To put it bluntly, I hate winter.
The short days, biting winds and more-often-than-not gloomy skies just make me want to hibernate.
My first inclination is to grab a blanket and a book, and pass the time on my couch until the first wild flower blooms.
Instead, I grab my camera instead. OK, sometimes I have to force myself to grab my camera and head out in the very weather I tried to escape 25 years ago when I moved to South Carolina.
Why? Because I have found winter a wondrous season for photography.
It’s the one season color takes a back seat.
Instead, shape, texture and tones go to the forefront.
Winter is a season that promotes seeing because its natural color range is so limited.
I have found it to be a perfect time to go black and white. It may take a little practice to get it just right because the camera’s meter will naturally underexpose snow. Filters can help. Polarizers can deepen skies and add pop and contrast to clouds, while graduated neutral density filters can help images with large tonal ranges.
It’s amazing how winter changes the landscape.
It’s enough to get me, a winter hater, out of the house.
The short days, biting winds and more-often-than-not gloomy skies just make me want to hibernate.
My first inclination is to grab a blanket and a book, and pass the time on my couch until the first wildflower blooms.
Instead, I grab my camera. OK, sometimes I have to force myself to grab my camera and head out in the very weather I tried to escape 25 years ago when I moved to South Carolina from Wisconsin.
Why? Because I have found winter a wondrous season for photography.
It’s the one season color takes a back seat.
Instead, shape, texture and tones go to the forefront.
Winter is a season that promotes seeing because its natural color range is so limited.
I have found it to be a perfect time to go black and white. It may take a little practice to get it just right because the camera’s meter will naturally underexpose snow. Filters can help. Polarizers can deepen skies and add pop and contrast to clouds, while graduated neutral density filters can help images with large tonal ranges.
It’s amazing how winter changes the landscape.
It’s enough to get me, a winter hater, out of the house.
