The morning was meant for pictures. I woke up to snow coating every branch, and not just the evergreens, but the slim deciduous branches, too. I instantly started preparing for multiple hours in the cold, dusky dawn.

But where to go? My husband and I decided that the river would be a good place to capture the magic of the morning. So, off I went to the confluence of the rivers, where the Mississippi absorbs the Minnesota River. The location did not disappoint.

If the embedded video does not work for you, watch the video on YouTube. I would love it if you would subscribe to my channel while you were there.

On the way to the river, I raced time. Some of the snow balanced precariously on the branches slid off every few seconds, loosened by the heating of the day. I only hoped some would stay for the shots I had in mind. Not wanting to lose all opportunities, I snapped a quick picture at a stop light, the first one of the video.

By the time I had gotten to the river and walked the three quarters of a mile to the confluence, the trees had lost their white gown of snow, standing once again brown and naked. Of course, I had taken pictures along the way, but the one I really wanted eluded me. Having met, or at least attempted, my objective, I turned around to head home.

But my Photo Day wasn’t Done

On my way back, two women out for a walk saw my camera, and asked if I had seen the ice flows down a ways, maybe another three quarters mile. I had not, and they fervently encouraged me to extend my walk. The ice flows were worth it. So, back around I turned.

I am grateful to those women. Not only were the ice flows impressive, but I was still outside with the camera, in a beautiful place, when the snow started. And it wasn’t just any snow. It was the thick flaked snow that children dream about, and love to play in. I myself succumbed to the silliness, and attempted to catch some of the large clumps on my tongue.

However, I did discover a key absent item in the camera bag. Nowhere did I have soft clothes appropriate for wiping the snow off a lens. No longer able to take pictures on the nice camera, I put it away. I relied instead on my cell phone.

Another Blessing in Disguise

Now, this wasn’t the first time using my cell phone that morning. At the pretty places, when I was done with the nice camera, I would take a quick picture with my cell phone. This way, the picture would show up in my Timehop, and it would get backed up by Google. Who knew? Maybe I would get a fun auto-magic creation.

But on the way back, I remembered video. I’ve been taking more video lately. My cell phone takes great video, and I’ve been able to do fun things with the footage, like my Astrid Bryce Teaser Trailer video. Additionally, if you take video and back it up with Google Photos, more often than not, you get a surprise.

Welcome to Auto-magic Videos

I love auto-magic videos, those movies Google makes all on its own from the pictures and video that I’ve taken with my cell phone. Google selects which pictures, and what chunks of video, selects a theme, and even picks the music.

Sometimes the movies are strange. Sometimes the movies are perfect. I like this one, well enough to share it with you. For the video above, all I did was add a custom thumbnail.

Although my Morning Did Not go as Planned, Many Happy Accidents Occurred

Have you ever had a time where you didn’t get what you wanted, but ended up with something spectacular instead? Start the conversation on Facebook or Twitter.