Winter Plan of Attack

I often think I have a great ideas for blog posts but invariably get discouraged by the sense that I have too much to say to keep it interesting. Eventually I get frustrated and wander off to do the never finished work of editing my images. So, lets see if I can hold myself to one simple point.

A week ago I was working on photographing this classic high pasture fence at Roads End Farm in Chesterfield NH. I have shot this fence before, but never in the winter and it reminded me of a simple rule about approaching photography in the snow; you should always plan your path of attack before beginning to shoot. In the summer I was able to roam all over this hill experimenting with different angles, but in the snow each "roam" places irreversible tracks that may scar other angles of view. Before I start tromping I try to remember to think through all the possible angles that I may want to capture. I then start shooting from the farthest locations and work my way closer only after I feel I have exhausted the more distant opportunities. At times I suspect I appear rather ridiculous as I take long circuitous routes around a scene to avoid contaminating the view. I am often tempted to run right in close to catch what looks to be the best angles, but untrampled snow is a precious resource for photography and should be treated with care. It is true that homogeneous appearing snow can be one of the simplest candidates for cloning out imperfections, but avoiding the problem saves a lot of time.

Of course, as can be seen, after I'm done with a location it is unavoidably ruined for all other photographers coming by - but, hey, they should have been up earlier!