A view of the full moon behind the Olympic rings at the Laura Cross Country Ski and Biathlon Center during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

When we arrived here on the ground in Russia just under two weeks ago, one of the things we were told to keep in mind was the full moon occurring on February 14th. Photographers on our team were encouraged to come up with ideas that would place the moon in some visual context with the Olympics. Of course, the famous Olympics rings are the obvious first choice for this kind of thing.

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A test video of bass player Marcus Heffner shot with the Lomokino Super 35 Movie Maker. The hand-cranked camera shoots motion pictures onto traditional 35mm still photo film rolls.

When I stumbled upon the Lomokino Super 35 Movie Maker while combing through photography tags on Instagram before bed a few weeks ago, I immediately knew it was a camera I had to have! With my recent plunge into the traditional photographic darkroom (and return to shooting onto film), the camera seemed to offer the perfect marriage between the discoveries I was making about photochemical developing versus everything I already knew about video and film making.

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Members of the group Mariachi Acero pose during a promotional portrait shoot on Frenchman Mountain in Las Vegas. The group, based in Las Vegas, is comprised of area youths led by instructor Erik Ramirez (third from right).

Just to my left, the view outside the window of the 737-700 aircraft I’m currently flying aboard offers a never-ending view of white, flat-topped clouds. Some 40,000 feet over Denver, the sun is fast on its way to setting, leaving the tallest parts of this cloudy expanse dabbed with crisp, warm light. As with the last time I traveled to Las Vegas, nature is once again reminding me that the visuals out this way are just a little more special.

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Snowflakes lit through color gels accumulate on a sheet of glass during an experimental shoot in East Chicago, Ind., early Friday, February 22, 2013.

Despite measly 5″ snow accumulation forecasts disappointing the snow lover in me, Chicago is expecting its largest snowfall of the season so far today. In the past weeks, unseasonably devoid of snowfall, I’d caught wind of a few great examples of snowflake photography online. Today’s storm brought a great opportunity to try my hand at lighting and photographing these microscopic gems first hand.

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