Earlier this month, my husband and I went on a road trip to Yosemite National Park for a few days. The night before we were to check out, we asked the hotel if they thought the storm coming would be a big one. They giggled and said it would be just a little snow. Our lovely hosts were wrong. The storm had us snowed in, and while we could drive around Yosemite Valley, we wouldn’t be able to get down the mountain. Thankfully, our room was available for another night.

We decided to make it an adventure, loaded up our cameras, and explored in the snow. For two people who are native Angelinos, we had a blast in the snow.

When we got home and dropped off our film rolls, Andy and I started talking about our rolls and what image we hoped would come out. Andy said, “It doesn’t matter too much. Taking the photo is half the fun.”
That little statement hit me. I honestly did have so much fun. There were great moments of awe and wonder. At one point, I had tears in my eyes because it was so gorgeous, and I was so damn happy.

Now, I know the pain of a roll not turning out or, worse, thinking you have a roll in only to find out you did not, in fact, put in a new roll. And they suck! Of course, I love photography for the photo. But that little mantra- Taking the photo is half the fun- is one I will remember for a while.

~Staci Lee