I was driving along a random backroad in Finland when I stumbled upon this beautiful winter scene: a lovely winding river and soft mounds of snow. I often drive backroads in unfamiliar places, exploring along the way. Surprisingly, the river was not frozen.

I knew that I had to return the next morning for moonrise. When I arrived predawn the following morning, it was pleasantly surprising to see the gorgeous frozen trees. The frigid temperature of minus 32 degrees Celsius made executing the image difficult. My tripod and camera quickly froze in the extreme temperature.

My hands and face were beyond painful in the extreme cold. My eyes burned as the conjunctiva of my eyes crystallized. I was standing on the frozen bridge while the school bus and morning commuters were whizzing by. Each time that a passing car approached, I had to abort my shot, grab my tripod and exit the bridge in order not to get run over.

There is no pedestrian shoulder on this particular bridge, so each time, I had to move off of it. The bridge is wide enough for one car to pass. I would have to reset my tripod after each passing vehicle and reposition it, trying to recreate the composition that I had envisioned previously. This continued for some time as there was only one road in this particular location, and morning proved to be a busy time for this road.

The moon was rising, and fortunately, I had a little leeway time, as the moon rises slowly during the winter months. The hoarfrost was stunning as the sun gently rose. Each crystal sparkled like diamonds kissed by the emerging light.

The beautiful pastel pink light enveloped low in the horizon, accentuating the beautiful full moon. I was finally happy with my capture. I scrambled back into my car and turned the heater on full blast. The one thing about winter in northern Finland is that while it is incredibly beautiful, it is seriously cold.