Six Steps To Better
Winter Photography |
The Old Ground Hog came out and said Spring was upon us, and the calendar on the wall states that Spring has officially arrived, but here in Colorado all that seems like a fairy tale or funny joke. Colorado for that matter tends to change seasons in it's own sweet time. So to say it's time to get out and shoot winter scenes in April may seem a bit odd to the out of towner, but to those of us who have endured a few "Colorado" seasons, laugh when the extended forecasts tell us it's spring in March & April. For Nature Photographers everywhere this is also true. The thought of going out to shoot winter scenes in January seems a bit too rugged for me personally. I would rather be at home next to a warm fire sipping hot cocoa watching the weather channel showing the warm weather in Tahiti. I wait until mid March & Early April to get out my snowshoes. When all those spring breakers are heading to Ft. Lauderdale or Miami, I am heading up to the high country. Two hours west of Colorado Springs sit some of the most beautiful winter scenes I have ever witnessed and I am sure there are more yet to be discovered. Just outside Buena Vista sit the San Isabelle National Park, Sawatch Range, Sangre De Cristo Range and Pike National Forest. Up there you can see the most photogenic mountains over 14,000 feet. Elk and Mule Deer are venturing into the lower valleys looking for food and the Air is clean and crisp. Some the very few Glaciers in Colorado are beginning to melt and small run off are offering pretty cascades to the small creeks and rivers. Most of the time the skies are clear and the snow glistens like millions of diamonds on a carpet of white. The one thing you need to be aware of is the potential for avalanches. As the warm spring sun starts to heat up the snow it tends to create conditions that are more prone to these serious possibilities. So learn the signs of a potential avalanche area and be aware of your routes, and be cautious when trekking away from the main trails. Always be prepared with extra water and some supplies you might need should you get stranded for a short while. I always recommend that you leave a travel plan and a map detailing your routes and destinations. Also give people an idea when you feel you will return and a time to start looking for you if you don't report back. There are many techniques for shooting winter scenes like those pictured and written about, but I want to cover the basics at this time just to get your juices flowing for next year. I will cover six basic rules I follow when shooting winter scenes. |
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| 1.) "Early To Rise" Get
up early and get to where you want to shoot before the sun comes up. Just as in all of
nature outdoor photography the best time of day for most scenes is Early Morning and late
afternoon when the Sun is burning through more of the earth's atmosphere casting hues of
Red, Yellow and White on your scene. It tends to add a mystic feel to the image that
conveys feeling and personality that is original. |
| 2.) "Almost 3-D" Keep in
mind that you want to close your aperture to a low setting of F-22 or F-32 to increase
your depth of field in the shot. Often a good nature scene will have a balance of
foreground leading to the main subject and through the supporting background giving you a
complete composition. Just watch for distracting elements in your viewfinder that would
detract from your subject. Be very picky! Following this guide will hopefully enhance the
image to the point where you feel like you can actually step into your printed image. Most
importantly use the K.I.S.S. Theory, Keep It Simple Stupid. Don't try to over load your
image with too much. Keep the subject fairly clear and the image uncluttered. |
| 3.) "In The Zone" I
suggest that if you have a newer camera that is equipped with zone or " Matrix"
metering you ought to set your system on aperture priority and let the camera figure out
the exposure time to balance the light with your f stop setting. Film speed is also
important. I use a slower speed slide film to provide a finer grain image that will be
more pleasing when it is enlarged for viewing either framed or on display in a slide show.
Particular professional grade films enrich color and provide the best saturation to create
vivid images that just pop off the paper. |
| 4.) "Lights, Action, Color"
Remember when you're out shooting any scene you will most likely be shooting with color
film. So please have something colorful in your image! A good example in early spring are
red willow bushes, clear blue skies, golden dried grass and old buildings that are weather
beaten but still have some color left to them. Set against snow these subjects tend to
stand out better. |
| 5.) "Ignore The Weather Channel"
While clear blue skies can add a crisp cool feeling to your image other times it is more
effective to have a little bad weather to make a good image. In fact it seems that what we
feel are dreary days can sometimes out number the perfect days we hope for. Actually no
matter what your compositional subject is, look for fog, snow and steam to add depth and
contract to your images, these situations will more times than not make dramatic images
that convey the real feeling of winter in Colorado make dramatic effects on film. A
typical exposure may require opening up by one half to a full stop, which will help
details pop up from any haze in the scene. |
| 6.) "Chasing The Sun" No
matter what time of day, your position in relation to the sun is important. The sun's
position can drastically change a landscape in a matter of minutes especially at Sunrise
and Sunset. Follow the sun through a scene and watch for changes as they occur. Many times
it takes several shots to capture the right balance of light, color and contrast in a
scene. Also keep in mind the direction of your lens and the surrounding area when shooting
bright sunlight in a snow scene. Details tend to get lost when you are shooting in the
direction of the sun. Green pine trees tend to look black or gray. White snow will also
gray dependent on your metering. Metering is the most important element in all of these
situations. Be sure you are versed in your camera's metering system and can compensate for
the subtle changes that can happen in a five-minute span. If you don't want to wait for
the light to naturally change or to yield the optimum levels, you will want to be able to
adjust your metering to compensate for the overly whiteness of the snow in sunshine.
Follow your camera's system book to see how your system meters bright light or objects
that are bright in contrast to dark objects. |
| Shooting snow scenes is a challenge for any photographer no matter the experience level, but persistence will pay off if you study your camera's capabilities, your knowledge of composition, light, film and color and your desire to be creative in your photography. Photography while often regarded as a science is still taught as an Art in most schools and universities. So get out there, be safe and be a part of winter photography in Colorado. |
| James Egbert is a Professional
Photographer and Nature Photography |
