IN THE FIELD: Shadows In The Snow
Early morning or late afternoon is the perfect time for catching some great shadows in the snow.
I took this photo in the early morning using a custom in-camera B&W mode. I chose B&W because I liked the stark contrast of the tree trunks against the softness of the snow.
Another reason I didn’t shoot this in color was due to the deep blue shadows from the early morning light. Even though the scene is a cold visual, I didn’t want to show it as any colder.
When shooting in color, there are times when the snow is that blue from the light and shadows, it can be difficult to expose the snow as white without overexposing the whole scene and losing detail.
Of course there is always the post processing route to fix things, but I would rather get it right in camera rather than spend time adjusting the image on the computer. I suppose I’m from the old school in my way of thinking. Plus, I would rather be out shooting photographs.
There is still about two feet of snow on the ground with more on the way late tonight. This certainly has been a long snowy winter this year. It reminds me of when we were kids and the ground would be white for months.
f 8
1/750th
ISO 100
cloudy WB
David Heilman 
Great shot but PLEASE make it stop! Enough! Too much!
It does seem like it is never ending this year!
Excellent shots, David!
Thanks Gracie!
Nicely done David!!!
Thanks so much Ed!
WOW you did get socked in with the snow! We were lucky to be at the bottom end of the storm and got grazed with 6″ and then an inch of ice on top. Hope Mother Nature goes easy on you tonight, tell her you do want to see the daffodils & crocus’ one day real soon! 🙂
Yes, we have had our share this year. The ski slopes are loving it! I would love to see spring flowers…they will be here soon enough.
I’ve taken a number of these in my back yard this winter, too. I always debate whether to leave them in color or convert them to b&w. Sometimes I go one way and sometimes the other. If you figure out how to “make it stop,” please let me know! Your snow tonight is coming our way tomorrow.
I do the same thing. In fact I often take the shot in color and then switch to B&W. Sometimes one version works better than the other. I’ll see what I can do about the storm tonight. I also heard the coast of Maine got dumped on this year. I know it snows there, but usually in smaller amounts.
And usually not so frequently!
I didn’t realize it was B&W until you told us. It’s true, I’ve often ended up with snow scenes that are too blue, so now I know what to do (to the blue, thanks to you, Yahoo!)
You’re a poet and you know it. Must be because of your feet…they’re longfellows. With snow scenes, if you over expose by one to two stops you can usually eliminate the blue color cast without losing too much detail in the snow. Wasn’t the case with this shot. Or you can just leave the blue and emphasize the cold!
I love this photo, David! Really lovely tones with an abstract feel. I am sure you must have seen enough snow by now! What an extreme winter we are all having.
Thanks Jo, this is one of my fav’s for winter scenics. I haven’t seen snow stick around for this long since the 60’s and 70’s (when we were kids sledding and skiing). Even the storms we had back in Feb of 2010 (56 inches in one week) didn’t hang around this long! When I hear folks complain about the snow I remind them “yeah, this is just like when we were kids” and they seem to remember that it isn’t so bad after all.
I too love the contrast … and I never tire of seeing shadows! We’ve had some decent melt today, so only 8 inches on the ground.
We’ve had a lot of contrast this winter…almost two months worth! There is still about 15 inches on the ground here, but it is supposed to warm up to spring like temps today and tomorrow!
I didn’t see what you saw, at first. I simply saw what was to me a very common scene during winter. And I was about to close the tab, but then I glanced at the title of your post and I took a second look. Thank you for showing me beauty and the delicate feeling in something I never thought twice about. I like the b&w, it does as you say give it more warmth, and quite a lot more, than the hint of blue would. Good job!
Thanks Anne for the great comment. It’s funny how some things that we see constantly get forgotten. Happens to me often so I stop and take a few moments to see again. Glad I was able to remind you.
OOh – love those strong monochrome lines. Very n’ice!
Thanks Meanderer, I felt it was a strong scene I just had to preserve.
Love your photo….it is a great shot of contrasts. We just returned home from Florida during a snowstorm last night. Nature doesn’t seem to know anything about a dusting of snow, almost another foot of snow on top of the three or four feet in just the last two weeks.
It sure has been a winter like we haven’t seen for quite some time. It’s nice to see the world in a blanket of white. I hope that mother nature doesn’t do the exact opposite this summer!
Thanks for the tip an what a great picture! You are so right, it’s so much nicer to get a shot right with your camera, than spend ages fixing it 🙂 Is that how much snow you have at the moment? 🙂 very nice 🙂
Thanks Kristina, Getting it right the first time is probably due to spending so many years shooting film, you had to get it right the first time. Plus, it’s way more fun taking photos than fixing them. We still have a lot of snow here…about a foot or so since some of it has melted. It’s certainly been a white winter this year!