In landscape photography, it’s not just about lush flowers, deep green meadows, lush foliage, and warm lights. Landscapes can also be cold, snowy, humid, dark, and lonely. If you are one of those who hibernate with your camera all the cold season, or of those who think that there is nothing to see in a forest in winter, or that the only thing that can be represented in winter are the three kings, Santa Claus or any other tradition that characterizes your land? This article will change your mind.
However, in winter it is cold, it rains, it snows, it is early at night and many other discomforts. Photographing landscapes in winter is for champions, fools or enthusiasts, but especially for the lucky ones, because the beauty of a landscape in winter, the strength it can convey is so unique that it is worth spending all the discomforts of the world to contemplate it.
- Getting the equipment you may need just before you leave home can make the difference between a nice photo shoot and a disastrous photo shoot.
Appropriate clothing and footwear: Take a good look at where you are going, if the snow can surprise you, what maximum and minimum temperature you will have that day, if the weather is good, etc. and dress accordingly. It is very important to be comfortable but at the same time well protected against possible inclement weather. Don’t forget some gloves, you can use some thin to the touch, some with cut fingers or whatever you want. Do you think the camera cools easily and is unpleasant to handle with frozen fingers?
Batteries: If you don’t have two yet, this is another great opportunity to buy them. Batteries in cold environments discharge faster. So be sure to transport yours fully loaded and, if possible, carry several.
Tripod: If you like landscape photography, you should already know that it is almost mandatory to have one. Although it may seem otherwise, carrying a tripod will open up creative possibilities in addition to ensuring better sharpness in your images.
Backpack: A good waterproof backpack will keep your equipment on several occasions and will also allow you to carry it well organized and safe inside.
Waterproof case for the camera: or failing that, a plastic bag and duct tape, or a rubber band, or sunscreen to fit the case and the lens. Moisture can eventually cause fungus to appear inside, so If you protect it properly, you will Avoid this expensive repair.
Lens: There is no perfect lens for landscapes, as each person has their own style and preference, although the recommended standard lens for landscapes is a wide angle, due to its wide angle that you can use. allows you to cover more of the scene.
In landscape photography, we always recommend that you try to master all the parameters of the scene. That is, forget about automatic and even semi-automatic modes. You have plenty of time to set up your scene and decide what you want to get, do some tests and make a strange mistake and fix it on the spot.
Not everything is snow in winter, but it is clear that it is a very important and very characteristic element of winter. However, in order to photograph it correctly, it is important that you know how certain situations can fool your camera’s light meter. Snow is one of the most characteristic. The photometer interprets that there is much more light than there really is and makes its interpretation. The result is grayish snow instead of white.
To correct this photometer error, you can expose a neutral gray through a gray graph, or you can increase your camera’s exposure from 1. 5 to 2 steps. To find out what the correct exposure is, you’ll need to run several tests until you’re satisfied with the outcome of your scene.
Don’t consider it something to “handle” in the winter. Foggy days are as rare as they are magical and you can take advantage of them to increase the interest of your images. The fog will help you to explain a story of mystery or loneliness, unreality or sadness, in addition to giving you one of the most magical lights you can find; soft, diffuse, low contrast and without shadows.
To photograph fog, it is advisable, for example, to shoot at low speed what shows the almost unreal path of the fog, but above all to control the exposure well, because the fog tricks the photometer in the same way that it happens with snow. In this article, you can dive into everything you need to know about fog photography.
Winter is similar to black and white photography in that many of the colors we get from other times of the year disappear. This absence or reduction of colors makes everything take on a more monochromatic tone, but no less photogenic for that.
Since the image won’t stay alone, you should help her by wisely choosing the center of interest and helping her stand out with the composition techniques of your choice.
Sometimes vast expanses of snow that are too monotonous can become visually dull. Do you look at the details of the fallen leaves, the snowflakes, the fruits hidden under the snow, the moss?They will help you represent winter in a more original and visually appealing way.
Rhythm is the arrangement of the elements on a plane, when they are repeated in an orderly or disorderly way it is called a rhythm image, in the following image you can see a formal composition based on the rhythm (the trees are repeated in a more or less orderly way) which in turn breaks it down thanks to the person riding the bike. The bike not only breaks the formal rhythm, but also does so because of the contrast produced by the winter color of the background (cold) with the warm and vibrant color of the cyclist’s red jacket, thus increasing the interest and beauty of the image.
Since many winter scenes contain similar hues, it is not difficult to imagine what a black and white winter scene would look like. Not only is it a great opportunity to get black and white images, but it will also help you learn how to do it. Preview the scenes, because often the tones will be so similar to black and white that you hardly need to use your imagination to recreate the scene in your mind before seeing the result.
If you’ve been careful and followed the first tips on how to prepare before you go winter photography, being surprised by a snowstorm is something you can enjoy, as long as, as I said, you and your team are perfectly prepared and ready to spend time in the snow. Using low speeds in the middle of a snowstorm will provide images as suggestive as the one you can see below. Above all, forget about the flash, because all you’d get is a bright image. white dots in the foreground.
Winter is not always evident in the landscapes around us because the truth is that there are many places where, for example, the snow does not arrive. They’re still winter landscapes, though, are they? Fortunately, there are many other ways to broadcast the cold season in an image. The use of symbols that we associate with winter will convey the same feeling and message as if it were a snowy landscape. Hardwoods, ice, a smoldering fireplace in the middle of the landscape or some animals nestled in the cold are just a few examples of symbols that are easily associated with winter.
Each season carries with it a series of common or at least generalized feelings or associations: winter is cold, lonely, harsh and often cruel, but at the same time a heartbreaking beauty, there are few people in the streets, few animals in the forests, few hours of light. Winter is the warmth of the house and the cold for those who sadly lack it. As a photographer, you want to convey more than just an image, right? So try not to forget the importance of transmitting emotions. and possibilities that each scenario offers you.
Take special care to monitor your steps in snowy landscapes. Your own footprints can destroy a pristine, pure landscape without any trace of human presence. Unless the footprints are an interesting part of your composition, be careful where you step so as not to destroy your own perfect background. Also, and perhaps most importantly, control your steps to avoid falls, mainly for your physical integrity (is the depth of snow often treacherous?) And then for the integrity of your team.
Not only do you get bokeh with Christmas tree lights (even if they look amazing?), you can also get bokeh in the middle of a forest through the lights that sneak between the branches of deciduous trees.
Sudden changes in temperature can cause condensation inside your equipment, for this it is important to try to avoid them at all costs, it is best to gradually condition it, away from radiators, heaters, fires and other heat producing points.
You may be cold, you may like your sofa cover more than yourself, imagine that your frozen fingers lost in the middle of a forest can give you excitement, or you may think that winterscape photography is just for very strange people. The truth is that the photography of winter landscapes is a challenge, there is no exuberance, there are no abundant intense colors, not too many animals outdoors, and that is precisely why, it is a photograph that you have to think about, analyze. I bet you love challenges, I bet that your passion for photography and your desire to learn goes beyond the cover of your sofa, and I also bet that you are now planning a winter outing (at least if you are on this continent Plus, I bet it will be an experience that you will love, that you will be surprised and that you will want to share with someone else , so if that’s the case, don’t hesitate to look for allies – winter photographers with which to walk and share great experiences.
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