The second weekend in November usually finds me at the Tri-County Craft Show in Williston, ND.  It’s one of my favorite shows because it gives me a chance to catch up with lots of familiar faces.  Up until this year, I’ve managed to luck out with the weather.  Setting up during a blizzard was precisely why I stopped doing December shows.  (That is not exactly my idea of fun.)  But old man winter was going to come early this year whether I was at a show or not.  Our winters in North Dakota have been fairly unpredictable the last few years to say the least.  Two years ago Williston had record amounts of snow compared to last year when it was barely white for a week and a half.  I told myself as soon as it snowed in western ND I would be racing out to the oilfields to capture as much of the snowy white goodness as possible.

What I didn’t know is that I was going to get my wish sooner than later.  The forecast for the weekend was a full on North Dakota style blizzard.  As soon as I heard the forecast I knew exactly what I wanted.  After the show on Friday night, I followed my dad out to the ranch north of Williston.  The wind was blowing like crazy,  the roads were getting icy and snow was quickly making it difficult to see the lines on the highway.  When we got to my dads, I brought my kids in the house.  I didn’t even have to say anything, they all knew where I was headed.  I hopped back into my jeep, set the 4 wheel drive and off I went.

The driving conditions had already deteriorated since we were on the highway just minutes earlier.  But the huge snowflakes and the crazy wind kept me going.  As soon as I pulled off the highway, I thought I had lost my mind.  I could barely see 10 feet in front of the jeep.  I had to keep stopping to snap the ice off my windshield wiper blades.  I kept inching along when there it was off in the distance, the image that I knew I had to have.  The lights on the derrick just barely peeked through the snow that was now blowing horizontally across the open plains.  Anyone who has been in a North Dakota blizzard knows what I’m talking about!  As soon as I pulled onto the pad, I was greeted by a roughneck.  He peeked in my cracked window and said, “Oh it’s you….the crazy photographer lady!  What on earth are you doing out here?!”  I smiled and said I couldn’t miss a show like this.  He laughed and carried on with his business.

Shooting was proving to be more difficult than I anticipated.  I had to roll up my window and wipe my lens clean after about 4 or 5 shots.  The snow was blowing directly into my jeep.  After looking at the first few shots, it was exactly what I was hoping  for.  I shot from every angle around the rig.  Just as I was reviewing my pictures and preparing to leave,  I saw two roughnecks walking around the rig.  As I watched them walk away, it was then that it popped into my head.  I got outside of my jeep and ran towards them.  I asked them if they would pose in a particular spot for me and they responded, “Heck ya!”  Even though they got plenty of crap via the radio, they were such good sports.  The picture I managed to capture will always be one of my very favorites!  It shows just exactly the extreme conditions that these guys work in both day and night.  I will always be in awe at how hard they work.  So proud of you all!

Photographing a derrick during a blizzard was way more challenging than I imagined, but dang was it a lot of fun!  Next summer….a lightening storm!  🙂