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The White Stuff- Amateur Photographer
Pull back the curtains on a cold winter morning and if it’s the weekend and you don’t have to go to work, then the idea of going back to a warm bed is a very desirable option. However, if there has been a rare fall of snow, then its time to forget the cosy bed and get your camera bag ready for an early start to capturing that the winter wonderland outside. We don’t get that much snow in the UK these days, whether that’s down to global warming or not, I’ll leave you to decide, but when it does appear you need to make the most of it. 
That’s not to say that if there is no crisp layer of the white stuff on the pavement, you can use that as an excuse to go back to bed either. Sharp frosts affect the country throughout the winter months and these too give the landscape a magical gleam that will only last a few hours in the morning before the sun has had a chance to melt it away. Frost also has an advantage, in that it is often easier to shoot as well, as it just seems to add a sparkle to subjects, rather than completely covering them and therefore, most subjects are still visible to shoot.
If the weather forecast is predicting snow or even if the temperatures have dropped below freezing because it’s a clear night with no cloud cover, then you can be fully prepared for that early rise. You’ll need to get yourself ready and the emphasis here is obviously on keeping yourself warm. It’s important to wrap up and be prepared for the freezing temperatures, otherwise, you will not be in the mood for taking pictures if you’re standing outside shivering and just wishing you were back in your warm bed.
Make a plan of where you are thinking of going the evening before as well. It’s always best if you don’t have to travel too far, in what could be treacherous and icy conditions, so check out some local favourite haunts or try places you haven’t been to before locally that may have potential. The beauty of this kind of weather is that a sprinkling of snow or ground frost, transforms even the most mundane subjects or locations into wonderful original viewpoints. Therefore going back and shooting a familiar location that you perhaps shot in spring or summer will make a good contrast to the original with it now covered in snow.
Your nearest scenic village is another good choice, as snow and cottages always go well together, as do village churches. You may think these a little corny, your typical postcard or greetings card image, but for this reason they do work well and you can guarantee you’ll get some great images.
A scene of predominantly white is also going to confuse your cameras metering however. This can lead to underexposure of around two stops in many cases, as your camera wants to capture the snow as a mid-grey. So you need to compensate for this by adjusting the aperture or shutter speed if shooting on manual or dial in compensation if working on automatic. It’s worth bracketing to be on the safe side as well, so keep an eye on the histogram on the back of the camera to see how it’s affecting your exposures. Your camera will also give the images a blue tinge, which may help with the feeling of cold, if that’s what you are after. Otherwise, you will have to adjust the white balance by setting it on to the cloudy setting to add a warmer tone to your pictures, by way of compensation. If you shoot RAW, then you can adjust this later and have a variety of pictures with or without the blue cast.
As well as keeping yourself warm, you’ll find that your camera can suffer from the cold conditions as well. The cold weather is a killer on camera batteries especially and can shorten their usage time by up to half sometimes. Therefore, make sure you have a couple of spares with you, with one kept in a pocket near to your body to keep it warm and at optimum temperature until ready for use. Have a cloth handy as well to wipe any condensation build up on the front of your lens or filters.
Zoom lenses are an ideal choice in these conditions, as you don’t want to be changing lenses all the time in the cold. A couple of zooms would be perfect, one to cover wide to standard focal lengths for overall scenes and then a mid to long telephoto for isolating details. If you have an ultra zoom lens, covering focal lengths from very wide to long telephoto, then you won’t have to change lenses at all and you can be ready for all shooting situations.
A blue sky and bright sunlight are a perfect combination to make the most of a fresh layer of snow and will give your pictures that magical look. Watch out for the sun though, which will be much lower in the sky at this time of year and can easily lead to flare. To avoid this, use a lens hood at all times or shield the lens with your hand when taking a picture. If it’s an overcast day however, don’t despair. In these conditions, it’s probably worth ignoring the wider view and instead try concentrating more on the smaller details within the landscape. Use the telephoto end of your zoom lens to pick out all of those other interesting details with the scene. Look for close-ups on the ground and flowers covered in the frost. Maybe there is stretch of water nearby that has frozen and if so, there may be icicles around which look great close-up.
Your local park will give you lots of options for shots as well, where there will be plenty of trees covered in snow, which will make for good abstracts together with leaves on the ground for close ups. Even the park bench or kiddies playground can throw up some interesting abstracts as the snow wraps itself around the metal bars.
Look out for everyday objects that stand out in these conditions that you would otherwise ignore. A red pillar-box for instance, covered with white snow will look great and adds a welcome splash of colour to a shot. If you got up early before heading off to work, or have the day off, don’t forget to capture other people heading out in the wintry conditions. If it is still snowing outside, then showing the bleak conditions or kids enjoying the snow can be an alternative way of capturing the effects of a winter’s day. People sledging at the local park can provide some great action images too.
 Once your shoot is over, remember to take some precautions when you do get home. First of all leave your gear in the camera bag and make sure you don’t open this for an hour or two to avoid condensation. Also be sure to remove film or cards from your camera before you bring it inside, again, so you won’t be tempted to open your bag prematurely. Then you can make yourself a nice hot drink and check out your images on the computer. You’ll be glad you made the most of the cold snap and no doubt have some rewarding images. Worth getting out of bed for, I think you’ll agree.
© Craig Roberts
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