Winter Photography
“O, wind, if winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Some may say that the only good thing about Winter is that Spring follows. Winter is apparently our least favourite season with January being the most disliked month. “Roll on Summer” they say. There’s no doubt Winter has its challenges - who likes being cold when the alternative is only a thermostat away!
For a landscape photographer it’s probably the most challenging time of year. Days are short, the weather is changeable, light is generally poor and the landscape is often bland (especially in woodland). Since my last blog, we’ve had three weeks of grey rainy days, a couple of storms and no sunlight ! That said, the last week has been sunny and cold and I’ve just returned from a fantastic day in the Forest of Dean. But as a general rule, it’s an uninspiring time of year. The stunning Autumn colours have faded, trees are bare after the recent storms, and that lovely coastal path is now a churned up bog. Motivation can be in short supply. An 05:00 alarm and a two hour drive doesn’t seem very inspiring when the car’s covered in frost by nightfall. But I have to get out, I can’t stay cooped up indoors for long, and I need to keep my fitness up.
So the challenge is to get out there and get good images.
It may sound difficult when I put it like that, but there are things you can do to swing the odds back in your favour :
Plan ahead : check the weather forecast and then check it again. When you’ve done that, check it again…..
Prepare well: Know your location. This is where scouting trips from the rest of the year pay off. You’ll know where the light is and how it effects the landscape.
Sort your kit: Have the right clothing. Gloves, hats, insulated jackets, waterproof shells, over trousers and good boots/wellies will see off most downpours.
Gear up: carry plenty of microfibre cloths to dry your camera and lenses. If you have them, take plenty of spare batteries. Cold eats camera batteries.
Start the car: Basic stuff, but making sure the car’s in good shape is vital. Who wants be stuck in the middle of nowhere on a freezing cold night. No? Me neither.
Cross everything: even the best plans go wrong, but the more you try the better your chances. As one of my best mates says “It’s better to be lucky than good!”
There is an upside to all this (I’m guessing that by now you’d be hoping there was). Sunrise and sunset are at very sociable hours in Winter - no 02:30 alarms for sunrise shoots. Additionally, many locations, including the ones that are rammed in Summer, are completely unpopulated and besides the occasional dog walker or fellow photographer (more of which later) you generally have the place to yourself. And when the days are good, well, they’re pretty special. I’ve spent today photographing frosted woodlands with a cold Winter sun providing the backdrop. I have a project to complete this year and I’m searching for the right location which will add the finishing touch, so I’ve got to keep trying even when it’s freezing outside. That’s my motivation. I’m not saying I leap out of bed (that ship sailed long ago) raring to get out there but I like having an objective to aim for.
This morning is a pretty good example of this. The Met Office (and every other weather app you can think of) showed fog covering my location. They said that yesterday as well, so a 100 mile round-trip was pretty much wasted. There’s a specific location I need to photograph in foggy conditions, so I had to try again today. I very nearly didn’t go - I’m stood there about to make my flask of coffee thinking conditions were exactly the same as yesterday. In short, I knew the outcome. Daft or dogged - I’m not sure which, but an hour later I’m parked up in the forest and there’s more chance of seeing Shergar than fog. Still, the sun’s shining and there’s hoar frost everywhere, so some macro shots of frozen leaves will make the journey worthwhile.
From here on the day got better and better. A young Robin took a liking to me and ended up perched on my camera while I was getting something out of my bag. Didn’t manage to snap him on my phone camera unfortunately but I did grab a shot when he went to investigate my camera bag. A short while later, I spy a Goldcrest less than five meters away as I’m walking around a lake. Such a small bird but so beautiful. A quick drive to another part of the forest took me to a spot where I knew the sun would appear later in the morning. There’s a slight haze to the air and when the sun rays hit it they lit the forest up. Result ! I met a fellow photographer as I was walking back to the car and we ended up chatting for over half an hour. My new acquaintance is a guy named David Barrett, a multi award winning photographer, originally for the North East but now living in the Forest of Dean area. You really should check out David’s work here : http://www.ukstreet.photography
So a great end to a day when I nearly let the challenges of Winter photography get the better of me. I really should start listening to my own advice….
After all, it may be Winter outside, but in my heart it’s…….. (you sang the last part didn’t you !)