January Updates ❄️ Join Me For Upcoming Learning Opportunities and Upcoming ebook Release
Published 5 days ago • 7 min read
Hello Reader,
I hope the New Year has started on a good note for everyone, and it is hard to believe January is already coming to a close! This month has been busy for me, as I'm helping coordinate the upcoming Out of Chicago LIVE! conference, where I will also teach (see below for more details.) I also prepared for our winter Yellowstone workshop, which we just returned from a few days ago. The experience was nothing short of incredible, with breathtaking winter landscapes and several close encounters with wolves, allowing us to observe the pack in action. I feel incredibly fortunate to spend time in my favorite park during the winter and share this special experience with our students. Below is a photo of the group capturing wintry magic along the Firehole River (it was -20 during this outing!)
Next month, I will release a new ebook featuring my winter Yellowstone images from the past two years. In the meantime, I am celebrating Yellowstone by sharing a photography project focused on trees I captured a few years ago, along with fascinating facts about hoar frost in my Naturalist Nook feature.
Beyond Out of Chicago, I am excited to announce that I will also be teaching at the Moab Photography Symposium in September, an honor I am truly looking forward to this fall. We soon head back to the warmth and familiarity of the desert to teach a few workshops and explore favorite and new locations.
I also extend a heartfelt thank you for all the support and feedback on my 365 project. The responses have been overwhelming, and I am grateful to have inspired others to embark on a similar journey. February’s installment will be released tomorrow, and if you have not signed up yet, it is free! If you missed January, you'll receive January and February when you sign up.
This year, I am dedicating more time to my blog, processing photos, curating new image collections, and updating my website, among a few other exciting projects I cannot wait to share as the year unfolds. The past few years have been incredibly busy, but with a renewed focus, I look forward to sharing more with you all! I'm also making it a goal to read one new book a month, and this year, I'll be sharing my monthly book choices near the bottom of this newsletter.
I hope you can get out and photograph winter's magic, whether in the desert, snow-covered landscapes, or wherever your travels take you. Until next month!
I'm excited to announce that I’ll release a new free ebook next month, showcasing several years of winter photography in Yellowstone National Park. I wanted to wait until I had a substantial collection of images so the ebook could flow naturally and truly capture the magic of photographing this wild and mystical landscape under the beauty of winter. The book will also feature small essays alongside the photos. I can’t wait to share it with you next month!
Upcoming Learning Opportunities
I'm back to teach at Out of Chicago LIVE! this year! Join me for a full weekend of inspiration at Out of Chicago LIVE! 2025! For the past five years, this event has brought together instructors worldwide to teach, interact, and connect with attendees in a dynamic weekend of learning, creativity, and inspiration. With 50 photographers and over 100 live sessions, there’s something for everyone. Can’t join live? No problem! You’ll have access to all sessions for a full year, allowing you to learn at your own pace.
Engage with some of the most creative photographers in the field, explore various genres from landscape and nature to travel, street, architecture, and post-processing, and immerse yourself in new ways to elevate your photography. I’ll teach a session on photographing sand dunes and co-leading an intimate scene image review with my colleague Anna Morgan. Don’t miss this chance to connect with a passionate photography community! You won't find this amazing online interactive weekend of learning opportunities anywhere else! Want to view all the sessions offered through the weekend? Check out the session guide here to see all the sessions and descriptions!
I am incredibly honored to present and teach in person at the Moab Photography Symposium. I'll be there teaching alongside David Kingham, Guy Tal, Colleen Miniuk, Chuck Kimmerle, Charlotte Gibb, Michael Gordon, and Bruce Hucko. This event is a special one for me, as it was the first event I attended, starting my new life as a professional nature photographer nine years ago! Moab was the first stop on that journey, and it was an incredibly inspiring experience, and I learned so much. I continued to attend in the following years, and now I'm honored to share from the same stage that inspired me many years ago. It's a smaller, more intimate conference focusing on creating personally meaningful images. I'd love for you to join us there!
Thank you for all the support, donations, and feedback I've received since releasing my 365 project! The February installment will be emailed to subscribers on the 1st. If you haven’t signed up yet, you can do so below (it’s free!) and receive both the January and February editions to start reading immediately. I’ve loved hearing how this project has inspired others, and I look forward to more shared stories!
Fresh from a winter adventure in Yellowstone this month, I wanted to share a project I created during a trip a few years ago. I was captivated by Yellowstone’s “ghost trees” and developed a six-image series with a narrative reflecting how these hauntingly beautiful trees felt to me. You can view the full project on my website by clicking below.
Where curiosity bridges the gap between observation and the art of photography
The Winter Magic of Hoar Frost
One of my favorite winter phenomena to photograph is hoar frost. This captivating frost forms when water vapor in the air directly deposits onto cold surfaces, usually on clear, frigid nights. It creates delicate, feathery ice crystals that resemble a soft, powdery coating. Hoar frost occurs when surfaces such as tree branches, grass, or rocks cool below the dew point and dip below freezing, causing the vapor to crystallize directly into ice without first becoming liquid. The result is a striking, ethereal transformation that gives landscapes a dreamy look, particularly in the soft light of early morning. We were fortunate to experience several mornings of hoar frost during our recent trip to Yellowstone National Park, and I've included a few examples below.
But what's behind the intriguing name? The term "hoar" originates from Old English, describing the frost's appearance, which resembles an aged appearance of white hair or a beard. This is due to how the ice crystals form, creating a frosty, feathery, aged look.
What conditions do you need for hoar frost to form? Hoar frost forms best on clear, calm, cold nights when the temperature of surfaces falls below freezing. With high humidity, water vapor in the air directly deposits onto these surfaces, creating delicate ice crystals. Ideally, the temperature of the surfaces must fall below the dew point and drop below freezing (32°F or 0°C). Having nights with no wind is crucial because it allows the water vapor to settle onto surfaces instead of being carried away or dispersed. Below, I've included some tips for photographing hoar frost.
❄️ Experiment with Depth of Field
If you use a shallow depth of field (wide aperture, e.g., f/2.8–f/5.6) you can create a dreamy, soft-focus effect, isolating the frosty details. Conversely, using a smaller aperture (f/8–f/16) captures more of the scene in sharp detail, which works well for intricate frost patterns on branches or grasses.
❄️ Choose a Complementary Background
Look for darker and contrasting backgrounds. Frost-covered details stand out best against a contrasting background, and darker tones, such as deep greens from evergreen trees or shadowed areas, help the frost pop.
❄️ Look for Diffused Light
Hoar frost is incredibly delicate and can sparkle beautifully in soft light. Overcast skies create even, diffused lighting that enhances the frost's intricate details without harsh shadows. If you prefer a more dramatic effect, shoot during the golden hours when the low-angle light adds depth and contrast.
❄️ Watch the Temperature During Your Outing
Hoar frost is delicate and can disappear quickly when the sun rises. Arrive early to capture it before it melts. Also, use a longer focal length or step back slightly to avoid damaging and disrupting the ice crystals.
❄️ Bonus Tip: Dress for the Cold
Photographing hoar frost often means spending time in freezing and below-freezing temperatures. Frostbite and frostnip can happen quickly on exposed skin. Wear insulated gloves that allow for camera adjustments, layer with moisture-wicking clothing, and keep hand warmers in your pockets.
Frosty trees in Yellowstone covered in hoar frost
Book of the Month
Sharing an interesting book that I'm currently enjoying and reading
Where the Wild Things Were
by William Stolzenburg
This book explores how the loss of these apex predators has had far-reaching effects on various ecosystems and discusses the importance of restoring predator populations to maintain ecological balance. Using engaging stories from around the world, the book underscores the interconnectedness of life in nature and the pivotal role predators play in shaping healthy ecosystems. I recently arrived home from Yellowstone, where we photographed wolves and learned more about their importance to sustainable ecosystems, which I found fascinating. So, I started the year with this read.
Other items of interest from my colleagues and the world of Nature Photography
The Problem with Mood
David duChemin explores the challenge of conveying mood in photography, emphasizing that it arises from a blend of emotional connections and visual choices.
Winter in Yellowstone may seem like a time of dormancy, but it is the most powerful force shaping the land, life, and ecosystems. Read and learn about the activity of passivity in Yellowstone!
In a new blog post, Sarah shares her favorite black-and-white images from 2024. (She also did two other posts featuring her favorite plant and nature photos, which you can find here.)
All of our 2025 workshops are sold out except for one open space!
All sold-out workshops have waitlists, so if you're interested in joining a waitlist, you can do so by visiting hereand choosing what workshop you're interested in.
