When you go out to take pictures of the snow, have you ever stopped to think of what it is that you're taking pictures of? Might sound a bit stupid, but bear with me. The obvious answer is "the snow". Yes, that's what your first reaction might be. But think about it - do you actually take pictures of the snow, or things in the snow? Or things on which there is some snow? Or even...things in the snow that have no snow on them? Not quite that simple now, is it?
The fact is, snow by itself is rather boring, as an image. It's what the snow does to the world around that's interesting. And if you want an interesting image, you'll focus on something - a house, an animal, a tree - that's in the midst of the snow. What you really want is a contrast to all that whiteness, something to draw the eye. That's why I think some of the most striking images of snow consist of an expanse of snow, with a contrasting object strategically placed in the frame. Check out this picture of a family that I took a couple of months ago, to see what I mean.
Also, something that I had touched on briefly in my last post was playing with the settings on your camera. Any time is a good time to do this, but you can get some spectacular effects when you're shooting snow. Here's an example of a shot I took last winter in Hyde Park - to be honest, it started as an accident, with an overexposed shot - and I liked it so much that I took a few more like it!
Moral: Wrong ain't always bad.
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