The minimalism of snow
White on white...perfect
I grew up in South Africa and lived there until 12 years ago and then moved to Canada. As a result, snow was simply not part of my life…ever. There are very few places in South Africa and even the continent of Africa that get any level of snow.
Sure, some of the big mountains like Mount Kilimanjaro or the Atlas Mountain range will get snow. Very occasionally, some of the small towns and cities in South Africa may get a dusting of snow, but really, it’s an absolute rarity.
Coming to Canada and experiencing snow, even the small amount we get here in BC has been a treat. I know, many Canadians are now rolling their eyes and going ugh! Snow…but hey, its a novelty for me as a person and as a photographer. I love it. I love how it looks, I love the crisp cold that comes with it and something I never realized, the dampened quietness that it brings during and after a snowfall. It is magical, magical to see and magical to photograph.
Minimalism and shapes are key
I find that to make good images in the snow, the key is to look for two things, minimalism or starkness and sometimes, shapes. For me, this helps to get better images, in the scene above, the chaos of the trees has a common theme, the snow that covers them. In the scene below, the minimalist scene (monotone colour) helps you to see the trees as the whole picture is filled with snow. Both the snow and the trees work.
Recently, I took some photos of the snowfall we had on Vancouver Island and there were some great scenes, some were a little cluttered, like the one below, its not too bad, but the scene is not perfect.
I prefer this image, which is simple and dramatic
The panoramic ratio can work quite well for snow. In this shot, I wanted to show the whiteness of the snow and the colours of the tree trunks and fir trees. The pano view made it look even more dramatic, it gives something more to the scene somehow.
Lastly, photographing the snow with a blue sky and when the sun shining is first prize, I love this kind of scene, the colours pop and the snow pulls it together, so when the sun comes out after a snowstorm, thats when my camera comes out!
Do you photograph in the snow, if you do, what do you love most about it? If you don’t …why not! Let me know