Winter has been particularly brutal this year, here in small town Missouri.

Dark

Dreary

Bitter cold

A little unsettling, even.

I’ve been restless for the last few weeks; searching for something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

Rest?

Solitude?

Purpose?

Or maybe just a moment to be still.

Nothing is quite as calming to my spirit as a snowy day.

I braved the cold temperatures and headed out in the snow last week, just my camera and me. As each flake drifted ever so slowly to the ground, settling softly ‘nary a sound, those nagging feelings of unrest that had taken up residence in my soul began to leave.

Slowly.

One snowflake at a time.

And in its place, a sense of calm, peace and tranquility.

A reminder that even in the bitterest of winters, beauty remains.

As does hope.

Because no matter how dark, dreary and bitter cold these days may seem, like seasons, these feelings of unrest will come to pass.

The sun will shine. The snow will melt.

And hope will arrive on wings. With it, peace, calm and tranquility.

Freebie and Photography Tip of the Week

We’ve brought you tips, tutorials, discounts and freebies each week in the Poetic Winter Photo Challenge. Our final freebie and tutorial can be found at Alicia’s blog, Project Alicia. She’s taking it back to basics this week and sharing a few fabulous tips on composition – framing your photos beautifully. She also has a lovely, one of a kind print available for download as well!

Exclusive Discounts From Our Sponsors

Thanks to the following sponsors for partnering with us to bring you these fabulous deals throughout the challenge. They were created exclusively for Poetic Winter Photo Challenge participants and are still valid throughout the month of February. Click on the images to be taken directly to their sites.

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Thank You

On behalf of Rebecca, Alicia and Faith, I’d like to thank you for joining us in the Poetic Winter Photo Challenge. We’ve certainly enjoyed visiting your blogs and poring over your photos each week. You all are an inspiring bunch!

Just a few reminders:

Our Poetic Winter Pinterest Board is still active. We’ll continue to pin our favorite Calm inspired images throughout the week.

If you haven’t had a chance to snag our awesome freebies yet, you can still do so for a limited time. Simply stop by my Winter Photo Challenge page for more details.

And finally… Don’t miss a beat! Get the latest updates and future photo challenge announcements by subscribing to receive email updates from Live and Love Out Loud.