Winter Landscape Photography, Digital Prints

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Winter Landscape Photography, Digital Prints

Tips for cool winter landscape photography and pics of winter through HDR processing are available on this page.

Photographing winter is not a case of simply taking the picture as it is more about preparing your body for the elements.

In Canada, we joke that we have 10 months of winter and two months of poor snowmobiling. We joke....then we silently cry to ourselves.

hdr, high dynamic range, snow, winter landscape photography, pics of winter

Yes, it gets messy and miserable, but Mother Nature has an artistic side and some of northern creations are well worth the cold fingers, runny nose and frequent bladder reminders.

Warm, cold, warm, cold...and that's just your camera.

Winter photographers know their cameras will experience temperature shifts as they take them from their homes to the "40-below" outdoors and vice-versa. Be prepared for the condensation waiting period. Use the downtown to wipe your nose and visit the loo.

Then there's the snow. See how it falls on the warm camera and then freezes. Ah, ain't life grand?

Don't worry. You're not the first to be unprepared.

Did I mention the batteries? Better take fully-charged ones, keep them in the pocket closest to your warm body (most likely the pants).

In the years of photographing hockey games, I always made sure I had those disposable warming packets for my winter boots. Add good insoles and I was off to the races.

Now You're Ready To Shoot Winter Landscape Photography

Where there's winter, you find underexposure. Thank the snow for that one. Your light metre sees all of this white and says to the image, "Whoa, I better darken this baby."

You'll always find color shifts in the white stuff. Blue sky equals blue snow. Grey sky, grey snow. Sunrise/sunset, warm snow. Even the moon has its influence on the snow.

hdr, high dynamic range, snow, winter landscape photography, pics of winter

The abundance and shapes of a snow-covered landscape differ. A scene can have patches of snow and much-exposed ground. It can have snow drifts. And there's also blowing snow.

Notice the lines and shadows on these varying conditions for your digital prints and pics of winter.

hdr, high dynamic range, snow, winter landscape photography, pics of winter

Check out the waterways as well. Those waterfalls you visited in the other seasons are still worth the trip.

Photographers love the aftermath of an ice storm. Unfortunately ice on the trees often converts into loss of electricity so you might have to do a bit of emergency survival on the home front before you get to admire your beautiful ice-soaked nature images.

hdr, high dynamic range, snow, winter landscape photography, pics of winter

Even though your HDR processing program will bring out the saturation, that doesn't mean you can't try a polarizing filter on your lens. Experiments can produce some unexpected results.

Challenge yourself to try black and white winter landscape photography. This will reinforce the need for strong composition.

Winter also contains the holiday and festive season in late December. Lights abound. Here is an HDR image of a lawn scene of ornamental lights photographed through a fogged-up window.

hdr, high dynamic range, snow, winter landscape photography, pics of winter

Look for textures. Snowflakes. Icicles. Human and animal tracks.

hdr, high dynamic range, snow, winter landscape photography, pics of winter

Try backlighting in the evening or early morning. It gives your pics of winter a warm feeling.

hdr, high dynamic range, snow, winter landscape photography, pics of winter

Return from Winter Landscape Photography to Earth Seasons.