Pic of the Week 2/3/23 "Snowfall on the Bluffs"
Pic of the Week 2/3/23
“Snowfall on the Bluffs”
Location: Wichita Falls, TX
Date taken: 2/6/20
Snowfall on the BluffsThe Wichita Bluffs Nature Area was transformed by a significant winter storm that blew in. 
© Ben Jacobi
As I am typing this blog entry, I can hear the faint tapping and "plinking" of sleet falling outside my work office window. There is a metal roof on the building, and any sound that falling precipitation makes resonates through the roof and into our ceiling. It is actually quite nice, as you can judge just how heavy the precipitation is based on the volume of sound heard from the ceiling, but I digress. Though we are experiencing winter weather, this is not the photo-friendly kind. Thick clouds, cold winds, and icy surfaces can make photography more difficult. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy being out in the snowy weather, and most of the time it doesn’t bother me. But if I can’t get a decent photograph, it does upset me a little bit.
You see, winter weather events are few and far between down here. They typically involve school closures, work delays, and a ransacking of milk and bread at the grocery stores. I estimate that we will have two to three significant winter weather events per year. Now, my definition of significant winter weather is much different than most of the country—heck, maybe most of the world. For me, significant winter weather means snow that stays on the ground for more than a day, ice that stays on the ground for more than a day, and weather poor enough that we close down work and I go out to photograph it. Like I said, these occurrences are rare here. So when they come along, I always try to get out and record them. But since I was not able to find a good photographic opportunity before the snow and ice melted away, I had to go looking in my archives for a winter-themed shot. And so, I pulled up a photo I shot nearly three years ago on a trip to the Wichita Bluffs Nature Area with my then-girlfriend, who is now my wife. We spent the morning looking for icy snow shots in the warm light. While walking back to the car, this archway of trees covered with snow caught my eye, and I stopped and made a few shots.
For three years, this image remained unprocessed on my hard drive. Its funny how nostalgia can make us revisit those memorable events, and as I studied the image more and more, I thought I would go ahead and process the image. It turned out much better than I expected, and I felt the need to share it with y’all. But, I also wanted to share some of my past southern plains winter experiences with you as well. So there are a few other images on this blog entry, so check them out and let me know which one is your favorite. Until the next significant winter weather comes by, I’ll make due with these past wintry images.
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