I just finished shooting what may be the coldest portrait, but not the coldest photo, I’ve ever taken. It seems like it wasn’t too long ago when I was writing about bringing winter on for new photographic opportunities.  I haven’t been able to get out and take advantage of the snow as much as I would have liked to this winter. I’ve been busy with the newspaper, the visitor guide, and some portraits that I’ve been doing as well. It’s a lot to process, organize (somewhat) and try to stay on top of.

Like so many people I’ve talked to recently, I am done with the snow for this year. It’s nice for a couple months and brings visitors, fun and new photographic opportunities. At the same time I’m tired of the cold and the slush, and of moving piles of snow from here to there. Relief is on the way; the days are getting longer and, with that, people’s spirits are beginning to pick up again.

I shot the photo above on the Utah/Colorado border right next to the “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” sign a couple weeks ago. It was one of a few photos I took on a recent trip because of complications and the resulting time crunch. I took some with the sign to show some irony, but they aren’t quite as nice as this one.  I shot the horizon using the rule of thirds and was able to show some texture in a scene that was almost all white. (Looking at the all-white scene in the daylight and metering the exposure was quite the challenge.)

Driving through Idaho, Utah and the western edge of Colorado, I was inspired to shoot a lot of things.  The dramatic changes in landscapes made my mind wander and I wanted to shoot so many different things — towering wind power windmills, rows of propane tanks in fields, junkyards, grain silos, sunsets, dead trees — more than I can list or describe. At the same time, after hours and hours of flat plains and soft hills, I was pleasantly inspired when the Rocky Mountains of Colorado started to rise in front of me.

Growing up in Pagosa Springs I have become so used to the scenery around me that I sometimes lose track of the beauty that our visitors and new residents come here for year after year. Seeing the beauty in so many different landscapes, from the soft hills of southern Idaho to the cliffs and canyons of Utah, rejuvenated my creative mind. I’m beginning to see things in the unique way I used to; everywhere I look, I’m starting to photograph the things that I want to remember and to show people.

Hopefully soon I’ll find the time to shoot even more of the things in life that I want other people to see. And hopefully I’ll be doing that in the spring sun.