Here’s the truth to these classic New England scenes. They aren’t ever truly perfect. Photography in winter, like any season, is finding the best conditions possible, and making them work for the scene.

When you arrive at your nearly perfect scene, the challenge becomes not screwing it up while scouting it. It’s different than in summer, in summer you can walk almost anywhere without leaving much of a trace. Winter records your every move. Move into a scene too fast, want to move back, your shot has a trace of you in it. It’s no longer pristine. No longer perfect.

I tend to work a winter scene in large arcs. Finding every distant angle for a shot before exploring in closer. I make sure that everyone else in my party is done with a scene before moving in, just as a courtesy. I creep inwards methodically, exploring any opportunity for a composition. Winter shooting takes patience. There is no eraser. And when I’m done, all to often, so is the perfect scene. Winter’s beauty is fleeting…

And thus I present this morning’s scene in three acts. The wide scouting arc. The scene. The aftermath.

Scouting the Scene on the Riverbank...

The Scene...Hoar Frost on the Lamprey River

The Aftermath...

Yesterday I went to Portland Head Lighthouse, looking for an iconic shot during the remnants of Hurricane Earl. The storm was a bit of a disappointment, a bit out to sea, and well weakened by the time it made it past Long Island. The state of the ocean was beyond choppy, but lacked the power and size that we had hoped for. High tide came at 7:30AM, and in the rapidly drying conditions, I found myself shooting with dozens of other photographers hoping for their own dream shot of the coastal beacon.

Photographers in this location line up at a few classic spots, set up their tripods, snap their picture and move on. These classic shots always offer perfect compositions, and yesterday, an engaging sea and story. This type of shooting doesn’t satisfy me though…and I always try for something different. Here are some examples of how I made some unique shots yesterday.

Change Location:
The fence lines corral people into getting the same shots. Line up at the fence, get your shot, and move on. But there’s lots of room on both sides of the fences for creativity. On the near side, about 10 feet back, is a great patch of goldenrod to use as a foreground. On the far side, you get closer perspectives to the water…and it doesn’t involve an increased risk in most situations. Yesterday, I hopped the fence, and grabbed this shot, impossible from the standard locations.

Long Exposure of Earl's Swirls Beyond the Fence Line

Experiment With Exposure:
While the waves were larger than normal, they were not epic large waves that would stand on their own at this location that is captured every storm. My first few shots, with exposures that froze the action were really lacking, so I stacked a couple of ND filters and increased the exposure time to 5 to 15 seconds. This allowed the waves to move through the shot, and more swirling look. All of my favorite shots yesterday were multiple Mississippi snaps.

Tricks With Time:
Moving locations once again to the far side of the lighthouse, I found a cobble beach, where each crashing wave would cover, uncover and rearrange the rocks. The sound was amazing, but the action allowed some classic camera trickery. With a well timed long six second exposure, the rocks were above water for three seconds, and under water for three seconds, giving the scene this mysterious look to it.

Tricks With Time...Waves Over Rocks

Adding People:
While I focus on high quality, artistic captures in dramatic light and atmosphere, shock style shots shouldn’t be ignored. With the right touch, you can combine both styles. Here’s a long exposure of the two photographers I shot with yesterday, Glen Taylor (foreground) and Brad Bradstreet (Cliff Next To Lighthouse). People add perspective, scale and stories to any picture, and while it’s uncommon for them to be sold at art shows, I like having them in my portfolio.

Hurricane Earl - People in the Landscape

I’m thrilled with these shots here, but have even greater plans for subsequent visits to this location…now I just need a bigger storm, and a dramatic sunrise to do them. Hey, if it were easy, everyone would have a shot of this location, right!

Rays Through The Mist

Lets start with prediction. Fog forms near the surface when the air cools to its dew point. There is always a certain quantity of water vapor in the air, and warmer air can hold significantly more water than cool air. So when air cools, there reaches a point where it can no longer hold the amount of water vapor suspended in it, and condensation occurs.

Two factors must be in place for the type of intense surface cooling necessary to reach the dew point…clear skies and light winds. Under clear skies, the heat of the day is allowed to radiate out into space, whereas clouds act like a blanket trapping heat. And light winds limit the mixing of the air with warmer air just aloft, and therefore keeping it warmer. If a clear, cool, calm night is predicted, morning mist is likely.

Clear, Cool and Calm = Morning Mist

An additional rule is necessary when considering mist over water. The water body must be warmer than the air above it. This can limit opportunities for atmospheric shots over water bodies in the middle of summer, but can occur at any time of the year.

Cool Air and Warm Water = Mist

Now…you go out and hit the jackpot…but how do you shoot it. Hi humidity conditions can lead to condensation and moisture problems on the front elements of the camera. This will especially be true if your camera is nearly the same temperature as the outdoor air.
There are some great ways to help minimize this though. First off, a dry bag is essential. Keeping the camera in the dry bag is the best way to limit the amount of total water that the camera can come in contact with. But of course, it the camera is in the bag, you aren’t shooting with it. The front element of the lens is very prone to fogging in these conditions. My way of dealing with this…a solid rotation of cokin filters, rapidly changed when fogging occurs. I store these in a microfiber case so that they dry in between use, and they are usually ready again minutes later.

Other tips…when shooting in the fog, it is important to pick your focus point, but a high depth of field is usually not as important. The fog limits sharpness anyway. Also, the fog is usually a grey color, but you want to make sure you over expose the scene in the fog, just as you would with snow. You can bring the contrast back up later if you over do it…but it’s tough to overdo.

Lastly…sometimes a bit of mist on the lens can lead to neat effects…well worth the experimentation!

Shooting Through A Lens With Condinsation

So there you have it…predicting and shooting in mist…and how to enjoy the next clear and cool morning this spring!