Lazy F Bar Ranch Under Snow

Lazy F Bar Ranch Under SnowThe Lazy F Bar Ranch near Crested Butte, Colorado is literally buried under deep, fresh snow with Whetstone Mountain in the distance

With over a foot of snow in the forecast for the weekend, I thought I would share a winter scene. Not far outside Crested Butte lies the Lazy F Bar Ranch. It's a popular summer wedding venue but sees very little use in the winter.

I woke up to a bluebird day on March 1, 2017. A winter storm had left us with lots of fresh white powder and a temperature below zero. I drove out to this ranch thinking it might look interesting from the air. It was completely buried. Mount Whetstone stood against a perfect blue sky in the distance. I have always loved the massiveness of Whetstone and I make new photographs of it every chance I get.

Below-freezing temperatures are not usually a great situation for flying a drone! I knew the battery wouldn't last long but, as it turned out, the battery outlasted my fingers. I didn't have to fly very long to create this composition since the drone pretty much went straight up 100 feet and then straight back down. The camera wasn't in the air for 5 minutes but since I can't work the touch-screen with gloves on, my fingers were completely numb. The buried ranch buildings and fences looked pretty cool from above, however. My fingers eventually thawed out and still work today.

The aerial perspective does not benefit every subject but it definitely helps tell the story of the "Lazy F Bar Ranch Under Snow".