Winter Photo Essay — An Homage to the Resting Season

Hoar Frost on Twigs — Photo by the Author

The thing we forget about winter is the light — low, direct, in your face.

The sun feels momentarily far away, but when the skies clear, it says “Don’t forget me.”

The winter sun melts the ice and turns the snow to diamonds bright enough to make you squint. Its reflection from the white ground beneath you can give you a painful sunburn under your nose, even while your ears are freezing.

Long Shadows in Pattee Canyon, Missoula, Montana — Photo by the Author

The shadows are different too — low and long, appearing each afternoon to remind you to go about your business quickly before the sun drops below the mountains and the blue hour begins.

Cloud Bank Along the Clark Fork — Photo by the Author

Bright greens fade out of the landscape and are replaced by subtler shades of olive, burnished gold, russet, and berry.

Into the Forest, Pattee Canyon, Missoula, Montana — Photo by the Author