My idea was to take series of aerial panoramas of Bryce Canyon covered in fresh snow because it looks even more mysterious covered in white. So I flew in with my friend (and fortunately the pilot) just before heavy snowfall began. We’ve spent two days waiting for snow to stop. Finally it was clear February predawn hour after 48 hours of heavy snowfall. The temperature was -25°C and clear endless sky was filled with flickering stars. Being accustomed to the warmth of Arizona prairies, the starter of our helicopter made an unclear sound and went silent. A spare battery, which we brought with us, did not improve the situation. Something deep inside this warmth-loving Arizona bird was hopelessly frozen. Another snow-storm was in the forecast for early afternoon. I was preparing for this shoot for almost a year and simply could not afford to surrender. We managed to find the only local owner of a mobile diesel heater and warm up our covered-in-tarp "heli". In one and a half hour we removed the doors and took off! Only a little bit of work was left - the actual shooting. Neither the -25°C temperature, nor the wind that was already beginning to pick-up were able to stop us.
180° two-rows stitched panorama taken from Robinson R44 helicopter in hover.
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Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA