I know this is terrifically unpopular to say, but I love winter (okay, truth be told, I love all of the seasons!). Why would any sane person love winter? Well, for a nature photographer, it’s yet another season to photograph the beauty of nature. There are some advantages and challenges to doing nature photography in the winter, which I’ll list below.

One of the first advantages to winter for nature photography is the leaves are gone from the trees, so it’s easier to spot and photograph birds. And contrary to what some people might think, there are plenty of birds to photograph in the winter! There are small winter season birds, such as Dark-eyed Juncos, and larger birds, such as Short-eared Owls, Snow Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese, and Sandhill Cranes, all of which migrate to southern Indiana in the winter. If I’m really lucky, I’ll even see Whooping Cranes in the winter.

Another advantage to winter for nature photography is snow (when it falls in our area). I absolutely love snow! It makes everything more beautiful, in my humble opinion. Snow on tree branches accentuates the shapes of otherwise barren and boring trees. It provides a simplified backdrop for birdwatching in the backyard, making bright red Northern Cardinals pop right out of the background. I love watching it snow, I love waking up to freshly fallen snow, I love walking in the snow, and I love it when there are bright blue skies right after a snowfall.

Speaking of blue skies, winter blue skies are so much more vibrant and sparkly clear compared to their appearance at the height of summer. In our area of the country, summertime the Ohio River Valley is often smothered in layers of air pollution and humidity, which dulls our blue skies. But during the winter, humidity is a non-issue and air pollution is only rarely a problem, allowing us to see and appreciate blue skies by day and crystal clear nights for star gazing.

One more thing to mention is ice and ice storms. While I’m no fan of ice storms because of the damage they do to the birch and redbud trees in our yard, I do love photographing ice accumulation on plants and tree branches. I’m sure the neighbors think I’m a little nuts (or maybe really crazy) when I’m sticking my macro lens up to frozen branches and buds around my yard. Regardless of what they may think of me, I’m unashamed to be fascinated with the crazy patterns created by ice. Exploring them with my camera satisfies my childlike curiosity.

Since winter can be dull and dreary (especially when it doesn’t snow), I challenge myself to find pops of color in the landscape. Most flowers have finished blooming and created seed heads or withered away. This means only brightly-colored birds or berries populate the landscape with their colors. Winter nature photography challenges me to look for unusual visual treats that can’t be found in any other season, such as the frozen flower below.

Long shadows are another thing I love about winter. It’s hard to explain, but for some reason long shadows make me feel wistful. That’s the best explanation I can come up with, but it’s not a sad feeling. It’s more of an appreciation for life and the seasons and perhaps a bit of a wish for them to slow down a bit, so I can savor each of them longer before they transition into the next one.

One last thing to mention about why I love winter- the cold, short days (and sometimes the wintery precipitation) make me appreciate the other three seasons all the more. A sunny day in the winter lifts my spirits more than the same type of day does in the summer. Perhaps it’s because much of winter is filled with cloudy gray skies and too often, little to no snowfall from those clouds. Then the sun appears and I forgive the weather gods for all of the clouds and cold- and I daydream a little bit about the eventual arrival of spring.