Shooting Forests in Dense Snow; Photography and Passion

Something I have always wanted to shoot is the density of fog passing through a forest. Tall trees that stand above, with that cloak of cloud that is only really found at the top of those trees. In England I have never really seen anything like this before, mostly because in England there just aren't really many trees for there to be dense forests; mostly just pathetic woodlands that are heavily controlled. Before I left, that did seem to be changing a little, as I saw more and more trees being planted in and around the countryside. Fog is also something that felt mostly new to me here in this part of the world; the temperatures in England meant that a blizzard or dense type of fog would only really happen in very specific parts of the country, or specific times of the year. Only once in my area did I see actual dense fog, and I flew my drone through it only to realise that was a terrible mistake; almost losing it in the process as it struggled to figure out where it was and at which height.

Shooting these landscapes on film was quite an interesting experience. Something that I felt I was not quite prepared for as I didn't get to buy appropriate film rolls for this trip, forgetting which film stock I had in the camera already. If I could go back, I'd return with something with much more grain in it. A higher ASA film stock, and one that perhaps has a bit more contrast to it. Adding some real dark tones and emotion to the shadows. As you can see, the film stock used here led to the light really bouncing from the snow, creating very white areas of the image, which I think ended up being a bit more of a negative, taking too much attention away from the treeline. Removing the idea that the image is one and blends together nicely, instead it seems like two frames in one, which I guess also works depending on what you're trying to get your viewers to look at and why. In my case I wanted tones that seemed universal throughout the image. Something emotional, very moody. Dark like the atmosphere. It didn't quite work out, but that's fine. I wasn't prepared and I hadn't done this before. I did know from shooting in snow that you had to shoot a stop or two higher than usual, just to account for that additional lighting that comes from the snow reflecting it back up.

I mentioned in my last post that I felt a bit limited with the gear I had in this space. That I wanted to pursue more digital work and felt I couldn't quite capture the space as I wanted to. And that film just wasn't cutting it due to the lens and stock I had. I've been thinking a lot lately about what type of photography I want to be, which areas I feel I have genuine interest in and why. It almost feels like I just love to shoot anything at this point, which is both highly motivational and exciting, but also reminding me of myself and how I never really can stick to one thing, always curious and wanting to explore something to its fullest; I guess in some instances that can bite back, leading to areas of stagnation rather than growth. But is everything all about growth, or just having fun in the end? The troubles of the mind and the modern world and its expectations of us seep in.

Photography feels like the one thing I never get bored of. Something I always want to do. I can't think of anything else I carry around with me at all times, clinging to it almost. Growing a little sad at the thought of returning home knowing there's more to capture.

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