Black & White Photography in the Snow

playing outside in the snow, carmel, indiana

Snow day! That means it’s time to head outside and create some black & white photography in the snow!

winter, sledding in the snow, carmel, indiana

winter, looking through the window at the snow, carmel, indiana

There was big, heavy, wet snow this morning, and I went outside to take some pretty photos and video of giant snowflakes falling. In fact, I have a nice, 60-second pretty snow video you can watch here.

winter, tire tracks in the snow, carmel, indiana, black & white

winter, tire tracks and footprints in the snow, carmel, indiana, black & white

The beautiful scene soon gave way to thick slush and muck with the muddy ground underneath. Which I did not mind at all. It made for more dynamic photos!

winter, rolling a ball of snow, carmel, indiana, black & white

winter, sledding in the snow, carmel, indiana, black & white

Working the Scene

While a lot of what I photograph is taken in the course of daily life, it’s still takes a good deal of time and effort. There’s a reason why photographers use the phrase “working a scene.” Paying attention to our surroundings and surveying a scene from different perspectives and vantage points is work! Enjoyable work, but work nonetheless.

winter, playing in the snow, carmel, indiana, black & white

I’m spending a good amount of time getting a set of varied images. I went out three different times today! I took a different lens each time to get a slightly different perspective.

Before the third time I went out, I was feeling like I wasn’t CLOSE enough to the action, so I took my widest lens (a 24mm) and really got down in the snow and dirt in order to be a part of the action. And I’m glad I did because I got a few of my favorite photos on the last outing of the day.