Feeling the chill as you make your way through January?  So are we and it’s time to heat things up!  This month we asked our Storytellers to provide images that symbolize warmth for them.  Gather round these cozy images and enjoy!

Photo by Emily Polar
Photo by Emily Polar

“To me, this image has a nostalgic feeling of summer days spent playing in watering holes as a kid. That one secret swimming hole you’d go to with your friends on a hot day.

Wherever you lived, if there was a watering hole I imagine it could have looked like this.

Location: Tulum, Mexico”

Emily Polar

Warmth by Annette White
Photo by Annette White

“Only a select few Polynesian luaus feature these traditional fire dancers who add a show-stopping sizzle to the end of any hula. These men twirl their flames against the backdrop of the night sky, tantalizing you in a visual feast that is almost better than the pig roast that preceded it. The heat of the tropical weather in Hawaii mixed with the fieriness from these sticks and the sweat glistening on his chest gives me a sense of warmth in the middle of winter.”

Annette White

Photo by Joseph Roybal
Photo by Joseph Roybal

“While traveling, we have the opportunity to meet so many people along the journey: young, old and in between, all we have to do is take the time to share a bit of ourselves first, in a genuine fashion. What I have found is the more remote and rural the area the better for truly meeting the people and the warmth they have to share. Getting off the beaten path can lead you to some incredible opportunities, not simply for photographs like this, but to meet and get to know the inner culture deeper and more intimately.”

Joseph Roybal

Photo by Mitch Wu
Photo by Mitchel Wu

“I live on a small cul-de-sac where nearly every home has a fire pit that can be rolled out into the middle of the street or onto the driveway.  During the holidays there are chilly evenings when nearly every home on our street has a fire pit roaring on the driveway.  These fires offer family and friends a chance to gather and stay warm, but mostly just gather and be together.  The kids roast marshmallows over the fires – it’s a past time that creates warmth in every sense of the word.  I wanted to capture that feeling in this image with Yoda, and in doing so I’m fairly certain that I created the smallest campfire in history.”

Mitchel Wu

Photo by Tara Shupe
Photo by Tara Shupe

“Oregon has had a pretty frigid winter this year and, although the temperatures were barely reaching above 20 degrees, my friend and I decided to go camping in the rustic camp cabins at Silver Falls State Park. The park was beautiful, covered in snow and ice, and exploring all morning had us craving something warm! Luckily, during the weekends the park has a cafe open and we were able to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. Nothing else felt more warm or more accurate to this month’s theme than that very drink! Not to mention I looked up to see Brooke letting the steam roll over her face and I thought, this hot chocolate is going to warm our faces and our toes I just know it!”

Tara Shupe

Photo by Shawn Talbot
Photo by Shawn Talbot

“Last week, while exploring Olympic National Park in Washington state, I was wandering through the stunning Hoh Rainforest in freezing cold temperatures when the clouds began to part and the sun came shining through the trees. The rays of light were small slivers of warmth in the midst of this cold, damp and peaceful rainforest.”

Shawn Talbot

Photo by Sarah Dawson
Photo by Sarah Dawson

“I love our temperate winters here in California, especially so in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Warmth to me is a shared moment at the end of the day.”

Sarah Dawson

Photo by Daisy Gilardini
Photo by Daisy Gilardini

“A meerkat family is warming up in the first morning sun in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana.”

Daisy Gilardini

Photo by Viktoria Haack
Photo by Viktoria Haack

“Waiting for sunrise is pretty much always a chilly experience. As the first pink of alpen glow hits the peaks it generates a welcome warmth! This image is from Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park with the peak of Assiniboine itself obscured by rising mist.”

Viktoria Haack

Photo by Kylie Fly
Photo by Kylie Fly

“Cozying up in a cabin with all your best girlfriends while the snow gently falls outside is the kind of mountain escape every woman needs.”

Kylie Fly

Photo by Glenn Bartley
Photo by Glen Bartley

“I visit some very warm place to photograph tropical birds.  I can’t think of a warmer mission than my recent attempt to photograph the stunning Crimson Topaz hummingbird. I don’t think I have ever sweat so much in my life! But it was worth it in the end to see this unbelievable bird.”

Glen Bartley

Warmth by Luke Pearsall
Photo by Luke Pearsall

“In these cold months we focus a lot on warmth. What it takes to stay warm during the winter, the feeling of warmth we experience while spending time with family and loved ones during the Holidays. And, if you are like me, focusing on the warmth the sun brings to Earth to takes the bite out of even the most chilly of days.

On the day I took this photograph, I was focused on all three of these things. In September of this year, I moved to Denver after eleven years living and working in Los Angeles. I knew very few people in Denver, but fell in love with Colorado at first sight; so I moved here to see if she would have me for a while.

Eleven years in Los Angeles left me with so many wonderful things, but certainly did not a wardrobe fit for a Colorado Winter. So, I bought myself some new jackets, gloves, hats and boots.  Now I am able to go outside on days like this, take picture and stay warm.

On the day this photos was taken, I was on a hike with of my wonderful new friends.  I met these friends past few months and we share a love for being outside. They took time out of their day to show a new guy a great spot to take pictures. In this way, on this day, I felt the warmth of their friendship.

Lastly is the sun. On this day the temperature started off in the 20’s, but by the time this photo was taken it had already reached 50 degrees. A perfect day to enjoy all the things I had moved to Denver for.  I am always thankful for the sun. For the warmth it brings to our days, the color it paints the landscape and for giving me the ability to capture and share it with you all. The greatest warmth of all.”

Luke Pearsall

Photo by Rachid Dahnoun
Photo by Rachid Dahnoun

“There’s nothing quite like those first rays of sunshine pouring over the horizon warming up the day.  Here, Casey Lucas, picks the perfect spot on Lake Tahoe to take it all in.”

Rachid Dahnoun

Photo by Erika Skogg
Photo by Erika Skogg

“There is nothing quite like the warmth of tending a small campfire during a crisp fall morning. On a photography shoot focused on camping gear, I mixed up my map and ended up getting lost off the trail. As the sun set, I panicked and pitched my tent wherever I stood at the moment. Come morning, the accidental camp site turned out to be the perfect place for the shoot, with the sun rising through the foliage, and the colors reflected off the small pond we stumbled upon.”

Erika Skogg

Photo by Erika Skogg
Photo by Frank Lopez

“The warmth from the fire can be seen, but the warmth that was felt that night was not from the flames, but rather from the loved ones who gathered together.”

Frank Lopez

Photo by Ryan Struck
Photo by Ryan Struck

“Warmth is a surfer’s best friend. 5mm wetsuits, boots, gloves and hoods keep all your fingers and toes snug, even after a blizzard. Ocean Avenue was freshly plowed when two surfers bolted across the road to catch a few waves in the middle of winter at the Jersey Shore. As long as you keep the stoke, staying warm is easy. I shot this image as part of a personal project, Snow Surfers.”

Ryan Struck

Photo by Michael Teague
Photo by Michael Teague

“On my most recent trip to Yosemite, it was all about staying warm! Actually, for me, it was more about staying cold. All I wanted to do was stay out all day and night shooting. Since this was my first time in the park during snow, I was in awe. At one point, I had to pull the car over and get out to take a walk through the woods to take it all in.

I spent the day driving around the park and I already had ideas and comps in mind. Yosemite Falls was calling out to me when we drove by on South Side Drive, so many families and children were running around in the snow, building snow men and having snowball fights. Yosemite Falls was the backdrop and I had to get out and be part of this fantastic energy. My girlfriend was walking around with her umbrella then jumped on this small foot bridge and that’s the exposure you see here.

This day reminded me that life is about the little things and what I appreciate most….the warmth of love, life, and family.”

Michael Teague

Photo by Craig Pulsifer
Photo by Craig Pulsifer

“Warmth can emanate from with out and within.  Here, Meighan studies a setting of diamonds in fine gold, as she is enjoys a flaming hearth on the outside and her thoughts from within.”

Craig Pulsifer

Photo by Matt Clark
Photo by Matt Clark

“The early warm weather that spring brings to Kamloops, British Columbia supplies many opportunities to explore the vast trail systems in this area of Canada.”

Matt Clark

Photo by Dave Cheung
Photo by David Cheung

“I love living in a land that experiences all four seasons.  But, it’s January, and in the cold of our Canadian winters, this image of Thai fire dancers reminds me of a warmer, far away place. ”

David Cheung

Photo by Kathy Dyer
Photo by Kathy Dyer

“No man is an island. The thing that most brings me warmth is knowing I am not alone. When I had cancer I was surrounded by the love of friends and family, that brings me warmth. I may look alone here at Donner Lake but I had my amazing husband Karl assist me with this shot! Always remember in those tough times, you are not alone. Photo taken on Sony Alpha A7rii | 16-35 | f9 | ISO 100 | 1/50s”

Kathy Dyer

Photo by Laura Barisonzi
Photo by Laura Barisonzi

“This was an image I shot on assignment for Zipcar. It was a travel story about an exceptional destination where you can warm by the fire after ice skating. Even though I lit the shot with supplemental strobe lighting, the tripod I shot with helped me maintain the firelight itself as the main key light on the subjects’ face.”

Laura Barisonzi

Photo by Michael Hanson
Photo by Michael Hanson

“There’s been nothing warm about winter in Hood River. This has been one of the coldest winters in the past decade but the light has been great.”

Michael Hanson

Photo by Jordie Lepage, TOPO Films

I aways wonder what place I should call home. I’ve just about split my life between Ontario, Canada and British Columbia, Canada. On top of that, my parents no longer live in my childhood home and have moved an hour away from where I grew up. I make an effort to go back to Ontario at Christmas and in the summer.  At those times all of my extended family stay the week at cottages around my parents house. It’s times like this warm summer night, sitting at the lake surrounded by family, that truly make Ontario feel like home.

Jordie Lepage, TOPO Films Inc.

Photo by Elisabeth Brentano

A few minutes before I snapped this photo at Crater Lake National Park, all I could think about was warmth.  I desperately wanted warmer gloves – and a cup of steaming hot coffee.  I’m not a morning person, and early starts in the winter make me especially cranky.  However, after the first splash of pink hit Hillman Peak’s soft, snowy landscape, I began to see that warmth isn’t just a feeling – it’s a something you can see, too.  And just like that, the freezing temps didn’t matter and I was completely mesmerized by the glow on the mountain.

-Elisabeth Brentano

Jessica Medina

About Jessica Medina

Jessica Medina is the WW Marketing Communications Manager for Lowepro. You can reach her at jmedina@daymen.com

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