Dressing for Winter Photography
© Paul Mozell 2010 — Although I live in New England, I am often surprised by the intensity of the complaints about winter weather. Its not that I want to keep folks from emigrating to Florida. Rather, knowing how to stay comfortably safe and warm is much easier than most people think. Heat management, and dressing correctly, is the key to getting great photographs of the winter landscape and cold weather sports and activities.
Mushing on Chocorua Lake, New Hampshire © Paul Mozell
Tips For Summer Outdoor Photography
Story and photographs © Paul Mozell
You still need a tripod even if you have a vibration-reduction lens. A VR (vibration-reduction) or VC (vibration compensation), or IS (image stabilization) lens is great to have in your camera kit but it won’t entirely replace a sturdy tripod. If you are shooting landscapes the only way to reliably bracket exposures, or 
merge multiple files using Photoshop’s HDR (high dynamic range) action, is to set your camera on a stable, constant platform. I’m hooked on panoramas at the moment, and if I don’t use a tripod and ball-head with a panorama scale, the sequence of shots won’t line up properly. Read more
Winter in the White Mountains
© Paul Mozell 2008. The winter of of 2007-2008 has blanketed the White Mountains of New Hampshire with more snow than we have seen in many years. The opportunities for exciting winter photography have been very numerous as a result. In just 2 days of shooting in the region, I returned home with a disc full of good images of both people and the landscape. Read more
Shooting tips: Making the Most of Cloudy, Snowy Days
© Paul Mozell
The first snowfall in Massachusetts is exciting for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the return of great outdoor photography opportunities after stark and wet November weather. Combining my photography with snowshoeing and cross-country skiing makes this a wonderful season. But, the challenge for many photographers is how to uncover, and expose great compositions in the snow. This will be the first of a series of articles that will address shooting techniques, carrying and caring for your equipment in cold weather, and how to dress yourself for a long and comfortable day outdoors.
Winter forces me to return to my roots as a black & white photographer and the crutch of bright colors is usually not available. I welcome the simplicity and the challenge of finding compositions that rely on strong graphic elements, shadow, and subtlety. On cloudy days like the one in this shot taken in Massachusetts in mid-December, the flat light allows the detail of the scene to come alive. You might ask: “Why not convert this file to monochrome?” and my answer is, I like the idea that the viewer must search for the minimal color in the image. It’s a subtle trick that makes you spend more time viewing the photograph. But then again, this doesn’t rule out the black & white conversion.
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