For some Nebraskans, winter can feel like a lifeless, dreary season, but for Omaha-area photographer Derrald Farnsworth-Livingston it’s a magical time. Winter has a unique quality because it has the potential to transform the landscape utterly. “When you have snow, you have a kind of renewal,” Farnsworth-Livingston said. “It’s all crisp and clear.”

If there’s no snow, there’s at least most certainly ice. After checking conditions to ensure it’s safe, Farnsworth-Livingston likes to walk onto frozen lakes and look for bubble designs on the glasslike surface. These pockets of air trapped below the ice make photos that resemble abstract charcoal drawings. He rarely ventures too far onto the lake, but it doesn’t prevent kindhearted fellow Nebraskans from voicing their concern for him.

One morning on Shadow Lake in Papillion, Farnsworth-Livingston was shooting on the ice in a place where he knew the water was only ankle-deep. But when a pair of joggers came by, they urged him to get off the ice, or he’d fall through and drown. “I told them I’d get wet if I fell through the ice. It will be freezing. It won’t be great. But I’m not going to die,” he laughed. He is thrilled it’s supposed to be a snowy winter in Nebraska and estimates he’s as excited as any kid to wake up to the white stuff.

Farnsworth-Livingston believes in mastering knowledge of the land he’s shooting. That means returning to beloved Nebraska places in different seasons, including winter.

Toadstool Geologic Park, north of Crawford, is one of his favorite places to shoot landscapes, but it took him several trips to understand how he wanted to approach making pictures there. He studied how other photographers worked it and imagined where they stood. He comprehended what they’d aimed to accomplish.

Then he took different hiking routes or visited during an off-season or, as on a recent trip, shot pictures at night. Farnsworth-Livingston took his 15-year-old daughter, Riley, who is also interested in photography, to capture images of the Milky Way. She held a flashlight while dad took photos. The technique is called light painting. A long exposure and an external light source create a silhouette in the foreground as the Milky Way glows above.

After shooting winter landscapes in places like Schramm Park State Recreation Area, Ponca State Park, and Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, he zeroes in on the little things. “Landscapes tell part of the story. Details tell the rest. I could spend an hour with a blade of grass.”

Indeed, he spent about that long on one shot of a single golden stem of grass dusted with snow at Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, waiting for the sun to hit it just right and aiming for perfect sharpness.

Although Farnsworth-Livingston has traveled widely, he often discovers beauty and nature in his suburban neighborhood. Last year, a barred owl – maybe two, he’s not sure – took up residence in a wooded area near Farnsworth-Livingston’s house. The owl even occasionally perched on a streetlight. The owl picked a spot each day and sat there for hours, impervious to Farnsworth-Livingston’s camera – not as camera shy as a long-eared owl that had once eluded him in the Sandhills. Still, it amazed Farnsworth-Livingston how many people would drive by without noticing the owl. Maybe sometimes folks just needed a little nudge. Driving by 92nd Street and Q Street in Omaha, Farnsworth-Livingston recently saw a red-tailed hawk dragging roadkill off the road. The photographer pulled over and took out a long lens to take photos of the bird without disturbing it. Seeing the man taking pictures, a family in a minivan pulled over to investigate. The kids watched, engrossed, as the hawk dug into its well-earned meal.

Even in winter, life is happening all around us if we take the time to look for it. Sometimes it’s a little gory, but more often than not, it’s gorgeous.