This winter brought us little snow through December, though we have now gotten a couple of feet of the white stuff in January.  By and large, the snow this year has been powdery and clumpy - which are scientific terms that mean "not suitable for photographing."  Fortunately, there have been brief interludes that presented excellent specimens.

I got the shot above one Saturday night, after finishing dinner and just before leaving for the theatre.  It had been snowing all day, but the powdery globs were not suitable for photographing.  When I looked out the window in the evening, I could see much better snowflakes falling.  So, I stepped out, and had about 20 minutes to shoot a few images before leaving.  

This taught me two important lessons. One is that you have to be nimble enough to get out and shoot whenever the opportunity arises.  The other was that you can photograph snow crystals in a suit and tie - though those wingtips aren't all that warm.