Landscape Photography in Winter
Getting a photograph out of seemingly nothing….
Winter photography is either very rewarding or very frustrating and seldom anything else. I have reached that conclusion following a week of mud, sleet and more mud. The snow, until today had vanished leaving behind a dull, dreary and thoroughly miserable landscape with photographic inspiration distinctly thin on the ground. It’s also been very cold which means only stupid humans like me stand in the middle of a wide open fen freezing to near death wondering why there’s no wildlife to be seen. It’s only when you begin to lose any sense of feeling in your fingers that you realise the wildlife are tucked up and keeping warm laughing at the human scarecrow turning blue in the fading light.
There’s only so many times you can photograph a robin or blackbird so wildlife has to take a backseat in favour of landscapes for the frustrated photographer. That’s easier said than done, woods and fields can be lifeless at this time of year, more often than not the light or lack of it sets an unispiring tone so opportunities, however small must be grabbed with both hands. It was following an afternoon spent silently begging the local barn owl population to make an appearence that I kept looking at the skies behind me. The skyline at Nocton Fen in Lincolnshire seldom disapoints and this particular afternoon it helped pull me back from the brink of insanity.
The farm workers have been busy working the land, moving bales of hay, cutting back hedges and trees ready for the Spring and Summer months when the fields will be full of vegetables, daffodils, rape and corn. I was looking at the bales of hay and how the remaining few reminded me of the layout of Stonehenge albeit a poor man’s version but a version nonetheless. Most appealing though was the fading sun in the background, the formation of the clouds and the way the two combine to make for a scene I shall never tire of.
So here’s what I saw, I know the skyline looks fake but I promise you I have used no image manipulation at all. Who’d have thought a mud track, some hay and a sunset would prove to be such a mood enhancer for this miserable old duffer!
Nocton Fen Skyline
It’s a great shot and a great place - I’ve never seen skies like it myself
February 22, 2010 @ 9:22 am
You seem to be a master at teasing out the best from landscapes and wildlife, regardless of the conditions. This is beautiful!
Melissa
February 22, 2010 @ 12:43 pm
Hi Miles:
You may wish to consider doing a few seasonal “studies” of the landscapes in your area. Rather than try to make the winter fens seem beautiful in a commercial landscape photography sort of way - celebrate them for their desolation and then compare them with shots in the same location, showing abundance in Summer etc. Daily studies are also cool too.
I once did a series of waterlillies at a garden near my home. The daily cycle shots were nice, but the ones in the rain or off season were probably the most interesting when viewed in some sort of sequence.
February 22, 2010 @ 1:07 pm
Miles,
The Fenland shots you take are so familiar to me and really bring the best out of our part of the noble Shire. Many years back I worked with a southerner who hated Lincolnshire for it’s flat landscape and lack of Knightsbridge type shops…. no amount of effort on my part managed to convince her otherwise. Mind you she didn’t have the benefit of your marvelous photographs, perhaps then she may have viewed the county through different eyes.
The Wolds looked truly splendid yesterday Miles… I was traveling through the icy hills and wished I’d been able to capture the scenery on film… the sky had just broken into the palest blue and the trees dotted about gave the landscape real definition.
Cid
February 22, 2010 @ 3:20 pm
Miles,
You have captured a marvellous scene - ready for some sort of mystery story in a book or film.
Anne
February 22, 2010 @ 4:03 pm
Rod,
We should revist in the summer, there’s a decent pub down the road too
Miles
February 22, 2010 @ 5:36 pm
Melissa,
Thanks, wasn’t easy though!!!
Miles
February 22, 2010 @ 5:36 pm
Laura,
Will be doing that, something I’ve been discussing with Rod, I want to record some of the plants and wildlife on individual posts too, just need to wait for everything to turn green!
Thanks
Miles
February 22, 2010 @ 5:37 pm
Cid,
Thank you, the Wolds are beautiful and I should explore them in more depth to be honest. You can’t call that flat
Miles
February 22, 2010 @ 5:39 pm
Anne,
Thank you, no use me trying to palm it off as Stonehenge then?
Miles
February 22, 2010 @ 5:40 pm
Miles,
I think that, too often, we look for the unusually beautiful sights to inspire us, when the cycle of life in the everyday offers us important lessons. True, the cold and mud, aren’t especially fun for mortal humans, but without that cycle phase, none of the spring, summer and autumn life would exist. Life is life, with or without beauty and perfect photographic shots. Thanks for capturing this phase of life.
Annie
February 22, 2010 @ 5:52 pm
Annie,
Beautifully put, you should have been an English teacher
You are quite right, I actually enjoy the fact that we do have seasons in England even if some are longer (Winter) than others (Summer)
Miles
February 22, 2010 @ 7:21 pm
Miles,
California has seasons: earthquake, fire, and mudslide. Thank heavens, earthquake season only comes on occasion, but the other two are regularly experienced.
Annie
February 24, 2010 @ 7:13 pm
Annie,
Good point and one that a lot of people wouldn’t consider. We tend to have a very glossy image of California over here. I wouldn’t thank you for extreme weather, ours is consistently bad but at least it’s consistent
Miles
February 24, 2010 @ 8:39 pm