Winter arrived a few days ago. It stuck around for a day or so before leaving. One day, I was in a T-shirt and shorts; the next, Sorel boots and multiple layers of down. Fifty-degree temperature swings aren’t unusual here on the High Plains, but it still sends a shock wave through the system when it happens… Brrr.
It was the first real snow of 2026, so I bundled up, grabbed a camera, and hiked over to the old grain elevator. I’ve hunted images there dozens of times, and I always find one or two good ones. I’ve been using the iPhone for recent photography, so I thought it would be fun to shoot with a full-frame camera.
I haven’t used the Nikon for quite awhile and the battery was dead. I put it on the charger, got another battery out of the bag, and slid it into the camera. When I checked the charge level, it was low, but I figured it was good enough for a short mission.
It was cold and windy, but the light was excellent with the sun low on the horizon and the sky filled with soft white clouds. I switched a ski glove for a wool fingerless shooting glove and looked for good angles to exploit the light. I captured exactly one image before the battery went dead. I smiled to myself and started walking back to the cottage to retrieve the charging battery.
“At least I’ll get some exercise,” was the thought as my boots squeaked in the cold white snow and the wind whipped the hood of my down parka. It didn’t get any warmer on the three trips between the elevator and the cottage, but after I started shooting, I didn’t think about it as much. Here are a few shots:
