There I was driving through the mountains of Colorado near Buena Vista as the late afternoon light became blocked by the clouds and tiny snowflakes started to float down to greet me.
I was excited for what was to come overnight.
Normal people crinkle their nose when turbulent weather is coming, but photographers like me have a big smile that’s hard to wipe off. The forecast indicated that more snow was on the way.
I hardly slept that night. I was anxious about what scenes would be created for me overnight. I looked at my clock prematurely one last time and off I went at 5am ahead of my alarm.
I opened the door to discover that my wish came true.
I approached the five-inch pile of snow on my car when reality slapped my in the face.
Why didn’t I rent a SUV?
Thankfully I had gloves which soon became soaked after swiping all the heavy, wet snow off the car.
I crept down and around the steep incline with my tiny car that would lead me back up the mountain to overlook the valley. Thankfully, it was able to grip the road.
The scene was transformed into something I didn’t recognize. Was this the same place? The snow covered all of the beautiful mountains and trees.
I could see that the morning sunlight was trying to poke through the low clouds and I knew that a dramatic light show was about to begin.
The clouds moved rapidly through the sky and the light bounced and moved spotlighting different scenes at different times. It was certainly a game of hide and seek, and all I could do was stop and shoot as I made my way down the road. Thankfully, there were no human souls around, so I was able to find some great angles as the light danced around the landscape.
Here is a visual diary of my experience on this magical morning in Buena Vista Colorado.
A tree stands in front of the beautiful other snow-coated trees and mountains like a Bob Ross painting.
A barn sits among the fresh snowscape.
Dynamic Light from behind me unveils the dreamy snow scene in front of me.
Beautiful light covers the landscape and this single tree certainly caught my attention.
As I looked for details within the snowy scene, two birds sat on the tree as still as the snow until I got the perfect shot.
As the sun rose between the clouds, it revealed all of the snow that was still falling.
A gravel road shows the way for this splendid snowy adventure.
Another perfectly placed tree is highlighted by the rising sun. I just love how it looks like it's sitting on the edge of the world.
More freshly covered trees stand in front of the Colorado mountains in Buena Vista.
