winter's palette

Long gone are the freshness of spring, the bright sunlight of summer, and the explosions of autumn color here in my little part of the world.

Less daylight, the not so welcoming weather, and lack of colors can make winter shooting a challenge.

Of course this does not mean the beauty is gone, it's just different.

Surrounded by browns, greys and white, winter forces my eye to focus on the subtle beauty that perhaps I take for granted other times of the year. I now find my eye seeking out textures and shapes.  Appreciating the simplicity of winter's monochromatic palette. Just last week while walking in the woods I came upon this abandoned shack.  Some may see just that, 'a shack', but I was drawn to the symmetry of the windows, the layers of varying browns, and textures of the winter weeds against the weathered wood.

I think winter makes me work harder in my photography and in some way that helps me stretch and grow.

What beauty do you find yours lens focusing on in these winter months?

Comments

[se]

Mine it's here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trittoli/5257937282/

[Audra Van Vliet]

I don't mind the bleakness or fog so much. It is a lot easier to deal with than a glaring and harsh sun. It is like someone is holding a diffuser for me at all times during the not so clear days in the winter. And when there is snow, the snow acts as a reflector for those bright and sunny snow days. So I kind of love it.

[Audra Van Vliet]

I don't mind the bleakness so much. It is a lot easier to work with than a glaring and harsh sun. It is like someone is holding a diffuser for me at all times during the not-so-clear days in the winter. And when there is snow, the snow acts as a reflector for those bright and sunny snow days. So I kind of love it all.

http://avanvlietphotography.blogspot.com/2010/12/ho-ho-ho-my-flickr-stream.html

[Marcie]

I rather enjoy the monochrome:
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1381
But - because of some truly cold wet weather..I've turned my focus indoors and added a little winter color:
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1392

[Sage]

This is my first full winter in Denmark since moving from the US. The image in my blog header captures the landscape perfectly. I shot it during the first snowfall, while stuck in a traffic jam. I waited forever for a break in traffic, and shot very quickly. It was bumper to bumper that morning. Denmark in snow is magical.

[Sage]

Oh, you can see the photo here: www.sageandsimple.com

Sorry about that :)

[Jen]

I really dislike winter... this helps me to look at it in a different way. I'm going to embrace winter and find new things and new ways to shoot.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlm513_jens_pics/4401790006/in/set-72157604631304585/

[camerashymomma]

the windows looks like sad eyes.
we had golden grasses everywhere along the sides of the roads and highways. very beuatiful blowing in the wind. they were recently mowed and now i'm looking around at emptiness wondering where to find the beauty.
xo

[Puna]

I love taking photos of the snow . . .

http://lifesignatures.org/wordpress/2010/12/december-7-the-one-you-used-to-know/
http://lifesignatures.org/wordpress/2010/12/december-2-poppers/

[deea]

Montana is white and blue during winter. I love it. The softness that pallet brings to the photos comforts me somehow.
I also (at least during this Christmas season) am focusing on twinkling and glowing. It's magical.

[Misty]

Outside it's white blue and if I'm lucky a bit of gold. But always crisp.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontforgetthehorse/5243876430/lightbox
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontforgetthehorse/5219427228/lightbox

Inside, warm and glowy. The sun having set long ago.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontforgetthehorse/5247862592/in/photostream/

[naomi]

It's my first winter in England. I have now seen snow three times in my entire life.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/5220832334/in/set-72157625499238052/

[Tracy]

Some of my favorite photos are from the winter time. I think it forces me to focus on the basics of composition and light. Here is a shot I recently took of the light coming through my bedroom window.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31417716@N00/5263580136/

[Brooke]

I focus indoors. But the scenery has changed from sandals to tights.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterboo502/5254935046/

[Amy (Papillon Sky Photography)]

Hi Kristin,
Beautiful photo! I just did this slideshow yesterday of the last sunny day we had. We are lucky--at our new house we have bamboo that stays green all year. However, with the sun out, it was easy to enjoy the more monochromatic dried plants in our yard. Now that it's cloudy, it's more challenging.
http://www.picnik.com/show/id/11200518169_8WSm5/t/picnik-show

[Kathleen]

I agree - it is a happy challenge, to collect the hues of winter. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/5236057712/in/photostream/#/
Here's what we do in winter, to take advantage of the sun's last rays:http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/5236058002/in/photostream/

[Corinna]

I'm not opposed to shooting outside in winter, but the combination of my indoor job, daylight savings, and my 365 project have really made me be more creative about finding things inside to shoot. Seems like all my photos these days have that warm yellow tungsten feel:
http://www.birdwannawhistle.com/blog/2010/12/15/because-i-can-part-ii.html

[shirley]

You've captured those brown hues perfectly! I especially like the spent wildflowers in the front - I see those everywhere here on the prairie.

A recent snow scene here - calm and cold:
http://www.shirleybehindthelens.com/2010/12/snow-on-prairie.html

[DorkyMum]

When the colours are fading, I like to focus on texture instead...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dorkymum/5246490458/

[A.Jarrett]

This winter, I'm focusing on seeing winter through my lensbaby to keep my creativity going!

http://thesweetlight.com/2010/12/little-treasures/

[Lisa]

Ahhhh this is so true. I feel very aesthetically challenged during winter. I think I need to take the time to actually work harder for it! Maybe the payoff will be even better? Thank you for this. <3

[christine]

Some winter pictures from the English countryside. No snow sorry but there's a deep green and a fog that you see all the time.

http://just-travelin-through.blogspot.com/

[Kat]

I agree! Winter photography is sometimes more about shapes and light. I converted these to b&w, but they looked almost the same in color: http://www.kateyeview.com/2009/12/black-white.html

[Lauren]

I suppose it depends on where you live and whether or not you get any winter sun, but winter doesn't always have to be bleak:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18572605@N02/5202749148/

[soupatraveler]

I am liking capturing the subtle tones winter has to offer, except its super cold out there. My fingers didn't quite fall off last night, but it was close! http://www.flickr.com/photos/soupatraveler/5262151643/

[Trude]

I think we ALL would have stopped at that shack. Great shot! :) Since it's now barely light when I leave and almost dark when I get home, the lens has been turned inside most days. Like Monday, when I started wrapping all the gifts in brown paper: http://www.flickr.com/photos/trudem/5260187938/

[spread your wings]

i actually like the winter months for photographing.
this is what i see most mornings
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/5262268265/
and the rich browns of these pods are almost more beautiful to me than the summer greens.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/5200537558/in/set-72157625452859982/

[WorthIt!]

I focus on the light this time of year. Here's on of my favorite sun sets from January 2010.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52055227@N07/5264193525/

[Brenda Gottsabend]

A Photoshop creation that captures the essence of winter:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gottgraphicsdesign/5260939811/

And trying to find the color in a land of white - an autumn leaf standing proudly against winter's onslaught::

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gottgraphicsdesign/5261467690/

[tara]

Lovely image and I so agree about being (more) attentive to textures and shapes right now ...
Like this one ...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/impossibletask/5262327617/

[damiec]

I'm not inclined to love the colder, darker days either, but I have found that when I go looking for beauty, I usually find it no matter the weather.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22487105@N06/5216486913/

[Kelly Sauer]

Oh gracious - I'm sorry I missed this yesterday! This is totally what I was up to on Tuesday! I brainstormed a winter wedding mood board on a blue/white/brown palette - it really does spark my imagination, because everything is in neutrals, and I love neutrals!

http://www.kellylangnersauer.com/blog/2010/12/14/winter-wedding-dress-a-mood-board/

[Hannah]

I love winter and find that it challenges my creativity in a good way. It becomes all about shapes, about textures, about light. There's a clearity in the surroundings and in the air. I feel summer is almost a too crowded season to photograph in.
But, at this time of the year, even with a lot, A LOT, of snow, I barely take my camera out of the bag. There's just not enough light. Four hours of daylight kind of does that. Pitch dark in the morning and pitch dark in early afternoon. But I'm waiting for the sun to come back sometime in February, and then the snow will be sparkling and shining in the light. That's when the magic happens.

[Baseball Jerseys]

That is an awfully astounding column you've posted.Thanks a lot for that a fantastically amazing post!http://www.jerseysonline.co

[atmita]

Wintertime in Amsterdam :-)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/atmita/5274482263/