Monitoring the weather

There are some places that are spectacular in the snow, but the problem may be that it doesn't snow often in these locations.  Such is the case with Monument Valley, above, Yosemite National Park, Bodie Ghost Town in California, Venice, Italy, and many others.  If you really have your mind set on shooting a unique or famous location in the snow, monitor the weather every couple of days during the winter. Sooner or later, you'll get your chance.  Just this afternoon, I bookmarked a web cam site on St. Joseph Lighthouse in western Michigan because I'm hoping to photograph it this winter during a winter storm when it is covered in ice.  The Internet makes this so easy now, and this kind of monitoring can translate into awesome images.  

To get this picture of Monument Valley, when the weather report predicted snow I drove from Los Angeles to Kayenta, Arizona in 15 hours and arrived at six o'clock in the morning.  I was the first one there and was rewarded with stunning landscapes.