A Few Snowy Days in Colorado

Written by Sarah Marino (all human, no AI)

At the start of every winter, I think I want to spend more time photographing snowy scenes around where we live in the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado -- and then the desert calls us back instead. During our photos trips away from home, some obsessiveness typically sets in and, between working, hiking, exploring, and photographing, we come home feeling pretty tired and that winter photography I hoped to do... Well, it rarely actually happens. 

This last winter, we managed to get out during and right after a few snowstorms, including a visit to one of our favorite nearby ponderosa pine forests (above) and a particularly lovely grove of Gambel oaks (below). In addition to photographing these intimate landscape scenes, I also enjoyed experimenting with shutter speed and defocusing my lens during a snowstorm, allowing the falling snow to come forward as specks of white while softening the trees in the background. 

When I lived in Denver, I used to regularly drive six to seven hours to see and experience these same landscapes yet now that I live in this place, I feel less compelled to explore and photograph it than I used to. Even though I find southwestern Colorado inspiring, regularly feel in awe of its grandeur, and know that this landscape has become home, that comfort of being at home is enough to keep me inside too often. I know that respite and rejuvenation are essential parts of the creative process but I too often use this as an excuse to neglect my home terrain in favor of these other places.

Every time I go outside on days like those shown here, I am reminded why I should make doing so a bigger priority, especially since these places can be transformed overnight as we experienced with the large wildfire that burned through the nearby Cimarron Mountains just a few months ago. As an example, the hillsides on the left of the frame in the "Low Clouds in Winter" photo below were charred in that fire. 

Familiarity can make it feel like these places will be around forever and that I'll have all the time in the world to photograph them whereas only a few days or weeks in a place introduces some urgency into the relationship, which creative challenges arising from both of these orientations. I'd be better off with more balance in both scenarios. I'd like to find a bit more urgency and motivation while I'm at home between photo trips, along with a little less intensity while away so I have energy to get out, connect with the landscape, and create more consistently, regardless of where I am. I'll try a little harder over this coming winter...