Cold Mountain in Alum Creek

As the year winds down, central Ohio has seen more snow during the month of December than all of last winter combined. Yesterday I awoke to another fresh layer covering the ground and knew that I would be venturing out into the white abyss to see what I could capture.

While the snow makes for a beautiful sight, I find it to be a challenging subject to capture properly. The snow covered ground with an overcast sky resulted in many washed out shots. I made my way around town and eventually headed north to Alum Creek State Park. I knew what I was looking for: A snow covered path with trees lining either side. If I could capture that scene, I knew I could create the rest of my vision once I was home. I had watched the movie "Cold Mountain" a few years ago. (No, I haven't read the book.) I fell in love with the movie. Not sure if it was because of Jude Law or just how heartbreaking and yet beautiful the storyline is. 

In the movie, black crows are referenced a couple of times and foreshadow the climax where shots are fired in the snow covered wilderness followed by crows flying. As they disperse and the echo of the discharged firearms travel farther away, the realization that something horrific has happened becomes apparent. Not sure why, but that scene has always stayed with me.

This is my best effort to pay tribute to "Cold Mountain"

Well, Here We Go

Welcome to my blog! A little bit about myself - My name is Adam Jones, I live in Columbus, Ohio and I do my best to live my passions of photography, aviation, weather and astronomy as often as I possibly can. I rarely watch television, as there is just too much to do in life. I have had my pilot's license since 2008, I'm a storm chaser and love nature. I'm also a freelance photographer that will most likely say "yes" when asked to shoot anything.

This blog will primarily be about my adventures in photography, as getting "the shot" can often lead down many paths that aren't walked too often. Probably the one thing for certain about my schedule is that it will change based on what is happening in the world. 

My last journey consisted of meeting up with a group of weather-minded friends to "chase" a Winter Storm with Blizzard Warnings on it. Our group is called "MesOhio." We have a webpage as well: MesOhio We cover everything from Severe Weather to photographing various locations around the state of Ohio. 

The storm was able to live up to it's warning status of "Blizzard" in the parts of Ohio that we travelled to. Visibility was zero at times with blowing and drifting snow. I've chased many convective systems but this is the first time chasing snow. MesOhio was able to help some people out, called in some weather reports, captured some good photos and video.

Numerous vehicles wound up stuck in the snow. Surprisingly, the majority of these vehicles had lost control and wound up in ditches or embankments along State Route 33 between Bellefontaine and Columbus, Ohio. The country roads remained pretty clear of stranded motorists.

After I had made my way back to Columbus and the snow had stopped, I made my way down to The Ohio State University Campus to Mirror Lake. I had always wanted to capture an image at Mirror Lake with the holiday lights and snow on the ground. I finally had my chance.

Thank you for stopping by to check out my blog! Please feel free to click on the link to follow myself and the adventures I get myself into.

Adam