Winter fun! Photographing in the snow

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

We have been looking forward to it for a long time and finally it is here: King Winter. Yeahhh! The Netherlands has been transformed into a white world. It has been speculated about all week.

The dream of an Elfstedentocht could suddenly become reality, and we photographers are thrilled too: it will stay white and (ice) cold all week! Are you coming along?

Are you a photographer who arrives at your favourite spot very early to photograph the untouched white world? Or would you rather wait and see, heading out later when a red alert has been issued?

The weather last weekend was raw and cold, with even a snowstorm. In the exposed parts of the country, the wind was force 6 or even stronger.

My snowshoes are already ready by the front door, hand warmers in my gloves and the camera batteries charged. I am impatient to capture all that white! I am really looking forward to a big white playground.

I read some tips beforehand. I put a spare battery in my warm trouser pocket and set the camera's ISO to 1600 in advance. I want to get the snow looking beautifully white in the photo instead of grey or dull. So I am going to push the exposure up quite a bit!

I choose a telephoto lens with a large lens hood to try to keep the glass dry and clean (Canon 70-200mm f/4). I take my ready bag with me so I can grab it and put it away quickly. I also put a flash in my bag. I want to try to freeze snowflakes in the photo.

Then I step outside into the biting cold. Ouch, it really is very cold. My eyes start to water and if, like me, you also wear glasses, you soon cannot see a thing. The winter pictures online all look so beautiful and appealing. How do they manage that, I wonder?

A few more streets and I am at the edge of the countryside. The wind is blowing and the snow is falling so hard that I cannot see my hand in front of my face. Let alone manage to take a decent photo.

Reading about it is one thing, but actually taking photos in this snowstorm...

But I am a determined person. My fogged-up glasses disappear into my jacket pocket, I pull my hat down over my ears, the buff over my face, and I brave the snowstorm in my Sorel Caribou winter boots and walk towards the forest.

The wind blows the snow straight into my face. I can only take a photo when I turn my back to the wind. Fortunately, when I reach the forest, the wind drops. What a relief!

I mount the flash on my camera and try to take the photo I have in my head. I look for a place in the forest where the background is still dark. That way, the snowflakes will remain visible.

My flash is set to manual (M), which means that I have a maximum shutter speed of between 1/125 and 1/200. I vary the aperture and ISO to see what effect this has on the falling snow. My viewfinder shows a snowy landscape surrounded by a bokeh of snowballs.

I decide to set the white balance to Kelvin 3700, which makes the camera produce a blue and cold image. And yes, that fits exactly with how it feels this morning! For a first attempt, I am delighted that I managed to do this.

It is three hours later when I get home, even though it feels as if I have only been away for an hour. I have not been cold, but in practice it became clear that I do not know how to find my settings "blindly". I will just see that as a learning experience

Oh yes, before I forget, do not take the camera out of your bag straight away. Put it somewhere cool to acclimatise. This prevents anything from breaking or condensation forming inside your camera. If necessary, take the memory card out while you are still outside, so you can view your photos quickly.

For now, I am going to enjoy some hot chocolate and wish you lots of photo, skating and snowball-throwing fun over the coming week!!

You might also like

1 comment

Have your say