How to Photograph Your Winter Landscape

Winter presents a photographer with a unique set of challenges and opportunities. The cold temperature and lack of sunlight in winter can make it hard to take good photos, but they also create some beautiful effects. Snow reflects the light differently than other subjects and brings out the contrast in your images.

Take advantage of the low light and contrast of a snowy scene

If you're brave enough to go outside, you can capture some breathtaking scenes. Here are some tips that will help you photograph your winter landscape: Use the right equipment. When it's cold out, it's important to protect your camera from the cold. Bring along a protective cover for your camera and use gloves or hand warmers when handling your gear. Even if you don't feel like it's that cold, keep in mind that your fingers will get cold and start to lose feeling after just 15 minutes of exposure at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Setting up a tripod is important because camera shake is more prevalent during very low-light situations and will result in blurry pictures that you don't want to have to deal with later on. Work fast. The only real way to capture winter light is right at sunrise or right at sunset, so work quickly when shooting those times of the day. If possible, try to time your shoot so that there is still some light left in the sky while

Play with shadows

Lighting is what makes landscapes special. There is something about the way a camera sees these natural scenes that is different from how the naked eye perceives them. The difference between a landscape photo and any other photo is the way light plays on the scene. It can be harsh, or soft, but it is always special. The most important part of photographing a landscape is getting the exposure right. This means making sure there isn't too much light or too little light on your subject. You measure this by using your camera's histogram to see if the image has bright areas, mid-tones and dark areas all in proportion to each other. While you are at it, check your overall composition as well. Try taking several photos of your subject with different exposures (your camera will do this automatically) and then choose which one looks best.

Be patient with your camera

There are a few ways to photograph the winter landscape: some more complicated than others. The following tips will help you get great winter pictures of your surroundings in any season. The first thing to remember is that with a digital camera, you can take as many pictures as you want without paying for film or worrying about whether you have enough room on your card. It's easy to shoot several frames of the same scene, and then choose the best one when you're done. Be Patient With Your Camera If you're just starting out with taking pictures, it can be tough to get everything lined up perfectly on the first shot. When photographing the winter landscape, it might be tempting to walk around the area until you have everything framed the way you want it - but if it's windy out and there isn't much snow on the ground, that could be dangerous. Be patient, and try to get everything lined up as well as possible before pressing the shutter button.

Go wide

Going wide is a photography term meaning, "zoom out." It's the opposite of getting in close. And in landscape photography, it is often the way to go. When you're photographing mountains or valleys or any other expansive vista, you want to get as much of it in your frame as possible. You want an environment that feels big and open and full of possibilities. Going wide gives that to you. The best way to do this (if you're using a standard point-and-shoot camera) is to simply zoom out all the way, which will probably put your lens out of its normal focal range. That's fine—you can switch back and forth between that and the zoomed-in view on your LCD screen until you find the combination that works for you. If you're using an SLR camera, there are a couple of extra things you can do: Stack lenses: If your lens has a smaller focal length than what you want, you can use an additional telephoto lens with it to get closer to your subject while maintaining the wide-angle view. You just have to make sure both lenses are compatible before buying them.* Use a wide-angle lens and shoot at a longer focal length: This is particularly handy

You don't need a lot of gear to take great photos of your winter landscape

There is nothing quite like a winter landscape. Trees and bushes are covered in snow and the ground is blanketed with pure white powder. It's a magical time of year, and you'll want to capture this beauty for future enjoyment. There is a lot you can do with your camera to make the most out of your winter landscape photos. You don't need a lot of gear to take great photos of your winter landscape, but there are some tricks that improve the quality of pictures significantly.

Ljubljana: Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Ljubljana is tonight going to sleep covered in a soft mantel of snow!

You can check the small gallery below, making it a full size and scrolling through the images with the side arrows.

5 Beginner Tips For Shooting Winter Landscapes

Winter brings out the toughest elements in our climate, with many people putting away their camera bags ëtill early spring. But, if you do put away your camera you are missing out on the raw beauty that this magical season brings.

Here are a few tips to make the trip more enjoyable.

1. Wear the right clothes: Itís very important to wrap up warm when out and shooting winter images. The winter season brings the toughest elements, so if you are planning to spend a few days out and about always be well prepared.

2. Watch the weather: Itís very important to know what the weather is going to be like. You donít want to travel for a couple of hours and then hear a weather report that tells you that: the weather is wet for the next few days. During the winter months the weather can dramatically change in a matter of hours.

It ís always advisable to let someone know where you are going and which route youíre planning to take. If you do get injured or ever caught in a storm someone may be able to help.

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3. Carry only what you need: Carry only the essentials. You donít need to upload your camera bag with every piece of equipment you own. If you are going to be out taking pictures all day you are much better off going as light as possible. Carrying a light load will also help preserve energy. You could be climbing icy rocks or crossing snow filled hills; a warm flask would serve you a lot better than a third camera.

4. Look for detail: Snow, ice and frost bring out texture and atmosphere in most subjects. The early frosty morning is an ideal time for close-up photography. The frosty morning also brings out patterns in our landscapes.

Take care where you place your camera: if you are taking pictures early in the morning try placing it at oblique angles to the sun - this will give your images strong shadows. This will also add mood to your landscape images. Once you have found the perfect spot pay extra attention to foreground interest as this will add depth to your image.

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5. Expose carefully: Snow and ice are extremely difficult to expose properly. Snow usually confuses your cameras metering system or your hand held light meter. When you take a light reading from snow you will automatically get an underexposed image. The meter will record the snow as grey.

Now is the time to start bracketing your shots. If you bracket your shots add 1 - 2 stops of light to compensate for your light meter reading. Using an 18% grey card, which I described in a previous article, should also give you a perfect light reading.

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Snow in Venice,......and it is MAGIC

 

Snow does not fall often in Venice and when it does, it doesn't stay on the ground for long. If you are lucky enough to be here when it snows do not waste any time and stay out as long as you can to capture magic moments!

The Island of San Giorgio Maggiore seen from Ponte della Paglia 

The Island of San Giorgio Maggiore seen from Ponte della Paglia