Adventures, Mistakes and Mischief: Snowstorm Photography
- Ted Emes
- Jan 22
- 2 min read
Adventuring around in the backcountry often involves endless pieces of equipment, and now I've had the bright idea of including a camera.
This year's holiday season in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia included a solid week of storm cycles dumping snow on the local mountains. My daughter sweetly requested a snowshoe excursion, which I agreed to, as long as I could test out some new photography equipment.
My family members have reluctantly accepted that I'm a sauntering style hiker, so me stopping to take pictures along the way will not change how quickly they leave me behind. With cross-family expectations met, we loaded up the car for Mount Seymour and its holiday chaos.
The Snowstorm Photography Session: How It Went Down
There were two things that I wanted to test, an external camera carrying clip and a basic rain sleeve. The weather in the lower mainland is always changing, so having your camera both accessible and protected are equally important. Also, I only have one camera which I believe I borrowed......
We arrived at the parking lot and did the usual family 'gear up and get ready race'.
As the reigning equipment speed champ, I had to eat humble pie as I fiddled with camera gear and was quickly left behind before the snowshoe even started. A new family hiking record.
The weather changed from cloudy to heavy snow, making for both a pleasant and cautious snow shoe. At a few locations, I was able to easily pull the camera off the shoulder strap and the cover kept the relentless snow from soaking the equipment.
After arriving at the top of Dog Mountain, I had a few moments to compose some pictures as visibility was pretty much down to nothing. Once my two lovely family members started talking about the cold exposure at the top, I knew it was time to pack everything up and head down.
The Day's Lesson
The new camera gear didn't necessarily make me a better photographer that day, but it did help compose photos much quicker. Because the camera was not buried in my pack to remain protected from the elements, I was able to take full advantage of the little time I had at the top to shoot photographs.
In the photo above, I was trying to capture some of the snowfall while keeping only one tree in focus. I do wish that I was able to get more texture in the snow in the right side of the frame but weather and skill constraints limited my time to shoot pictures.
Ahhh well......next time.........
PS--The photo above was actually accepted into the Carlotta Gallery as part of the virtual 'Winter' exhibition.
