Photographers sometimes use the phrase "chasing the light" to describe the pursuit of the perfect image. In fact it has become a bit of a cliche over time, thanks in part to social media. But a more interesting and challenging pursuit for me has been 'chasing winter,' or more precisely "chasing snow". Most of my photography takes place during the spring, summer or fall. There are lots of obvious reasons for this, not the least of which is that I tend to do my photography out of a base camp in remote locations. Camping in the winter is not impossible, but it can be difficult and even dangerous. And timing is a huge challenge, as some areas of the west, in particular, may only see 2 or 3 snow events a year.....so a trip planned in advance may reveal scenery that looks exactly like it does any other time of year....only 50 degrees colder.
A few years ago I planned a January trip to Bryce Canyon, in Southern Utah. Bryce is one of my favorite locations for photography. As I like to say, you could drop your camera and get a decent shot there. With my job, I have to request time off well in advance, so there is no way to watch the weather maps and head out at the last minute. But in this case I was extremely lucky, as I arrived at my inexpensive lodge a day after a major winter storm. In fact the locals told me it was the heaviest snow that they had received in years. The downside is that the snow was so heavy that most of Bryce Canyon National Park was inaccessible due to closed roads! The upside was that the few locations that were accessible offered some amazing scenery....with 2 or 3 feet of snow on the formations. I spent several days shooting in very cold but otherwise perfect conditions. I've got a trip to the south rim of the Grand Canyon planned for January. The southwest is in a drought pattern this winter so the odds are against catching any snow. But even if things don't work out this time, I'll keep 'chasing the snow'.
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