Mount Hunter from a Bush Plane. Denali National Park. Alaska.
Metering for scenes with a lot of snow can be tricky since the bright snow fools the camera meter. I see a lot of winter photos with gray snow, which means the camera meter did exactly what it was designed to do. The solution is quite simple provided you know what to do.
Last Light on El Capitan, Yosemite National Park
In addition to all of the usual photographic challenges, winter provides some extra complications, especially in terms of metering. So I began this series of articles on winter photography. Check out the links below. The articles will help you meet the unique challenges of winter photography. So get out there, have fun, and create some great winter images!
I was teaching a photography class at Graceland University in Lamoni Iowa. We were doing an exposure exercise and I needed a white subject like a polar bear or a mountain goat.
Western Scrub-Jay, Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife, Fremont California. January 9, 2014.
I was at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Fremont California. It is one of my favorite photo locations in the Bay Area. Continue reading
Organ Mountains, New Mexico. January 8, 1990.
Ansel Adams is right. There is something wonderful about New Mexico. There is an abundance of great subjects to shoot and the light can be magical.
Southwest Colorado in the Fall.
Come spend four exciting days on a total immersion photo safari in beautiful southwest Colorado. Colorado is magnificent in the fall as the aspen turn gold. The safari is September 27-30, 2019. Registration is limited and this photo safari is filling up. Detail are here.
Are you ready to take your nature and wildlife photography to the next level? Are you ready to learn the professional secrets that make the difference between good images and great images? Are you ready for a high intensity, action packed, total immersion photography weekend? Come to Park of the Pines on beautiful Lake Charlevoix June 7-10, 2019.
Kristina, Window Blind Shadows, Columbus Ohio. January 7, 2013.
This is my favorite photo for January 7. We were doing window blind shadow portraits, using sunlight streaming through the half open window blinds.
Mojave Desert near Fort Irwin California. January 6, 2014.
When we go to Fort Irwin, it is my custom to get up early each morning, head out into the Mojave Desert, and take pictures. I wanted to capture some of the volcanic rocks around Mount Blackie and still provide a sense of place. I created this image with my iPhone. This is my favorite photo for this date.
Ryan, Tennis, Fort Irwin California
I have two favorite first place photos for January 5. Both were taken in Fort Irwin California. It was cold and snowy when we left Ohio, but much nicer in California’s Mojave Desert. This is our grandson Ryan playing tennis.
Southwest Jet Over Las Vegas at Dusk, Looking Southwest. January 4, 2013.
On our trips from Ohio to see family in California, the least expensive route is usually through Las Vegas. When the winds are out of the west I always try to get a seat on the right side of the plane so I can get photos of “The Strip” as we take off (next photo below). Keep that in mind the next time you fly our of Vegas. One of the perks of flying Southwest is to choose a seat based on the photos you want to take during the flight.
Perseid Meteor photographed from Rose Hill Cemetery west of Lamoni, Iowa. 4:55 am CDT, August 13, 2018.
Tonight (January 3-4) is the night of the Quandrantid Meteor Shower. This article will tell you what you need to know to see and photograph the first meteor shower of 2019. Predictions are always just estimates, but this shower is predicted to produce about 25 meteors per hour. Best of all, this will be a dark sky night without interference from the moon.
Night Sky and Milky Way over the Mojave Desert, Fort Irwin California. December 3, 2013. 10:05 pm.
My favorite photo for this date was taken in the Mojave Desert, about two miles southwest of Fort Irwin California. The photo was taken looking northwest. The Andromeda Galaxy is directly over the power poles about half way up the photo. The Pleiades are at the upper left corner of the photograph.
How can this be? 3400 photos in my “favorite photos” folder and not one of them was taken on January 1. What was I doing? Oh, I get it. I was watching bowl games.
Favorite Photos, December. Click for a larger version.
Here are my favorite photos for the month of December. The story behind this “favorite photos by date” project is here.
Family Christmas, West Point, New York. December 31, 2005.
If you have been following this series recently, you have figured out we celebrate Christmas on most any date, and sometimes several dates. With family spread out across the country in six different states, we travel to them and they travel to us in different combinations every year. One year we had 4 Christmases spread out between December 25 and late January.
Tom Ang: Digital Photography Through the Year and The Complete Photographer.
Looking for a series of photo projects to inspire you for a full year? Tom Ang wrote a great book with 144 projects arranged by season. He also wrote an excellent companion volume arranged by topics.
Last Light on El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California. December 30, 1990.
In my “favorite photos” folder the photos for today’s date are a mix of landscape and family pictures. I have two first choices for today’s favorite photo. The first was taken in Yosemite National Park.
Kristin, Columbus Ohio. December 29, 2014.
Kristin and I were doing a photo shoot in downtown Columbus. It was chilly out (the windchill was 26°), but we did it anyway.
Bird Reflections, Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Fremont California. Dec 28, 1990.
We were in Fremont California visiting family over the holidays. As I sometimes do when we are there, I head out early in the morning to go to the local wildlife refuge. This image is my favorite that morning, my favorite for this date, and one of my all time favorite wildlife images.
Sunny in the Car, Galena Ohio. December 27, 2016.
There are only two photos in my “favorite photos” folder for December 27. They were taken within seconds of each other and this is the best of the two. Continue reading
Silent Night, Moraine Park, Colorado
Snow glistens in the last light of dusk.
Distant clouds glow with the fading light from the sun, long since set.
Janae and Candle, Nebraska. Christmas 1980.
My favorite photo for this date is actually two photos. The first is a photo of our daughter looking at a Christmas candle.
Christmas Ornament, Columbus Ohio. December 24, 2013.
After decorating our Christmas tree I did images of some of the the individual ornaments. For this exposure I zoomed the camera lens for about half the time the shutter was open. This is my favorite photo for today’s date.
Leg Lamp and Legs, The Pizza Shack, Lamoni Iowa. December 23, 2018.
My favorite photo for this date was taken just a few hours ago.
Grand Canyon at Dawn, Arizona. December 2, 1985.
Landscapes photos are rare for me in December since we aren’t usually traveling unless we are going to see family for the holidays. But in 1985 we were driving across country on I-40 to spend Christmas with family in California. The Grand Canyon isn’t far from I-40.
Family portrait, Lamoni, Iowa. December 21, 2016.
I have two favorite photos for this date. The first is a family photo from two years ago.
Jennifer at the Piano, Worthington Ohio. December 20, 2009.
This photograph was spur of the moment. Jennifer played the piano at church for a Sunday morning service and I decided after church that I wanted a photo of her playing the piano.
Dina, Columbus Ohio. December 19, 2007.
It is December and most of my favorite photos are of family, friends, and models. My favorite photo for December 19 is this image of Dina, a model in Ohio. I used one studio light to camera left, bounced out of an umbrella, to create the semi-high contrast light. The camera was right on the floor to catch some of the reflection in the hardwood floor.
Kristina in the Snow
The white snow in a winter scene can and often does fool a camera meter into underexposing a portrait, so here are the steps to take to get the right exposure. I throw in a few portrait suggestions too.