Oh, What a Beautiful Day
Beautiful snow-covered trees in Lewisville, North Carolina.
Snow in Lewisville
This past Monday morning, Lewisville residents awoke to a beautiful covering of snow. It’s the most we’ve had in several years.
When it comes to photographing snow scenes, I wish I could be in more places at once. I wanted to photograph as much of Lewisville as possible, before significant melting took place. Yet I realized that it wasn’t possible for me to capture every portion of the community at the peak of its snow-covered beauty. So, alas, I did the best that I could.
Because my little truck does not like slick roads, I set out on foot around 7:30 a.m. I carried two cameras — a wide-to-long zoom lens on one camera, and a macro lens on the other. My coat pockets were full of various photo accessories. My hand and toe warmers were in place, as was my black winter Tilley hat, with the ear flaps pulled down. I was ready to venture out!
Beautiful Trees
Making my way to the heart of Lewisville would require about a mile’s walk. At the corner of Shallowford and Williams Roads, I captured the above photo. The trees, apparently anxious for spring, were filled with bright red buds. It was awesome to look upward from beneath the trees and see so many of the red buds outlined in white by the snow that covered the branches. It was an exquisite sight that reminded me of Japanese art.
These trees are located on the property of the historic Spaugh House, which I wrote about in the post titled, Evening Light. The photos in that earlier post were taken in August, in a brilliant golden light, just prior to sunset. Now, on this winter morning, the house and property had an entirely different mood.
Photo Gallery
Photos of the Spaugh House, along with more shots of the beautiful snow-covered trees, can be viewed in the Spaugh House photo gallery. I hope you enjoy them. Please feel free to leave a comment by clicking on the “Comment” link below.
COMING UP NEXT — More snow scenes from other areas of Lewisville.
Barren Beauty
In the winter, the old home place at Westbend Vineyards, with its red roof, can be spotted in the distance through the barren woods while driving on Shallowford Road.
Vigilance
I continue to be amazed by moments of beauty — beautiful moments that exist even on a seemingly ordinary winter day in a seemingly ordinary small town.
Quite often, though, seeing beauty in the ordinary is not easy. Vigilance is required in order to see through the everydayness of our lives to behold the beauty that’s truly there — whether the beauty is to be found in a landscape, an individual or a concept.
Barrenness
I think I was drawn to the above scene because of the beauty of its barrenness. There is no foliage to cover the tree’s imperfections or the decaying effects of time. The grass and shrubbery around the tree are dormant and brittle. The few leaves still left on the tree are shriveled and barely hanging on.
Yet the tree stands tall in the light, as if willing to be seen for what it is.
Parable
Perhaps the barren tree is a parable of how to live life: Without pretense. Willing to stand in the light and be seen. On a path of growth, despite imperfections and the decaying effects of time. Able to bare one’s soul, despite dormant and brittle circumstances. Hanging onto truth through seasons of doubt.
Be sure to check out other Westbend Vineyards articles featured on this website.
Reaching for Spring
Close-up of tree branches with buds, reaching for spring.
Though winter temps have returned, the promise of spring fell upon us last week. It’s the promise of life and newness, of hope and redemption.
The sun invited us to lift our faces and bask in its warmth. The flowers and trees beckoned for spring’s benediction, reaching upward, reaching for sustenance.
Spring will come again, little ones. You will grow — and you will bear fruit.
CLICK to see more photos
Foggy Morn
Foggy morning scene in Lewisville, North Carolina.
Missed Shot?
A heavy fog rolled in as the sun rose over Lewisville one recent morning. Shortly after pulling out of the driveway with camera gear in tow, I came upon a biker making his way through the mist. The biker looked mysterious and lonely in the gray haze, with just a hint of the full, round sun hanging above him.
Within a split second, I was passing the biker while thinking, “What a great shot!” — immediately followed by, “Oh, man! I’m missing this great shot!” as I made the left turn that I’d planned to make. And the biker? He just continued ever so peacefully on his way.
For a moment, I thought about turning around to follow and get ahead of the biker, and then scramble out of my truck to photograph him once he passed by. But honestly, I wasn’t feeling that energetic! Instead, I gave myself permission to skip that pursuit, but only after thinking a minute or two about how I might handle a similar situation in the future.
Surprisingly to me, I drove around for quite a while looking for a foggy scene that said, “Take my picture.” Even on the outskirts of town, where it’s more rural, nothing clicked. I began to be concerned that the fog would fade away before I took a single shot.
Eventual Success
As I drove back into town, I noticed the scene above and decided to stop and explore it. Even though the fog had lifted some, once I looked through the viewfinder, I knew I had a shot.
In preparing the photo for this blog post, I created several variations and selected the above image. But I thought you might like to see the optional shots. Maybe you’ll prefer one of them more. If so, then declare your vote in the Comments section!
And for those of you who live in Lewisville, can you determine the location of the photo? Please leave your comment, if you’ve got an idea. Give it a try! [Hint: It's somewhere along the main thoroughfare through downtown Lewisville.]
CLICK to see the optional photos.
