“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” Wayne Gretzky

Hi, everyone

I hope you are having a great weekend.

The time seems to have gotten away from me. It’s been almost two months since my last “definitely not a blog post.” The winter seems to be winding down or at the very least taking a breather around here. This offers a good opportunity to reflect on the last two months of my photography.

This year I captured far more winter images I am happy with, compared to previous years. And although I have semi-good excuses why previous years weren’t as productive, it still comes down to the title of this post.

Last year I participated in the New England Camera Club Council conference. One of the lectures by Kah-Wai Lin (definitely check him out) was called, if memory serves me right, “chasing the light.” In the lecture Kah-Wai talked about how you could capture multiple prime locations on the beautiful Lofoten Islands at optimal lighting conditions within a single day, if you planned appropriately. Granted, the lecture was mostly a demonstration of the power of planning, but the main theme of the importance of getting the best possible lighting conditions to get the best shot is valid regardless.

I often hear a variation on the same statement from clients at the different Art Fairs I participate in — “I have a photo of this location, but it looks nothing like yours.” One of the reasons for this, is that to get the best image from a certain location you need to come at optimal lighting conditions, and maybe come back again and again if conditions don’t cooperate.

Landscape photography is not easy. We, landscape photographers, are left to the tender mercies of Mother Nature, and she is capricious. We can try and maximize our outcomes by careful planning of the shoots, but nothing is perfect.

The best lighting conditions are location dependent, and are impacted by the mood you are looking for, direction of the sun, time of year etc. Generally, an hour-hour and a half on both sides of sunrise and sunset offer the best soft light (unless the sky is completely cloudy). This poses a problem. In late spring and summer, sunrise can be very early and sunset fairly late. In winter, cold adds an extra inconvenience.

I am neither a morning person, nor I am particularly tolerant of bitter cold. As a result, in previous years, I didn’t really go out much during winter, and hence didn’t capture many good images. As the subtitle of this post by the great hockey player says, “you miss 100% of shots you don’t take.” If you don’t get out, you won’t get the images. It is just that simple.

So, this year, I managed to overcome my aversion to early mornings and cold, and got out. My first daytrip was to Vermont around mid-January. It’s been a while since I went to Vermont. I always wanted to capture some of the locations in winter. My first destination was Jenne Farm near Woodstock. I researched the location online as much as I could. As the farm is located some 2.5 hours drive away from my home, it was a long slog in the dark. Although I was pretty certain there should be good amount of snow, I couldn’t tell for sure in the darkness until it got brighter.

I arrived around half an hour before sunrise at the location, took some test shots during the blue hour, and settled to wait for the light. The temperature was a toasty 5-9 F. Thank God for warm layers and hot tea in a thermos. As I was wrapping my shoot about half an hour after sunrise, another photographer came to the location. I think he missed the best light.

After I was done at Jenne Farm, I drove by the Sleepy Hollow Farm north of Woodstock. I have a beautiful shot of the location in Fall, and it was really interesting to see the contrast. The farm is nestled in an area that doesn’t get much sun in the morning during winter, and I could afford to come a little later.

I drove to Moss Glen Falls in Granville. The access was partially blocked and I only captured a few shots that didn’t make it into this post. I drove around the Woodstock area for a bit, looking for possible locations. As I was about to head home, I noticed a lone tree, lit by the sun, against the backdrop of a hill in shade. It made for a beautiful contrast and a perfect ending for a very satisfying outing. Serendipity and the power of looking behind you for the win.

My second significant outing came just a week later, when I was staying with my daughter in New Hampshire. As she was busy during the day, I took the opportunity to go shooting in the mornings.

The first morning I went to the Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine. I always wanted to capture this lighthouse with snow on the ground. In winter, the lighthouse is lit during the night, and I envisioned a sunrise shot, where the lights on the lighthouse and the rising sun would be contrasted with the frozen landscape.

This time, the stars aligned. It snowed the day before. As I was driving to the location, I saw that I am going to be greeted by a beautiful sunrise, as the clouds were already lighting up. And, boy, did I get what I wanted. The sun rose right behind the lighthouse, and the clouds above it created beautiful blue-purple streaks, like wings. As a bonus, the light from the lighthouse and the rising sun created amazing color contrasts in the snow and the water. The bitter cold and the wind, were no match for the beauty of the scene.

After I was done at Nubble, I drove to Portland Head Light. The scene at Portland head was beautiful, but although it was just an hour later, the light could not compete with the show I got at Nubble.

The next morning I drove to the Little White Church in Eaton, New Hampshire. This time, I didn’t really know what to expect. The church was a bust from the photographic point of view. The lake in front of the church was frozen, and the sky largely covered in low clouds with no definition. I waited in vain for a bit of light and finally decided to pack it in.

In order not to waste the hour and a half I drove to the location, I drove around for a bit, trying to find something to photograph. As I rounded the lake and came close to the church, I noticed a patch of trees, which were backlit by the sun and glowing silver in the light. Although it was some time well after sunrise, the cloud cover helped by creating a great softbox. Even though getting up early this time didn’t work according to plans, I still got a beautiful shot I would not have gotten otherwise, by paying attention and seizing the opportunity.

Over the next few weeks I got out a few times when the conditions and work schedule allowed it. One of those times, I went to the Old Stone Church in Boylston. The location is not far from my home, and I return to it again and again under different conditions. This time, I came just before sunrise. The lights at the church created a beautiful contrast with the surroundings during the blue hour.

Wintery Blue Hour at the Old Stone Church

As the snow seemed to melt in most of Massachusetts, I kept checking the forecast. I long planned to go back to the Enders Falls in Connecticut to photograph them in snow and ice. Last week, I finally pulled the trigger and drove to the falls.

I was not sure whether to go or not up until the last minute, but eventually decided to try although the snow storm promised a few days earlier largely didn’t materialize. I was not disappointed. The area had a light cover of snow from the day before, and the different cascades were half frozen. The combination of ice and flowing water was beautiful in the morning light. As the light hit some of the falls, the ice shone like diamonds.

I had a great time photographing the different cascades in the area. As I came relatively early (didn’t need to come at sunrise, but still), I had the area all to myself, with the fresh snow cover untouched. I am very glad I managed to convince myself to get up on that Sunday morning.

To sum up, it can be difficult to get up in the wee hours. It is sometimes hard to convince yourself that spending your morning (or evening) in the frozen landscape will be worth it. And, unfortunately, sometimes it won’t be. But if you don’t get out, you will definitely not get the best shot. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

Have a great week

Dimitry

Importance of Getting Out

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,” Wayne Gretzky

Announcements and Housekeeping

The Year That Was. Favorite Images of 2023. Part 2: International Edition