re-think

YOUR WINTER LANDSCAPES

I

’ve photographed the Alabama Hills for over 30 years and

have seen snow on the granite boulders exactly once. When

I heard snow forecast in nearby Lone Pine, I grabbed my photo

equipment and drove 180 miles in time for sunrise after the

first snow.

I captured a stunning landscape at sunrise with white snow

blanketing the reddish boulders. The grand landscape was

great, but I wanted to capture a different feel. Re-thinking

my approach, I looked for unique elements to interpret the

landscape in an alternate way and found a beautiful mound of

cactus. You seldom see desert flora covered in snow, so I made

the cacti the prominent element of the scene. These two critical

elements, rare snow on this landscape and snow-covered cacti,

gave me my alternate perspective.

Snow-covered cactus below Mount Whitney and the Eastern Sierras
in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California.

Tips for creating a portfolio of winter photographs

that showcases a variety of creative approaches

Text & Photography By Dave Welling

outdoorphotographer.com December 2019 47