Once upon a very frosty foggy cold January day - in the year 2005 - while living in Nevada . . .

I dressed in layers, gathering up my warmest coat, boots, gloves and hat, grabbed my camera gear and took off for my first ever "PHOTO SHOOT".
One of the locals, a cattle ranch manager, invited me to go with him to experience 'feeding the herd from his horse drawn hay wagon'.
It was a unique snow year for Nevada with enough snow depth to actually dust off the sleigh wagon and hitch up the team of horses. I was thrilled to say the least!

Before I left home I figured I'd be shooting in 30 to 40 degree weather with
the usual brilliant blue Nevada skies and the sun
just a-shining as bright as you please.

As I got closer and closer to the ranch I realized that was not to be.
By the time I pulled into the ranch that morning, the air was so thick with pogonip-fog,
I could barely see 30 feet or so in front of me.
And cold!? Oh my goodness! It was below zero and so cold I couldn't
take a full breath without freezing up a lung not to mention
those pesky little nose-hairs sticking together instantly.
I couldn't even feel my fingertips to pull on those nice warm gloves.
And then I thought...once I do get them on, how the heck do
I push the button to take the picture? And how do I keep the camera
from freezing up? And how do I keep the lens clear of pogonip?
And did I happen to remember once you get out in the cold with your
camera and then back in the warm car with your camera... yep, lens fog.

So, the morning didn't quite start out like I was hoping.
But. When you're dished up thick soupy fog, you make lemonade??
or some such nonsense.

I got there wondering what I had gotten myself in to and left wondering when
I could do it all again. It is now January 2010 and I'm happily
ensconced in Montana forging a new life. But every now and then
I like to look back on that amazing day that forever set the tone for this
remarkable photographical journey I've been on to this very day,
as one of the most memorable and best of times. A time I will never forget.

I do have some of these photos already posted in a different gallery,
but since there are some very special memories tied to these
images and that day, I've gone back and re-edited some as well as used different
processing...just for fun.

Thanks for looking and thank you for any critiques or comments!