On Location

Braving the sub-zero temperatures in Finnish Lapland to shoot the unusual snow-covered trees, Tom came back with unexpected results

Tom Mackie braves subzero temperatures in Finnish Lapland

As I walked amongst the giant snow creatures I felt as though I was in another world, any second I could encounter the White Walkers from Game of Thrones. This strange and fascinating place is located high up on a fell in the Riisitunturi National Park in the southern part of Finnish Lapland. I’ve always wanted to photograph these spruce trees that bend into unusual shapes under the weight of a thick coating of condensed frost and snow that the Finns call tykky. I had just finished leading a photo workshop in Senja, Norway, so it was a perfect opportunity to spend a week exploring this part of Finland.

I set off hiking in the dark to reach the top of the fell by sunrise. The Arctic sky was clear and the air was crisp; I had waited all week with overcast skies brought in from the snowstorms, which wouldn’t be good for contrasting against the white shapes. It was my only full day of good weather, so I planned to make the most of it and spend the entire day on the fell.

Preparation for photographing in sub-zero conditions is important not only for the camera gear but, more importantly, for your body to stay warm and comfortable. I had five layers on top and two thermal layers on the bottom with thermal socks and thermal boots. Two pairs of thermal gloves; a thin inner pair, so I could operate the camera, and a much thicker outer glove. I was wearing so much thermal gear I could open my own outdoor shop!

Cold temperatures will wear out batteries much quicker so I had plenty as backup. The Nikon D850 was coping very well, though the display was functioning much slower in the -20°C temperatures.

Cold, cold ground

As the warm sunlight broke through the snow-covered trees, I was in my element; this is what I came for. I used my Nikon 24mm f/1.8 prime lens with the narrowest aperture of f/16 to produce brilliant sunbursts. I bought this lens specifically for quality of the fine point sunbursts it creates, as it’s much better than the 24-70mm lens. I came across a mountain hut with an outdoor open fire where hikers could get warm and enjoy the views. The ranger was already cutting wood to keep the fire going for the day. I told him he had the secondbest job in the world as he gets to work in such gorgeous scenery, but I have the best job as I get to photograph it!

I continued along the well-packed snow trail through the trees, but at one point I ventured off the trail into virgin snow and ended up submerged up to my thighs in it. Next time I’ll definitely hire a pair of snowshoes…

At one point, I was laying in the snow trying to do a focus stack of fine detailed ice crystals in the foreground and the tree figures in the background. I was so wrapped up in what I was doing, I wasn’t sure how long I laid there. It was long enough for a tingling numbness to set into my toes, though. Even with the extensive thermal lining, it helps to keep moving to keep the blood circulating. I ended up with just a touch of frostbite on my big toes with the toenails turning black. I can tell you that it takes nine months for a new nail to grow out, so luckily all is good, toes intact.

Goblins and angels

Throughout the day I experienced all types of lighting, but I thought the most dramatic was backlighting where the shapes were rim lit. I used my 70-200mm lens to isolate the shapes and underexposed the image by one stop to pronounce the rim light. Normally, in order to correctly expose the snow, I use the exposure compensation dial to overexpose scenes by one stop as the

meter will see all the lush white tones and automatically underexpose the shot.

I saw a tree that reminded me of a hunched-over goblin, the sun split through a branch giving the goblin dazzling eyes. The tree to the left looked like a woman in a gown and the goblin was bowing to her. It may have been being out all in sub-zero temperatures, but my mind started seeing all sort of things, like the angry angel above.

When the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky turned pink just as the day began. After all the grey weather, this was a great way to end my trip.

I wasn’t sure how long I laid there. It was long enough for a tingling numbness to set into my toes, though

After sunset, the sky took on a pink hue to contrast with the cold blue tones in the snow. The snow-covered trees take on all sorts of strange figures, even angry angels.

Backlighting created a lush rim light around these trees. Tom used a 70-200mm f/4 lens to isolate the trees and created the ‘eyes’ with an aperture of f/32.