With winters grasp holding over the landscape a vision came to me. The Milky Way was coming back into view and I had an idea to capture it in a unique way. A vision came to me of an ice shack out on a lake with the Milky Way arching over it in the pre dawn light. The moment it came to my mind the name Pandora's Box was the first thing I thought of. Researching the name the story fit so well with everything that has led up to now. When Pandora's Box was opened all of the troubles of mankind were released, but the last thing to leave was hope. Something for when all of life's troubles bog you down. It is something to hold onto. My whole journey with photography began when I felt Pandora's Box had been opened. Finding my gift with photography was my hope. Grabbing onto it I embraced it with all my passion. I have stayed committed and dedicated to it every single day of my life. It is my ultimate high. Waking up at 3:30 am the temperature was -18 degrees. I knew it was going to be a cold shot and risky getting out on the ice, but I had to bring this vision to life. I grabbed my gear and made my way to Lake Eau Claire. Stepping out of my car I stood before the lake. You could just hear the ice growing as it made sounds, cracking and booming all over the lake. Fear crept up inside but I knew I was safe and I had to get this shot. I walked out in the dark making my way to an ice shack I had scouted out the day before. Listening to the ice crack and boom as I made my way. As I set up my gear a sense of awe for this world rushed over me. At about 5:30 am the pre dawn light began to spill over the horizon. Giving a magenta glow to the sky. The mood was unreal and exactly what I had visioned. Standing there out among the stars, feeling the ice crack and shift beneath my feet in the bone chilling cold I felt as if I was at the mercy of mother nature. Being granted a view only I was able to see. A moment that will live with me forever.
