The day I did this photo walk it was snowing like all the night and all the morning. Everything was covered in a nice blanket of snow. I just thought I needed to go out, practice with my new gear and see if there are any new motives around. I had gotten used to the fact that the world had lost all colors that day – so I was ready to go.
The special thing in a snowy scene is that there are often just no more colors. Especially when the sky is overcast or when it is still snowing like at that day there is literally just white, grey and black. The snow on the ground is not just beautiful to look at but it also eliminates all the details. No grass, no flowers, no structures on the ground. – If it is snowing, the sky is also just a plane grey white area plus a reduced visibility – comparable to foggy scenes. What remains are structures, depth and the snowfall itself.
I had gotten used to the fact that the world had lost all colors that day.
As I’m very much used to lots of color during my adventures, it is always special to shoot in snowy scenes. Just looking for structures that catch the eye and draw attention. The snowfall is a nice opportunity to play with the exposure time: fast shutter speeds freeze the snowflakes while falling, longer shutter speeds retain the impression of falling snow or the feeling of the blowing wind by seeing the motion blur of the snowflakes. Long exposures will create a fog-like impression.
In this shot I wanted to single out this one tree. The snowfall was strong enough to give the scene the relevant depth. By increasing the whites and lowering the blacks, the image almost gets a monochrome look. The crop was chosen to have the upper third crossing the treetop, leaving not too much space below. As there were no details visible in the snow, the area was just a visually dead space.
After all, I am very content with the mood of this photo. A strong single subject, very minimalistic, a calming / ethereal mood. Just a perfect result given the conditions.