It doesn’t necessarily feel like spring here in the Pacific Northwest, but there are signs it’s inevitable. Flowers are sprouting, the snow is melting faster…

For a very limited time I’m offering 50% off any photograph that has snow in it! Below is a small selection. View even more WINTER PHOTOGRAPHS here

View photos at SmugMug

View even more WINTER PHOTOGRAPHS here

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Sometimes you forget why. The other day I was reminded. Below is a photographic journey into the central Washington Cascades for a day of backcountry skiing.

View photos at SmugMug

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There surely are benefits to living on the water in West Seattle. The peaks of Olympic National Park Washington often come into view, but on mornings like this, blanketed in fresh snow with a rising sun illuminating the peaks, they remind me how fortunate I am to live in an area with such splendid natural beauty.

Back to work now…

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It’s hard to think about winter considering all the recent news about the California wildfires and temperatures in the 50s and 60s throughout most of the country. Here in the northwest though we’ve had our fair share of early snow in the Cascade volcanoes. Heck, lots of folks have already been skiing  on Mt Rainier for the past month!

So as the snow begins to accumulate I can’t help but think about all the epic backcountry ski days we hope to have. And for me personally, backcountry ski tours are not only about sharing untracked powder turns with a group of friends but also fantastic opportunities to work on winter photography.  So last week I posted a question on dpreview.com and asked for tips and advice for winter photography. I received quite a few responses but I’ll summarize some of the best photo tips here:

• Meter off the snow (see note below for us Rebel XT 350 owners who don’t have spot metering.) Put the camera in manual exposure, and add 1 1/3
  stops to the suggested exposure. Continue shooting using this exposure
  until the light changes, or until your histogram indicates under/over
  exposure.
• Learn to use the zone system for accurate exposure determination — or bracket, bracket, bracket
• If you are shooting in cold winter temps avoid having your camera go
  from very cold to warm quickly or you’ll get internal condensation. You
  can put it in a ziplock baggie before coming in or just wrap it in your
  coat or put in a camera bag.
• Tips for Canon 350D owners and the lack of spot metering: "partial metering" really is a "fat spot" so you can use that and just
  point the camera somewhere where the snow fills the center 9% of the
  frame (doesn’t have to be all that big) and bingo!

Couple other things to consider: bring extra batteries if you’re out in the cold for a while. I’ve seen batteries in my 350D go from a full charge to completely dead very quickly…while barely even using the camera!

Winter is an amazing time to take photographs although admittedly it can be difficult to motivate  and head out into below freezing winter weather. But I guarantee, with proper outdoor gear and clothing, you will find winter photography is truly a unique experience that offers spectacular light, amazing solitude and whole new landscapes to photograph.

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