Welcome to Winter with a Fresh Blanket of Snow

A fresh snowfall leaving a blanket of white was calling me outdoors this morning. The snow has just subsided and the wind was arriving, promising to clear the snow from the tree branches, so time was of the essence. With the M50 and EF-M 18-150 mounted, I had an ideal combination in my hands.

The snow was beautiful and covering everything, but a good composition was not obvious. Finding order within chaos is frequently what landscape photography is about and that was the challenge I faced. Finding the order within chaos often means isolating a portion of the scene. The huge focal length range made available by the EF-M 18-150 was ideal for this task.

Exploring the scene through the viewfinder, this section of a pair of hickory trees caught my attention. The contrast between the trunks and branches and the snow and background fog was strong. As much as possible, I avoided having the larger branches leave the frame, hoping to use the large trunks as leading lines, but without branch lines leading viewers' eyes out of the picture. The distant trees visible at the bottom of the frame provide a small hint to what lies beyond otherwise hindered by fog visibility. The overall balance in the frame is always important and this composition seemed to check that box.

Good composition is often easiest to determine while reviewing images and this one was my favorite from this short session.
 
Check out our Winter Photography Tips page for more ideas on how to spend you winter.

A larger version of this image is available on Flickr.