Tips on Shooting a Winter Creek

Ice #226 (Icy Chaos). Boulder Creek, Colorado, 2016

Everyone’s vision and objectives will be different when setting out to “shoot a winter creek” (or pond, or lake) in the higher and colder latitudes.

Are you after snow? Water? Ice? Abstracts? Larger landscapes? A combination of all of the above?

Regardless, here are a few thoughts that would apply to many water-ice-cold photography scenarios…

Boulder Creek in January.

–Dress more warmly than you think. You will be standing around, not walking and generating heat, so it will be cold. Head, neck, feet, and hands are critical. Winter boots aren’t a bad idea for loitering about on the ice–and consider traction, like the awesome Kahtoola Microspikes. Also, gloves that are warm but still allow you to work your camera’s controls are the bee’s cheese.

–Your tripod can double as a walking stick or for extra stability in slick or rocky areas–or even for probing the depth of snow between rocks.

–Bring extra batteries due to the cold (keep them in a pocket next to your warm body), and a tripod that allows you to use spikes on the legs in addition to the rubber tips. Carry some sort of bag for your extra gear that will keep flying snowflakes out of your extra lenses and filters. A cloth to wipe condensation, snowflakes, and water droplets from your lens is a handy dandy necessity, too.

–Try not to breathe on your lens, LCD, or viewfinder–it will instantly fog up rendering you blind, at least as a photographer.

–Be careful about wafer-thin ice, a too close encounter could really sink your day–and your dear gear. Look for a minimum of three to four inches of frozen water to be reasonably safe, and check the thickness at every new spot to which you move.

–If you are working a creek, realize that there will be temperature differences along its course based on altitude, sun exposure, micro-climates, and so on. There may be more open water low down, for example, but everything might be completely frozen up high. Pick your locale based on your goals and personal vision–with some snooping, you will quickly find your Goldilocks zone.

–Shade works well to keep the shutter speed down to blur the water and also to avoid a scene with excessive contrast between the bright and dark elements (bright snow, dark rocks).

–On the other hand, sunlit areas can work nicely when the light finds its way into and through the ice formations; Subtle, but spectacular colors can be captured.

–Water levels in a creek (or any other body of water, for that matter) can vary, sometimes subtly, sometimes dramatically. Perhaps you’ll find things low and slow in the morning, then higher and faster later in the day as melt takes its toll (especially in spring!).

–On a related note, when water levels in a creek do drop (dew!?) due to a temperature change or an early morning freeze, this will sometimes reveal bizarre ice structures on the undersurface of the covering ice. Look through the ice holes and examine the ice sheet edges!

–When water flows slowly, you’ll find very different water-ice images than where the water flows with youthful energy over rough terrain or over small falls. Explore both areas and the in-between stuff, too.

–Watch the weather forecast for changes from the status flow. You can get some interesting ice formation when the temps abruptly plunge to the teens…then very different ice formations as the temps rise and the ice thaws. A thin or thick layer of new snow will have other, different, effects that could match your vision. A morning walk versus an afternoon walk–again, you’ll find the stage set very differently.

That’s the list so far. Let me know if you think of any good additions.

One last thing…as you explore this winter wonderland of hidden pleasures, your eyeballs will observe things differently than anyone else on Earth because you are YOU. Relax, zone out a bit, and let the landscape call out to you and your unique creative antennae. When you feel the vibes, frame, focus, and hit the shutter. Rest assured, your images will be yours and yours alone!