WINTER WARNING

In winter, mountain hikers face greater risks

than during summer. Ice and snow increase
the chances of slips and falls, while unsuitable
clothing combined with bad weather can
lead to hypothermia. Before heading out
on to a snow-covered mountain you need
appropriate experience. A winter skills course
is a great way to learn how to be safe and how
to use crampons and an ice axe correctly.
You can then gradually gain experience on
routes youve already hiked in summer.
Once you know what you are doing, and
are properly equipped to tackle winter
mountains, you will start to realise the wealth
of photographic opportunities they present.
The air is often clearer in the winter and the
light is better, too. Snow and ice bring with
them fascinating foreground details with
which to form a composition. Another bonus
is that youll see even fewer people than in
the summer, and you might even nd that
you have a whole mountain to yourself.

WILD CAMPING
f youve ever tried to climb a mountain before
sunrise you will know that its not so easy.
Imagine planning a hike before dawn, waking
up to a 4am alarm, looking out of the window,
deciding the weather isnt good enough, and
going back to sleep, only to miss a fantastic
sky. Spending the night on location allows you
not only to capture sunset and sunrise from
a high vantage point, but also enables you to
photograph the twilight hours and the night
sky. Once youre committed youll be at the
mercy of whatever weather comes your way.
This can be hugely benecial if you are there
in place for that momentary burst of light on
an otherwise miserable day. If youre really
lucky, the conditions will be so good that by the
following morning youll be wondering whether
its worth reshooting scenes you captured
perfectly the night before!
Aside from being on the mountain in a range
of weather conditions, wild camping also
opens up the number of locations you can
feasibly visit to photograph. Many landscape
photographers recognise the benets of
shooting during the golden hours and twilight,
but if you have a big walk in, of perhaps ve
hours, then you will probably end up ruling out
the most remote locations. If you can make it
to those hard to reach places then you will nd
yourself alone, often in areas that have hardly
been photographed at all.

Getting kitted out

Starting out isnt as difficult or as expensive
as you might think, particularly in summer;
you will soon make up the expenditure with the

10 STEPS TO SUCCESS
saved costs of accommodation. A good starter
setup for one person summer camping will
cost around 300, roughly split into: 100 for
a sleeping bag, 40 for an inatable mat, 100
for a tent and 60 for a backpack. If youre
willing to buy secondhand then you can get
started for under 200. Once you have a little
bit of experience in the warmer months then
you can buy better sleeping kit and head out in
the autumn, winter and spring. In England (with
the exception of Dartmoor), wild camping is
not allowed, but if you camp responsibly above
500m with leave no trace principles you will
not have any problems.

Location is key. Pools can make good

foreground subjects

Make a shoot plan. Use Photographers

Ephemeris and Google Earth to help.

Check that the route is within your

ability and tness level. Leave plenty
of time for photo stops on the way.

Make sure you have sufficiently warm

and waterproof clothing.

Dont get lost in the mountains. Learn

to navigate using a map and compass.
Use GPS phone apps only as a back-up.

Take time to investigate the area and

explore shot potential.

Make sure you have balanced the

elements in your scene. Be wary of
the combination of wideangle lenses and
dominant foregrounds.

Shoot at a low ISO with an aperture

around f/11 and a shutter speed
adjusted to get the correct exposure.

Explore different ways of capturing the

scene as the light changes. Dont stick
too rigidly to your plan.

Stay the night. To expand your

10 opportunities both in the locations

above Wild camping with a group of beginners
in Assynt, six miles from the nearest village.

you can visit and the times you can be there

think about wild camping.

TAKE PART!
Enter our mountain photography competition
turn to page 111 for details.

32 Outdoor Photography Autumn 2014

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