Dave Fieldhouse

Landscape photographer

Dave’s love of the great outdoors is such that he’ll brave any weather to get out with his camera. On page 34, he shares his tips for winter scenes.

Be mindful of where you tread

Take your time when you arrive at a location. There’s only one thing more annoying than footprints in fresh snow – and that’s your own footprints in fresh snow. Stay well back and survey the scene in front of you before rushing in.

Shoot in raw

The camera’s white balance settings are likely to get confused in high-contrast winter scenes, but shooting in RAW mode enables you to correct this during the processing stage. The camera’s built-in metering is also easily confused by all that bright snow. Eexpose slightly to the right but without clipping any highlights – the last thing you want is an image of grey snow.

Shoot all day

Unlike summer months, the low angle of the winter sun enables you to shoot all day. Scenes that are usually ‘flat’ at midday still catch the eye during these short days. Make sure to pack plenty of batteries and try to keep them warm (an inside pocket works well), as the extreme temperatures can quickly drain them.

Negative space

Throw away the rule book: those thirds are not so important when there’s a blanket of virgin snow to work with. Look for minimal compositions, especially trees on their own. These

conditions can transform what might otherwise be a busy, over-complicated image into something simple and beautiful.