The Joys of Winter Photography

In the colder North American climate, such as found in southern Quebec and Vermont, Mother Nature puts up an incredible display of colors in September and October. For many us landscape photographers, this 2-3 week period of fiery fall colors is the most productive, exciting and stimulating time of the year.  This makes the arrival of November all the more difficult to accept:  cold weather, gray skies, rain, snow, drab colors – probably the worst month for nature photography around here… In December, the cold weather arrives, and winter slowly settles, putting an icy grip over the regions.

At this time of year, many people imitate bears and head indoors to “hibernate” until the arrival of warmer spring weather.  Nature photographers tend to spend more time in front of their computers, working on articles, preparing image submissions to Editors, while slowly packing on the pounds…

Ice Floe Sunset Over Lake of Two Mountains
Canon EOS 20D
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM lens at 17mm
1/13s (middle exposure), f/16, ISO 100
Hoya Moose Polarizer, Hitech 3-stop GND
3 exposure HDR image processed in Photomatix

Me? My pulse accelerates as I see the promise of snow and ice to come.  Winter is a time of photography opportunity, as there are relatively few winter landscape photographers. Creating winter images is very rewarding, and I just love strapping on my snowshoes early in the morning while the sun is low in the sky, and exploring snow-covered forests and meadows… I really love the solitude and quiet of winter.

Winter Sunrise
Canon EOS 20D
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM lens at 25mm
1/8s, f/22, ISO 100
Hoya Moose Polarizer and Hitech 3-stop GND

There’s nothing like feeling the little hairs in your nostrils freeze up as you’re breathing in the icy air on a cold winter day! With the sun being much lower in the sky during the winter months, it is usually possible to do outdoor photography at any time of the day. With blue skies, white snow, frost-covered branches, iced-up streams, there are so many photographic choices!

But of course, you need to know how to stay comfortable in cold weather in order to enjoy this.

Let’s be honest here, being “comfortable” outdoors in winter is much more a psychological issue than a physical one. Deciding to leave a warm bed early in the morning to head out in the cold of winter is not easy… but it is worth it. Being on location early means that you greatly improve your photographic opportunities. Birds and wildlife are more likely to be visible at dawn than in the middle of the day.

Frosty Great Gray Owl
Canon EOS 20D
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM lens
1/320s, f/8, ISO 200

This Great Gray Owl was barely starting to wake up when I came upon it. It was still frost-covered from the cold night. Yeah, yeah… I can year you say “Wow, you must have been really lucky to get that shot.” Well yes, and NO. You need to be there to be “lucky”. You need to go out and be outside to get the shots. I would not have been “lucky” if I were still in bed. I would not have seen this beautiful Red Fox had I been sipping a latte in front of my PC! By going out often enough, odds are that you will eventually see something (note to self: buy more lottery tickets in order to get more “lucky” )

Red Fox in Winter
Canon EOS 20D
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM lens
1/2000s, f/5.6, ISO 200

Ironically, when I go out in winter, I tend to overdress and be too hot rather than cold. It’s so easy to forget how much heat a body can generate while walking or snowshoeing in snow… On this -22C/-8F morning, I can still remember airing out my heavy winter parka and removing my hot gloves a number of times in order to avoid sweating too much:

Snow-Covered Trees in Winter
Canon EOS 5D MkII
Canon EF 24.105mm f/4 L USM lens at 47mm
1/25s, f/14, ISO 100
B+W Polarizer

There’s really no big secret in staying warm on a cold winter day… For your body, dress in layers, avoiding anything that absorbs moisture. Use a base layer of wool, silk or a synthetic fibre, optionally add an insulating layer of fleece or wool of appropriate thickness, and then finish off with either a good quality soft shell or a parka with, both of which should have a hood. Mix and match the layers, adding or removing any one depending on the temperature. If I wear a parka, I’ll not wear a heavy insulating layer, preferring instead a lighter synthetic long-sleeved t-shirt over my underwear.

On my legs, I wear lightly insulated breathable soft shell pants that shed snow and moisture,  along with a set of long-johns when it’s colder.

Black Diamond Guide Gloves, Columbia Titanium Bugaboot  XTM Omni-Tech Boots
MSR Lighting Ascent Snowshoes, Kahtoola MICROspikes

I always wear wool socks inside the best pair of boots I could find, the Columbia Titanium Bugaboot  XTM Omni-Tech, rated to about -60F when active. These are wonderful, warm boots that are relatively light and very comfortable, and are snowshoe friendly.

I searched a long time for a good set of gloves that would keep my hands warm while also allowing me to handle my camera gear. I’ve fallen in love with my Black Diamond Guide Gloves, they’re very warm and give me just enough dexterity to use my camera, but I can only wear them when it’s below -15C / 1F, as I otherwise get too warm in them!

For headwear, I like a synthetic beanie, which is light but warm and sheds snow.  On very cold or windy days, or if I need to stay still for a while, I always have the option of slipping on my shell or parka hood.

My other tools of the trade include a good set of snowshoes (the MSR Lighting Ascent) and the fantastic Kahtoola MICROspikes which work perfectly on the slipperiest and iciest of terrain. A note about the MICROspikes: I wear about size 9 shoes/boots, and I use a medium size over my running shoes (great for winter running on icy streets!) and use the large size on my winter boots and hiking boots.

Ah… winter…  The ice, the snow, the stillness and the beautiful solitude. I just love it.

Magenta Sunset over Lake of Two Mountains
Canon EOS 5D MkII
Canon EF-17-40mm f/4 L USM lens at 22mm
10s, f/16, ISO 100
Singh-Ray 3-stop GND, Singh-Ray 4-stop ND, B+W Polarizer

If you’re interesting in purchasing any of the above images as prints, please contact me!

See you in the field,

Rob

Posted by Rob under L'Ile Bizard (Quebec),Landscapes,Musings,Quebec,Wildlife,Winter | Comments (13)