There is no doubt about it, winters can get to be a bit long here in North Dakota.  But I’ve learned you got to sit back relax and take in the beauty that God creates throughout all four seasons….winter included!  Last year while I was staying with my dad in western North Dakota, I woke up to the most amazing surprise.  The sunrise was gearing up to cover the entire eastern sky while the newly formed frost twinkled on everything from old rusty trucks to the bird house on the front lawn.  I threw on my boots and jacket, grabbed my camera and headed out the door not even caring that I had my pajamas still on.

After shooting some basic images of the sunrise, I decided to jump into the truck to set something in front of this glorious sky.  Just as I pulled up to the house where my dad grew up I heard a coyote howl.  With a chill up my back, I ran to the truck sat there for a few seconds and decided to “man up” and get my shot.  (This one was too good to walk away from!)  Like a little kid running to the Christmas tree, I ran over and got the present that I’d been waiting for a long time…the perfect image of the house that held so many memories for my dad.

What I wasn’t expecting to get one of my other favorite images.  The frost on the old thick barbed wire was mesmerizing.  I could have looked at it for hours.  As a nature photographer in North Dakota, this will always be one of my favorite mornings of shooting.  This is why I love winter, it makes up for the days where the 30mph wind is knocking you down.  I hope you enjoy these shots as much as I enjoyed taking them!