The Joys of Winter Photography

In the colder North American climates, such as found in southern Quebec and Vermont, Mother Nature puts up an incredible display of colors in September and October. For many of 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 combine to create what may be the worst month for nature photography around here. In December, the cold weather arrives, and winter slowly settles, putting an icy grip over the region.

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 and preparing image submissions to editors, while slowly packing on the pounds.

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

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. 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.

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. Blue skies, white snow, frost-covered branches, and iced-up streams provide so many photographic choices!

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

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, as 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.

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.

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

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 fiber, 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.

Winter Gear

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, plus they 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.

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