I travelled to Cape Cod on New Year's Eve 2013. Besides my interest in photographing summer vacation spots in off-season, I wanted to see the Cape in the special 'winter light' so many artists speak of. To experience the landscape covered in snow would be a great, if improbable, bonus. Happily, not only was there snow on the ground when I arrived but a robust nor'easter blew through a couple of days later, blanketing the landscape in white. The snow was light, dry and powdery due to abnormally cold temperatures; usually snowstorms on the Cape leave a heavy, damp sludge.
The morning after the storm I hiked into the sand dunes near Provincetown and encountered an amazing scene. Howling winds had whipped the landscape into a sculpture garden, layering snow and sand in precise and intriguing patterns. These natural works of art were only on view for a few hours because by afternoon the temperature had risen to 10°C and they had collapsed.