The Depths of Winter

It can sometimes prove difficult to leave the comfort of a warm cosy house during the cold dark Winter months. Not doing so however will almost certainly result in missed opportunities when it comes to capturing beautiful landscape photographs. Virtually all of my prints that have sold to date were of images taken between the months of October and March. The reason for this is fairly simple. The sun never climbs too high during this period and the light is almost always softer than during the Summer. Taking similar photographs during the longer months can often involve getting up at unsociable hours or see you standing around until late at night, waiting for the light to be 'just right'. The time that the light becomes 'just right' and is at its softest is often referred to as the golden hour and can be as early as 5am and as late as 9pm during the Summer. No such issue during the Winter months as the sun stays pretty low throughout much of the day and you are left free to concentrate on the task at hand.

Cold, still days offer some of the best opportunities to take beautiful images. Mist and fog can hang heavy amongst the trees and dykes, and skeletal, deciduous trees offer great opportunities to capture dramatic, spooky silhouettes. The sun punctuating through the undergrowth of a deep dark wood, casting light rays which scatter in a multitude of directions, provides a much needed injection of interest to what could otherwise be a flat, lifeless scene.  

It's always best to come prepared. Scouting out locations in advance will help with visualising the shot you are wanting to take, and always carry a tripod and cable release. If you have a Neutral Density Graduated filter take that as well, or failing this, bracket your exposures just in case the dynamic range is too great, not allowing the capture of the complete range of details in one shot.  

Above all this though, have fun, enjoy the great outdoors and all it has to offer. Just remember to wrap up warm, take a big coat, thermal underwear and a flask of coffee - you may just be out there for some time.    

Misty Roughton Moor -  Nikon D3s with 24-70mm F2.8

The Depths of Winter - Nikon D3s with 24-70mm F2.8

Skeletal Giant - Nikon D3s with Nikkor 24-70mm F2.8