Scratching that snow photo itch

Published 1:04 am Saturday, January 11, 2025

I am writing this column in hopes the weather prognosticators were right. By the time this goes to print, we will either be calf-deep in snow or thanking the infamous Bowling Green bubble that seems to give us a different weather pattern than our neighbors in all four directions.

My money is on my favorite meteorologist Landon Hampton, the founder of the weather blog WXorNotBG (Weather or Not Bowling Green). He delivers the weather for WABBLES (Warren, Allen, Barren, Butler, Logan, Edmonson and Simpson counties) in a calm, cool and collected delivery laced with the right amount of humor. There are no flashing polygons or drama on the screen. In my opinion, he is the most accurate and timely weatherman in the region, if not the state.

So, when he says we could get 3 to 5 inches of snow in WABBLES and 4 to 6 inches near the state line, I send Tracy to the store to secure snow provisions of milk and bread. Just kidding, it’s bourbon and beef jerky in our house.

Another sure indicator, and likely the most accurate, that we are getting severe weather or meaningful snowfall, is Gary Fields’, superintendent of the Bowling Green Independent School District, tweets. Fields is legendary for keeping his powder dry and not pulling the trigger until he steps outside at 5:30 a.m. on a school day to make the call. Students, teachers and parents sit nervously refreshing their X (Twitter) feed all night and into the early morning hours waiting for him to call off school. The screams of joy can be heard all over the city proper when he hits send.

I would be a fool after these two trusted prognosticators have given me every indication of a major snow event not to have my cameras ready, batteries charged, police scanner at hand and the 4 Runner locked into 4-wheel drive.

I haven’t been too jazzed up about shooting snow features until I drove to my office at the Winchester Sun Wednesday. The further East I drove, the more snow and ice rose up to greet me. As the sun peeked over the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway, All I could think about was making beautiful images of the Kentucky countryside. The closer I drove towards Lexington the better the pictures became as horses and black fences were silhouetted by the new-fallen snow.

Snow transforms even the most mundane scenes into magical landscapes, while the ice and frost create intricate natural sculptures. The interplay of light and shadow on a snowy canvas can produce images that resonate deeply with readers. The resilience captured in the faces of folks braving the cold, the quiet solitude of a snow-blanketed farm, or the dynamic chaos of a winter storm—these are moments that transcend time and inspire my awe.

Hours later, as I packed up to head West towards the bubble, huge wet flakes began to fall on the Clark County Courthouse. It was too much. All I could think about again was making snow photos. I don’t mean just pretty photos of the white stuff, I mean people sledding, being pulled on an inner tube behind a John Deere tractor or adults riding a toilet seat down Hospital Hill. Yep, I have photographed it all.

I hope we get the snow they are calling for and that I can make a photo like I did Jan. 18, 1993, of then Western Kentucky University students, Shannon Finney and Patty Sorrentino, pushing each other down College St. in a laundry basket. I am happy to trade frozen fingers and fogged lenses for a good snow feature.

Gary and Landon, I hope you didn’t let me down. I am counting on your weather wisdom to scratch my snow photo itch.

Joe Imel is the Publisher of the Daily News and 9 other Carpenter Media Group newspapers in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. He can be reached at (270) 783-3273 or via email at joe.imel@bgdailynews.com.