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Winter Landscape Photography - You'll be rewarded for braving the elements,The days are shorter, the temperatures colder, and there's snow everywhere. So why is winter landscape photography so much fun? Maybe because it's so fulfilling to overcome the challenges. Maybe because of all the opportunities that don't exist in other seasons. From animal tracks in the snow to unusual shapes made by the ice to the carved surface of wind-blown snow, winter presents the photographer with scenery that's both unique and temporary.Before you go out, prepare yourself and your equipment for the conditions. Dressing in layers that you can zip, unzip, or remove completely will ensure you remain comfortable. Spare batteries are good to have in any season, but especially in winter, as the cold quickly saps the batteries' strength. Keep your spare batteries in a pocket near your body so they stay warm, but allow your camera to remain cold, because allowing it to get warm and cold will produce condensation that fogs your lens elements and can interfere with the camera's electronics. Protection against condensation when you return home is important too. If you can't warm your camera slowly, consider putting it in an airtight bag so it warms up without being exposed to the relatively humid air indoors. Condensation is also a risk outside, if you're not careful with your breath. Try to exhale away from your camera to avoid fogging the viewfinder, lens, and filters. When shooting snow or snowy scenes, you'll want to overexpose your image to avoid getting gray snow. Also, if your camera doesn't have a snow setting, you can use the custom white balance setting to avoid the blue tint that is common in winter landscape photography. Point your camera at a well-lit patch of snow without shadows to set the white balance manually.
Winter is a good time to shoot in
black and white.
Unless it's a
bright sunny day,
the landscape will be somewhat monochromatic anyway, and the textures and contrast gradations are emphasized by black and white images.
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Of course, you'll want a hat and gloves (I like fleece gloves for shooting, as they keep my hands warm but allow me to work most of the camera's controls), good boots and gaiters to keep your feet warm and dry, and snow pants or rain pants so you can wade through deep drifts or sit down to get that perfect shot.