Donner Lake

Ive had this picture in my head for quite some time now. It came to me as I was coming into Truckee on I-80 and took a peek down to Donner Lake before terror brought my attention back to the task at hand. I feel that the best photography is usually done in the worst weather, and now the news said it was coming again. Three feet of fresh snow in two days. Enough to recreate what I had glimpsed all those years ago. If I left now I would have clear roads and be there before the first flake hit the interstate. I don’t really need to explain anything anymore to my wife as she now knows that mosquitos, huge camera bags on small planes, and epic storms are a part of really good pictures. So off I went up the hill with clear expectations of a vision to come. The wind came first as it usually does and all night it foretold of the white blanket I would wake up to. It’s funny how things look different when seeing them from a new angle. The a fore mentioned vision was not coming into focus as I drove up and down Donner Pass dodging the plows. I decided to pull over and take my chances on foot. I made my way down and picked up on a pier that would clear obstruction from the opposing shore. I kicked my way out through the snow on the pier and as I got closer to the end, 8 years of meditation back from that scary drive started to materialize right before my eyes. A few clicks later and my vision had come to fruition.