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Winter Wonderland- Photography Monthly
Brrr, it’s cold outside, but as a fresh fall of snow covers everything in a blanket of white, this is not the time to be going back to bed. It may be warmer in summer, but you do have to be out at 4am to catch a sunrise, whereas winter shooting has the convenience of at least a bit of a lie in. To entice us photographers to brave the freeze of a winter’s morning is the chance to capture some of the magical white stuff out there. We don’t seem to have the heavy snowfalls that we once did years ago, an effect of global warming perhaps, however, we still get the odd few days when we experience a covering of snow, so you need to make the most of it when it does appear.
You may be thinking that any snow is more likely to hit the north of the country and so southerners have even less chance of seeing it. This is often the case, but remember, it’s not only a good layer of snow that can make wonderful pictures. The whole country is affected by sharp frosts throughout the winter months and these also 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. A frost 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 just if the temperatures have dropped below freezing as it’s a nice clear night with no cloud cover, then you want to be fully prepared for that early rise.
So, you first need to get yourself ready and the emphasis here is 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 wishing you were back in your warm bed. Start with thermals as a base layer and then add thin layers on top to trap warm air. Fleeces and a waterproof jacket will top things off, whilst gloves, scarf and a hat will cover the extremities. Make some sandwiches the night before and a flask of hot drink in the morning before you set off, as being hungry is not going to help your mood either.
Next, make sure your mode of transport is ready and prepared as well. Stick a shovel in the car if there is snow outside, just in case you do get stuck up some country lane. Make sure that the car has plenty of antifreeze and the washer jets are topped up with screen wash so the water doesn’t freeze. Make sure you also know where the de-icer and scrapper are, so you can clear the car windscreen in the morning or put some cardboard on the windscreen the night before to avoid this, which is always a good trick.
Plan 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 icy and treacherous conditions, so seek out some local favourites, or even places you haven’t been to before locally that 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 new viewpoints. Going back and shooting a familiar subject that you perhaps shot in spring or summer will also be a good contrast to the original with it now covered in snow.
Allow extra time for your journey because of the conditions, as well as the possibility of having to walk some distance at your chosen location to find virgin snow untouched by footprints, apart from your own. Remember it will be very slippery out on the pavements as well, so good walking boots will help avoid injury to yourself.
If you are heading further a field, as perhaps there is little snow in your area, think about heading for higher ground where there is more chance of a snow covering. Your nearest scenic village is always a good start, as snow and cottages always go well together, as do village churches, very much typical postcard or greetings card images in fact. It may seem a little corny, but they do work well. Anywhere there are trees will also be good, as the snow will cling onto the branches, as well as being a good focal point to an otherwise very monochrome view.
Consider foreground interest carefully with your landscapes to break the scene up a bit, perhaps including a gate or some rocks, anything to add interest to the abundance of white and remember that a lot of subjects won’t be recognisable as unusual. Even the grass in front you will look totally different covered in a hard frost, so put this to good use as well. A fence dividing up the snow covered fields will also be useful to lead the eye into the picture.
A scene of predominantly white is also going to confuse your cameras metering, sometimes leading to underexposure of around 2 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 its affecting your exposures.
With regards to white balance, consider shooting Raw, even if you don’t normally do. Winter scenes, especially those with a covering of snow, can give your pictures an overall blue cast. Sometimes this is fine and can give your picture a real cold look. Often however, a slight warm up is needed to counteract this effect and give a more pleasing look. If you don’t want to add a warm-up filter when taking a shot, then shooting Raw will allow you to adjust the white balance back home on the computer and then change this so you have just the right amount of adjustment. This way you can also have a variety of shots with some looking bluer than others. Alternatively, find a patch of clean, white snow and use that to set your white balance on the camera. Be sure to watch out for shadows though, as that can effect the setting as well. Leaving the white balance on shade setting is another way to correct the blue cast and add a warmer tone to your images, although this may look too corrected.
Make sure your camera is left safely in your gadget bag until you are ready to shoot, so it doesn’t get damaged. You may have to wait a few minutes for the lens to clear of condensation after it has been in your warm car and then outside into the cold air. So you should make sure you have a clean lens cloth in your bag to wipe away any condensation that builds up on the lens front. You will find that filters suffer quite badly as well and need regular wipes to clear them as you work. You could try keeping your camera in a ziplock bag whilst inside, and then let it acclimatise inside the bag for a while outdoors, before you start shooting. This helps reduce the risk of condensation building up.
The cold weather is also a killer on camera batteries and can shorten their usage time by half. So 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.
Zoom lenses are an ideal choice in these conditions, as you don’t want to be changing lenses all the time in the cold. Two zoom lenses, one that covers wide-standard focal lengths for overall scenes and then a mid-long telephoto for isolating details will be more than adequate.
Perfect conditions for winter scenes are a clear blue sky, which will make an ideal backdrop for the fresh layer of snow. Combine this with the low winter sun and you have a winning combination for wonderful shots, although this low sun will also lead to more flare, so to avoid this, use a lens hood at all times or shield the lens with your hand. However, don’t despair if it is overcast. In these conditions, it’s worth ignoring the whole scene and concentrating more on the smaller details within the landscape. A telephoto lens will nicely pick out all of those interesting other details, like those snow covered tree braches, which will make for good abstracts. Look for close-ups on the ground and the flowers covered in a frost. Spider’s webs also show up well on a frosty morning. Maybe there is water nearby that has frozen and if so there may be icicles around which look great close-up.
The local park gives lots of options for shots. Here you will have plenty of trees covered in snow, leaves on the ground for close ups, and even the park bench or kids playground can throw up some interesting abstracts as the snow wraps itself around the metal shapes. Even mundane subjects will have a whole new look. A red pillar-box covered with white snow will look good and add a splash of colour to a shot.
You won’t have long to shoot before everything starts to melt and you may be back home before the rest of the family is even up. Remember when you do get home to leave your gear in the camera bag and make sure you don’t open the bag for an hour or two. The camera bag will be adequate for avoiding condensation. Be sure to remove film or cards from your camera before you bring it inside though, so you won’t be tempted to open your bag prematurely. With some simple preparation you can make the most of a cold snap and come home with some rewarding images.
Tripods
These should be an essential piece of equipment for your snow shots. But remember that tripods are made from metal and suffer the cold as well, so carry it with gloves on to avoid your hands sticking to it. A pair of fingerless gloves is a great idea as well, keeping the main part of your hand covered, but still allowing your fingers to operate the leg releases. A model with foam covers on the legs will also come in useful, but if your model doesn’t have these then you can make your own out of pipe insulation foam available at most DIY shops. A carbon fibre tripod doesn’t get as cold as a metal one and maybe a good alternative for winter photography.
Filters
Polarisers will make the most of any blue sky that you have and also reduce glare from the bright snow. A neutral density graduate will keep detail in the sky if there is more cloud cover or if you are shooting into the light, which is a great way of shooting a dramatic winter landscape. A 2 or 3 stop density will be ideal for your pictures. If you use an UV filter to protect the front of your lenses then these are designed to help reduce the blue cast that you get with snow. An 81a or b filter will warm the shot up even more.
© Craig Roberts
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