16 25 January (^2020) Iwww.amateurphotographer.co.ukIsubscribe 03303331113
Technique TESTING CONDITIONS
Great shots
If you hang up your camera in the wind, rain and snow,
you’re really missing out. Geoff Harris reveals why ‘bad’
weather is oft en the best time to be out shooting
‘A
lot of iconic images have been taken
in the most awful weather... you’ve got
to embrace in order it to get the shot
other people would never get.’ Wise
words indeed from Melvin Nicholson, a successful
landscape photographer and course leader who
shot to international fame with his career-making
image of a rare ‘fogbow’ in the snow-covered
Scottish highlands. Over the next few pages we’ll
reveal some great tips from Melvin and other
skilled photographers for getting eye-catching
shots in ice, snow, wind and rain, proving to you
that there is no such thing as bad weather when
it comes to photography. Many of the images and
tips were taken from people who’ve done well in
Weather Photographer of the Year, co sponsored
by the Royal Meteorological Society. Hopefully
this feature will inspire you to enter the 2020
competition, details of which will be revealed at
http://www.photocrowd.com/photo-competitions.
1 Don’t let rain stop play
Climate change means we see less and less snow in the UK but at least there’s still
plenty of rain. An interesting subject in the rain can make a good image great. Try
to ensure the rain isn’t blowing towards you to avoid your lens getting soaked, and
increase the ISO or aperture as necessary to cope with poorer light. Weather
POTY fi nalist Patrick Hochner really delivers the goods in this image from Kyoto.
2 Focus manually
when it’s snowing
Falling snow can confuse your
camera’s AF as the active
focus point will often lock
onto whatever is behind it. A
quick solution is to change to
manual focus so you can lock
onto your subject or desired
part of the scene. Use live
view to zoom in and check
you’ve got sharp focus. Focus
peaking on mirrorless
cameras also comes in very
useful here, too.
weather
whatever t he
© PATRICK HOCHNER