Shutter to Think: There’s no business like snow business

We have a complicated relationship with snow.

“We” being the collective photo staff of Shaw Media. I’ve talked to my colleagues and the love-hate link that binds us to snow is set in the need to tell the story of how our local communities are digging, shoveling, plowing, playing or whatever in the stuff and how quickly that becomes creatively quashed tedium with each passing storm.

After the holidays, things start to slow a bit. Lots of people are hunkered indoors, licking their wounds caused by Christmas bills, in-laws and travel. But the news must go on, so when talks of weather start to approach, it makes for a good series of pictures and stories to fill the January lull.

Flash back to Jan 9. The area had its first real snowfall, and the team went to work. I traveled the area, grabbing images from a couple of our markets, featuring both work and pleasure.

But then, sigh, we got socked with another, bigger, more snowy snow a few days later.

So back at it we go and as predicted, it’s much the same. Shovel, plow, sled, repeat. On a side note, the phrase “misery loves company” must have been born out of a deep blizzard, because everyone I encountered was incredibly pleasant despite the likely sore backs and frozen fingers.

Weather reports are like modern art. Everyone has a different interpretation and they’re most likely wrong and confusing except to the “meteorartist.” I saw in one report more snow was expected and another, not a chance.

Either way, we’ll be out there digging up the stories and dreaming of spring.

• Follow Sauk Valley Media photographer Alex T. Paschal @svmphotogs on Instagram. Email him at apaschal@shawmedia.com.