Let the snow - and the class - begin!

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We woke up this morning at 5:00 a.m. to a balmy 32 degrees and no snow.  Not necessarily a bad thing!  We debated shortly about whether or not we should head out to Mono Lake - a 25 mile drive north.  What the heck!  We're on vacation - a photography vacation no less - and that's what we came here to do - Get up early and take some photos.  So, off we went.

It was a dark and lonely drive but we found it without any problem.  We wound our way down to the shoreline and waited a short time to see if the sun was going to peak through all the clouds.  That never really happened, but it didn't stop us from taking some photos of the tufas - calcium rocks that reach up in to the sky in some amazing formations.  It really felt like we had stumbled upon a landscape from another planet.  We stayed for an hour or so, venturing around and capturing the tufa and what little color we saw in the sunrise sky.  The wind came up around 7 a.m. and it was icy cold.  I found that my hands were soon numb.  Time to head back to town for some coffee and something warm to eat!

It was a dark and lonely drive...

We have enjoyed the few meals we've had in this small town.  All of the waitresses have been friendly and very attentive.  Maybe because we're the only ones here!  We expect that to change with the snow storm - and the weekend - on it's way.

It started snowing about 9:30 a.m. and didn't stop until sometime around 8:00 p.m.  We were fortunate enough to be indoors for most of that time - in front of a fireplace with a picture window with lots of birds and the cutest little gray squirrel ever.  It was really snowing for awhile - and it's so beautiful.  Also slippery!  As we headed out and back for dinner, the back end of the truck slipped several times on the icy road, making for slow going.  I don't need any more dents in my truck!

Our class started today and because of the weather, we conducted it all indoors.  We focused on our camera set up, our personal 5 year plans and some things to consider when planning a photo business.  More details to come over the next few days.

For now we have an assignment - to prepare for our excursion tomorrow!  We have some research to do and we must plan how and where we are going to shoot, along with the gear we will be using.  I have the huge privilege of being able to use a very expensive camera for the next couple of days.  Oh no!  This may turn out to be a very expensive trip for me!

More tomorrow!  Stay tuned!