I was born and raised in Southern California. For me, a cold winter day is 55F with maybe some rain or wind. In order for me to experience any type of winter, I need to travel north a bit. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to visit beautiful June Lake, just 440 miles north of me.

I loved the colder temps. I know. I must be one of the few people who do. There is just something about the colder weather conditions that I love. I can’t even tell you why. It’s just always been the same way, but there are times when I wished that there were colder days in Southern California.

You see, it wasn’t very often where we would have a snow day, or having to walk to places because the snow was that deep that we couldn’t drive the cars. In fact, I don’t think this happened at all. But I longed for this, so I always knew that when I was older, I would go in search of places that provided me with a proper winter. It didn’t even matter where it was, as long as I was in a place that had cold temperatures.

As much as I was craving this, I still wanted my house to be full of warm air after a long day being out in the cold. It seems like I am human after all. Even when my heating system breaks, I have to get it fixed as soon as possible. It hasn’t happened for a long time, but luckily my friend has pointed me in the direction of a professional HVAC company, (you can check out this page if you want to learn more) just in case it breaks down on me soon. I’m expecting this to happen, so at least I’ll be prepared if it does. For now, I’m hoping that everything continues to work, and I’m just looking forward to exploring the mesmerizing June Lake.

We even had a little bit of snow.

Shooting without light was a difficult practice for me. I had to find the small amount of light still fighting through the clouds and snow.

Because I never have this opportunity, it was a beautiful practice. Having to see my own light or create my own light was energizing for me.

And when I found a spark in an ice drip or a small reflection on a fog-laden lake, my heart skipped a beat.

I know I live in a rare climate. There are many of you that have begun a long winter. Looking for light will not be an exciting one-time practice, but a long journey lasting months. How do you find light during a long winter? Do you search for the little moments like Vanessa is doing? Do you invite the practice of looking back to give you endurance for what lies ahead like Debbie inspired us to do last week? I would love to hear how you plan to shoot through the winter below. When posting your winter images on IG, please use the #viewfindersio hashtag so we can enjoy them.

~Staci Lee