Nature Photography How To

It happens every year, and we're not referring to the onset of spring for all you baseball fans. Rather, the tutorial below from the Park Cameras YouTube channel, addresses how to capture great landscape images during the bleak days of winter.

There's plenty to deal with when shooting in the field this time of year, not the least of which is cold nasty weather that can be quite uncomfortable and detrimental to your gear. But in barely eight minutes you'll pick up some tips for elevating your mood, finding suitable subjects amidst the bleakness, and making the most of what Michiganders refer to as the "winter wonderland."

Instructor Gareth Evans admits that he's always struggled during the last season of the year, but he keeps shooting because, well, that's what we do. Today he reveals four favorite tips for leaning into challenges of winter and making the most of the season's "wonderful light." In fact, while it may not be particularly fun, some of the best images are captured when shooting under bad conditions, so don't stash your gear until the weather improves.

One tip is to "embrace" these uninviting conditions and tell a story with the cold, wet weather, menacing skies, and  lonely landscapes full of barren trees. In other words, accentuate what you see rather than attempting to make it something it's not. And he has several good suggestions for doing just that.

Evans also has some inspiring tips for using bad weather to advantage, instead of wasting time for colorful cheerful scenes that can rarely be found. As he says, "you can get loads of interesting drama by capturing crashing waves, blowing snow, rain, mist, and almost impenetrable fog." These conditions can all be part of becoming a better visual storyteller.

Tip number three is making the most of the good light as soon as it appears, because in winter it usually won't last for long. So make sure you're prepared to capture these fleeting moments before they disappear into the gloom. He adds that "while the sun doesn't get that high in the sky during winter, you may discover some of the finest soft light that you'll see throughout the year."

Last on Evans' agenda is to try other genres of photography, like environmental or indoor portraiture, or creative food and product photography when you really can't force yourself to leave home. Winter is also a great time to tackle that backlog of editing projects that you've been putting off for months.

Remember, the baseball season doesn't begin until late March, so concentrate on making winter the best season it can be. There's much more to earn on the Park Cameras instructional YouTube channel, with weekly lessons that will help you up your photography game, so be sure to pay a visit and check out what's there.

On a related note, we also encourage you to watch the tutorial we posted recently from another accomplished landscape photographer, explaining how to shoot and edit beautiful minimalist winter landscape photographs with a moody, captivating look.