The Winter Landscape

"To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand in the cold."
~Aristotle

Here in eastern Idaho it is not uncommon to have inversion conditions in the winter, when warmer air aloft traps colder air beneath it. Often, fog will develop along with an inversion. This occurred the other night, as I woke to dense fog.

Visibility was quite poor, and the conditions persisted nearly all morning.

I could see enough to know that spectacular hoar frost was forming, coating all the vegetation (and everything else) with white crystals. Time to grab the camera! It was quite cold, which made for uncomfortable shooting since my fingers were becoming numb and painful. However, it was worth the discomfort because the landscape was beautiful. I spent a few hours looking for abstract compositions featuring the thick - yet delicate - frost.

The heavy fog created nice monochromatic backdrops.