ponderosa groves. It’s all a part of this rural life, and as a full-time photographer, these great big storms bring great big opportunities to create and be inspired.
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The start of the storm brought big fluffy flakes
Sometimes you’ll hear people talk about type-two fun. The kind of fun that is felt most after doing a hard thing. I liken my style of capturing moments to that here in the Southern Rockies. One of the most unique challenges down here is the snow and ice on our rural roads. This is the snowiest part of the Southern Rockies, and it also happens to be a very rural part of the country, so we don’t get the usual road maintenance, and sometimes our roads are simply not drivable, and they close until the plows can get to them, which can be up to a week… or never.
I find myself home-bound during the winter often, snowed in for a couple of days. That can create the challenge of how do I create beautiful and emotive photos of something I have made one million photos of: my home and land. It always keeps me thinking and trying new things. The reward is usually found in that process. And of course, when I make an image that really feels like I have captured exactly what I was dreaming it would be.
As clouds rolled in and filled the valley, snow started to accumulate
First things first, before the storm lands, I need to haul enough water to my home so that my cistern is full. Otherwise, I have to melt snow until the storm stops. I don’t have running water without procuring it. I also stock up on food. It’s hard to manage a photoshoot without those two things taken care of. The rest of the preparation is getting my head in the right place to be at home for many days with respite.
By morning, the storm was in full swing and relentless
I worked to find beauty in the details of everyday life
Before too long, my world was blanketed in snow
During the third day of a record-smashing snowstorm that would last eight days, I was capturing the snowy ponderosa when it became unbelievably windy out of the blue. I’m talking gusts of 70 miles per hour. These gusts would blow the snow off the ponderosa in heavy sheets. Due to how much snow was already on the ground from the storm, about four feet of it, I couldn’t move very fast in it. So I was wandering toward my driveway at a snail’s pace as these massive plumes of glittering snow blew and whipped from the ponderosa tops, cascading down like miniature blizzards. Like they were a whole world; each plume of falling snow. It felt like magic, as if I was transported into some other world. Re-entering Earth when I made it back to my road.
And crystals
The clouds played with the light and magic happened as the sun set
Magic also arrived in the morning in the color pink
Wild friends were the only visitors
I enjoyed having some time to create and enjoy forced upon me – thank you Mother Nature!
When the storm broke the birds came out to stretch their wings
Feeling renewed after the storm!
A beautiful beam of sunshine and glittery snow was the end to this beautiful system
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