How to shoot… Winter wonders!
Shooting in the cold comes with its own set of rules. If we know what those rules are, we can learn how to apply them and, where applicable, when to break them. For the past few years, I’ve turned my travel photography specialism to cold destinations and aurora-filled skies. I’ve explored Arctic tundras, scrambled up mountains, driven endlessly in search of dark skies, and lost myself in some of the most beautiful landscapes the planet has to offer. When we think of the cold, we often think of Canada, Scandinavia, Siberia, and so on. Those aren’t wrong, but we can experience these conditions much closer to home. Scotland offers some amazing vistas and, geologically, the mountains that run through it are the same mountains that call Norway home. With mountain hare and reindeer amongst the wildlife Scotland has to offer, alongside occasional Northern Lights, plentiful waterfalls, and seasonal snow, these ‘Arctic’ images can be found a lot closer to home than we may think.
My passion for the cold stemmed from Iceland. The world’s youngest landscape quite rightly holds the monicker ‘the land of fire and ice’, and on exploring the island, it’s easy to see why. Every turn leads travellers into a different terrain, each as beautiful and dramatic as the last, but also unique. Lava-strewn flood plains contrast incredible, jagged mountains. Roaring seas colliding with battered cliffs are contrasted by calm, hot waters filling geothermal pools. It’s easy to fall in love with Iceland, and the geological features on offer are mirrored in varying degrees across Norway, the Faroe Islands, Svalbard, Canada and across the rest of the Arctic. The photos that we can capture in these places really can be portfolio-worthy. My aim is to arm you with enough information to help you build the skills you need across a range of coldweather situations in order to get that portfolio shot.
Dave Williams
Dave Williams is an author, photographer and speaker, specializing in travel. With experience across the photography industry, he captures
