5 Tips For Shooting Winter Landscapes.

Winter brings out the toughest elements in our climate, with many people putting away their camera bags ‘till early spring. But, if you do put away your camera you are missing out on the raw beauty that this magical season brings.

Here are a few tips to make the trip more enjoyable.

1. Wear the right clothes: It’s very important to wrap up warm when out shooting winter images. The winter season brings the toughest elements, so if you are planning to spend a few days out and about always be well prepared.

2. Watch the weather: It’s very important to know what the weather is going to be like. You don’t want to travel for a couple of hours and then hear a weather report that tells you that: the weather is wet for the next few days. During the winter months the weather can dramatically change in a matter of hours.

It’s always advisable to let someone know where you are going and which route you’re planning to take. If you do get injured or ever caught in a storm someone may be able to help.


3. Carry only what you need: Carry only the essentials. You don’t need to upload your camera bag with every piece of equipment you own. If you are going to be out taking pictures all day you are much better off going as light as possible. Carrying a light load will also help preserve energy. You could be climbing icy rocks or crossing snow filled hills; a warm flask would serve you a lot better than a third camera.


4. Look for detail: Snow, ice and frost bring out texture and atmosphere in most subjects. The early frosty morning is an ideal time for close-up photography. The frosty morning also brings out patterns in our landscapes.

Take care where you place your camera: if you are taking pictures early in the morning try placing it at oblique angles to the sun - this will give your images strong shadows. This will also add mood to your landscape images. Once you have found the perfect spot pay extra attention to foreground interest as this will add depth to your image.

5. Expose carefully: Snow and ice are extremely difficult to expose properly. Snow usually confuses your cameras metering system or your hand held light meter. When you take a light reading from snow you will automatically get an underexposed image. The meter will record the snow as grey.

Now is the time to start bracketing your shots. If you bracket your shots add 1 - 2 stops of light to compensate for your light meter reading. Using an 18% grey card, which I described in a previous article, should also give you a perfect light reading.

Dreaming Winter Photography

The sight of early morning snow, the shimmering frost in the trees, your sister falling off in your snow filled front yard and your stunning snow angel, don’t you ever wish you could just capture that moment right away and place them in your computer desktop? Right, sounds easy but for an amateur photographer this may sound too challenging and laborious. But thanks to the dawn of digital photography and winter photography need not be exclusive to the professional anymore.

You have to remember a few pointers though. Winter shooting can be tricky as majority of the landscape is white and the background is bright. When shooting a snow filled area, the brightness of the snow may often cause your digital camera to somewhat underexpose the scene, thus making the snow to look gray. To correct this, you might have to increase your exposure compensation so the whiteness of the snow can be appropriately captured. The time of the day you took the picture can also have an effect in your image. So if you want cooler shots shoot closer to midday but if you want warmer shoots, shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Although traditional photography belief tells us that using flash outdoor is not necessary but if you are shooting a winter photograph, using a flash can bring out details and highlights that might not be captured without it. However, if you are shooting close shots avoid using flash as much as possible as the reflection can greatly reduce any detail in your photo.

With the flexibility of processing available with digital cameras, you have better choices when in comes to choosing the finished format of your photograph. There is really nothing to lose to trying winter photography. You might even be surprised with the images that you captured. Once you have become accustomed to winter photography and have been familiar with the different techniques, you will find that winter is one of the best times of the year to go out there, take photos and make use of your digital camera. You will be surprised to see that the final results are worth the hassle.

The Wonders Of Winter.

You may travel the world in search of the most glamorous locations, but sometimes there’s no place like home.

Its winter time again, and while some folks are ready to reside indoors, its time for all landscape photographers to gather their winter gear and start the quest for some great seasonal images.

For many of us, the greatest joy in photography is to travel to far-away lands, seeking idyllic locations, that we can only dream about, and then do our very best to capture them. But do we need to travel to capture perfect sights? All around us are places of beauty waiting to be captured and we pass them every day.

We don’t need to go to great expense or travel thousands of miles; dramatic places are found in every corner of every land. But then I do have one of the world’s best locations on my doorstep: the west coast of Ireland.

While the wet weather can keep me indoors for weeks on end, the winter months bring harsh, but inspiring light, where a rugged Irish Landscape thrives.

No more so than a scenic National Park, five miles outside Killarney town, on the west coast of Ireland. Killarney National Park, filled with towering hills and romantic lakes, still remains one of Irelands most unspoiled treasures.

It’s one of those places where my senses come alive; its varied landscape and rugged, yet accessible, mountain range, is a favourite spot with many and a place where I like to spend a lot of time. Its shapely mountain peaks make it a perfect spot to photograph, especially during the cold and icy winter months.

All we need in photography is a different approach. Each season brings its own elements, and winter is no exception. Using our photography skills at the correct time of day can vastly improve our pictures. If you are serious about photography, dawn is the time to be up and about. At this hour, the colours of the sky cast a brilliant orange-red hue that will add mood and character to any setting.

There are also other elements which make winter special. An early morning ramble through the woods can be a perfect start to any day. Our forests are full of great photo opportunities, and an early stroll around deserted woodland can be a remarkable experience.

Rivers and valleys are also prime locations for early morning snaps. If a damp day is followed by a cold night there may be some low-lying mist hanging around. Mist or no mist, an early start works best.

Last light of the day is also an excellent time to be out and about. The evening sun can explode a variety of colours across the sky as it sets for the day. If the sun shines at the beginning or the end of the day, the colour of the light will be much warmer, and will lead to a much more dramatic scene.

So as winter looms, I gather my belongings and head west to capture the mood of the harsh Irish winter, and start the quest for new seasonal images. It certainly isn’t time to put away the camera. Winter brings plenty of great photo opportunities, tougher conditions to work in, but just as satisfactory as any other season.

Each homeland can be a paradise in its own special way: Ireland is, and I’m sure, winter brings special elements to your homeland too.