02/22/13 Snow, Finally!

Photographing some long overdue

snowfall in Peoria, IL on a February morning...

Last week, Mother Nature finally cooperated and decided it was our time for some snow in Peoria, IL. We've seen a lot of precipitation this winter, but rarely in the frozen variety across west-central Illinois. It has definitely disappointed snow-lovers and photographers to say the least. This past week however, we finally saw our first "decent" snowfall across this area resulting in a couple inches of snow. It has been a really tough winter up to this point to photograph some winter scenes with the lack of snowfall. A couple years ago we had one of the snowiest winters on record, but in the last two years snow has been very meager at best in this area. Anyway, I woke up early on this morning (Feb. 22) to photograph the previous night's snowfall waking up to my alarm at 3:00am to get a head start on the day before the melting-process began. I shot some photos around the apartment complex before dawn. After that, I took a quick power-nap and was back out the door by 8:00am. I visited a couple local parks in the area. I also shot fall photos at these parks last year. My morning consisted of stops at Charter Oak Park and Sommer Park in Peoria, IL. I captured many snowy scenes that were to be found from the previous night's snowfall to my delight. Long overdue since I haven't done much if any winter photography over the past couple of years due to the lack of snowfall. It was a very productive morning so I've added several photos from the day below:

A beautiful winter morning...

Love this shot!

Taking a little walk through the woods...

Snow just seemed to have stuck to

everything overnight!

One of my favorites from the morning!

A sweet panoramic shot! (iPhone 5)
Click to enlarge...

Beautiful winter scenes!

Everywhere you looked you wanted to snap

a photo it seemed on this day...

The city is working on an extension of the road by

the apartment complex, but since they didn't finish

last fall these signs provided a nice photo-op giving you the

illusion we got buried (I wish) in snow...

A snowy trail to say the least...

A favorite photo I shot last fall seen here looks

much different with a change in season...

Crossroads? Panoramic shot! (iPhone 5)
Click to enlarge...

A beautiful park no matter what season it may be...

Good stuff!

Another snowy landscape...

Sometimes you gotta love winter no matter

 how much we may all gripe about it...

I really like this shot as well...

Frozen lake amidst the snow!

Another panoramic shot! (iPhone 5)
Click to enlarge...

Photography is not too hard when

Mother Nature cooperates!

Another crazy panoramic shot! (iPhone 5)
Click to enlarge...

Along the lake finding more winter scenes at this point...

Anyone need some firewood?

Simply amazing...

Mother Nature can sure put on a show!

Everywhere you looked you could find

something to take a photo of...

Another favorite!

Footprints in the snow...

 I shot this same photo last fall seen here

and once again it's amazing to see

the difference a season makes...

I really like this one as well!

A lonesome tree in the snow

with the woods as a backdrop...

Snow-blasted wooden fence!

A nice area to hang-out when it gets warmer...

More of the woods...

A cool perspective!

I wouldn't advise a polar bear plunge anytime soon...

Another nice park!

Closer perspective...

 Signs always provide cool photos in the winter-time...

Another favorite of the bunch!

I've added a few photos I shot in the pre-dawn hours of the freshly-fallen snow at the apartment complex below:

The snow began to end before dawn...

Decided to take a few shots around the apartment grounds...

Small snowflakes in the air due to the blowing

wind made these photos much harder as it was

hard to keep the lens dry...

One of the better shots of this bunch I thought!

A frozen pond (looking east)...

Those city lights (left) were just added this winter and I have some

ideas to incorporate them in low-light

after dark photos with thunderstorms this spring...

Evergreen trees providing a nice photo-op!

A random photo here along the pond...

Last one before my power-nap!

I've added a YouTube time-lapse of the

snowfall from my webcams (above)

Well this wasn't a big snowstorm by any means, but it was nice to finally get some winter scenes in this area for once. We did get an even bigger snowfall earlier this week and I'll update when I find some time to shuffle through all of those photos as well. Stay tuned.