Friday Photos

After last week's debut of crop pants and short sleeve tees, this week has brought a brief return (please be brief!) of the long-sleeve turtleneck sweater dress.

And one last chance to post these photos before everyone forgets about All. That. Snow.

So here's the story...

Lately I've taken a liking to photographing the LDS Kansas City Missouri Temple. And by "a liking to" I mean I am pretty much obsessed with it. I have shot it in nearly every kind of weather and at almost every time of day. But a good solid snow is rare in the Midwest, and I hate mornings, so a snowy sunrise pic seemed pretty dang unlikely....

Until three big snowstorms hit nearly back-to-back.

The first of these I shoveled...  And shoveled...  And shoveled...
The last of these I curled myself in a blanketed ball chanting, "Think warm... Think warm... Think warm..."
But the middle of these snowstorms found me one very cold and very early morning in my car. Headed to the temple. To try and get a sunrise. And snow. 

Truth: Sunrises are a lot harder to photograph than I ever thought they would be. Especially when coupled with white snow. And a white building. But here is a small sampling of what I got that morning.

(Please try to not be annoyed by the amateur watermark on these pics. 

There is a reason. And they will get better looking. But probably not ever less annoying.)

Okay. I don't know about you, but I love the progression of light in  these photos. 

It's just... well, light has come to mean a great deal to me over the past few years.

And I love it.

So I love this.

Subtle, yet significant.

And even though my fingers nearly froze off, I loved this morning.

_______________________________________

After leaving the temple I still had time before work, but not enough time to go home before. And so I decided to take a different route around the city than I usually do, with no conscious intention at all. 

But as I neared downtown, I knew what I had to do. 

Detour.

To Liberty Memorial. 

The view from there is one of my top 3 favorite places in my little slice of world. So naturally, the beautiful morning and snow covered ground called for a stop along the way. 

And here is where you should know that I do not photograph Liberty Memorial. 

I photograph the view from Liberty Memorial. 

And it looks like this...

You should know that the trek up here was that just that. 

A trek.

More than a foot of nearly untouched snow. And in some places up to my knee.

There was a "feels like" temperature of 9 degrees. 

And yet as I stood and looked over the city I have grown to love,

I learned that with a wind chill of 9 or heat index of 109, the beauty of this place is never lost on me.

So a couple of parting shots.

One very snowy...

And one bearing the warmth and hope of spring just around the corner.