The Winter Woods - Light and Texture

A few years ago I took a hike along one of the Mammoth Cave trails. The winter chill had yet to subside and the spring bloom was still several weeks away. My tripod rested across my shoulder adding to the tug caused by the weight of my camera pack. I came across an overlook that afforded a mostly unobstructed view of the Green River and much of the valley. Along its banks tall river birch trees stretched their branches toward the sky, their white bark contrasting sharply with the dull gray of the winter woods.

The sky that was overcast started to break apart and random beams of light floated across the valley illuminating the textures in the trees. I placed my 50-500mm lens on the tripod and attached the camera. Using its magnifying strength, I scanned the tree line along the river bank and discovered a remarkable visual array of textures and contrast. As a beam of light scanned across the scene I fired off several shots before moving on.

I love photographing the winter landscape because of the abundance of textures and shadows. Few of my photo opportunities are random in nature. A good percentage are planned well ahead of time waiting for the right conditions to develop, but.the results of that  one chance encounter far out weighed the normal results from most random opportunities.

 Later, when I loaded the images from that day's shoot, all the others images were rather ordinary, but that series of images across the Green River Valley stood apart because of their textures and light.

Light and texture work together to provide contrast, shape, and form, through the generation of shadow and highlights. Without the beam of light providing highlights, the photograph would have been less dramatic. Some of the best times to capture light and texture in nature is in winter when light has an opportunity to penetrate through the canopy. When trees are full of leaves, light will not penetrate as well and the leaves tend to hide any unusual shapes and forms. Trees like river birch with their white bark create a wonderful contrast against a shadowed background. Throw in some fog and you add the element of mystery to the photo equation.

Snow here in south central Kentucky is not all that common, but we do from time to time manage to receive some most winters. The magical white that filters down provides another element of texture to the winter woods. When caught in a heavy fall, the density of the falling snow provides a fog-like atmosphere and can transform a winter scene. I often look more for the effects of the snow on the textures of the woods than I do the ground cover it can provide. Snow clinging to trees adds a tremendous amount of contrast and enhances the flavor of the moment. If lucky enough to receive a late winter snow when the spring is trying to appear, the contrast-of-wills from the two events provide a wonderful vision of winters magical moments.

Think Small...to Discover the Bigger Picture

There are times I struggle to 'see' the photograph. For some reason I just can't seem to find the right mix of time and place and light that captures my imagination. What usually happens during one of those spells is that I either go home in frustration, take a series of test shots that might stir something for another time, or...I begin to look for the small stuff that defines the bigger picture.

What I wish to avoid is taking a lot of mediocre photographs. I've already got too many of those...they are easy enough to create. What my heart desires is to capture a unique moment where that combination of place, time, and light stirs the imagination. What happens is I tend to get caught in the common trap of trying to take in everything in one view and when I do that, my ability to see photographically becomes blurred and distorted, sort of like not being able to see the forest for the trees thing. It is a way of thinking that can often leads us down a slippery incline where we fall into a pit of complacency with our photography.

One trick I've learned is when I find myself unable to lock in on one of those 'bigger picture' moments, I begin to look for smaller details that more simply defines what I am looking for. Here is one example. I was in a wooded area that is quite scenic, but it can also be quite chaotic looking. There is just too much of everything to be able to capture it effectively in one wide area image. The light was quite harsh that day with bright sun filtering through the trees creating contrasts that made it difficult for any photograph short of an HDR type of image to work well.

As I scanned the area, I noticed a small clump of lacy material growing out of a notch in the side of a moss covered stump that was recessed rather deeply in a wooded area. A beam of light filtered through the canopy of trees caught the lacy growth in an almost spotlight effect. Behind the stump was a shaded area. Using a long telephoto lens I zoomed in on the location from about fifteen yards away and isolated the stump. As I framed the image I realized I had discovered what I was actually looking for. This small growth on the stump represented the essence of the larger picture I was unable to see.

Thinking small is a good way to work out of a difficult lighting situation. Even though your subject may not encompass the full spectrum of the visible situation, by simplifying the composition, the bigger picture can often be discovered in those smaller moments.

Keith