Cover Shot, December 2020

Photographers with a passion for winter landscape photography often talk about the quiet and solitude that comes after summer crowds have retreated indoors as one of the motivating reasons to gear up and get out there. “Winter may be cold and intimidating,” says Kristen Ryan, “but its mesmerizing beauty makes it worth the challenge to capture its magic.” In Ryan’s article, “The Allure Of The Winter Landscape,” she tells how she became fascinated by winter photography and offers both practical and creative advice to inspire you with the unique opportunities of the season.

Properly exposing and processing winter images can be tricky. Your camera’s light meter is likely to be fooled by predominantly snowy vistas. In “Winter Exposures,” Jason Bradley walks us through the entire method for making technically successful captures of icy scenes. He begins with a discussion of how to use your camera’s histogram to dial in the best RAW exposure in-camera and concludes with his approach to processing these files to arrive at a final image that realizes your vision.

Winter in the Northern Hemisphere is a great time of year to visit one of the coldest places on earth. Antarctica is a dream destination for many nature photographers, and Jon McCormack transports us there through his portfolio in this issue. He considers what about this place is so appealing both from a photographic point of view and on a deeper, more personal level. For many, the remote, mysterious nature of the place has a magnetic appeal.

On the cover is a photograph made by Outdoor Photographer columnist Ken Kaminesky at Diamond Beach, Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, Iceland. Here’s the story behind the shot.

“Unique, breathtaking and soul-stirring can all be used to describe one of my all-time favorite places on this big, beautiful planet, Diamond Beach at Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon in Iceland. Seeing this mystical place for the first time is a top travel memory for me since I had no idea what to expect. No photo, video or written description can do this location justice in terms of the intoxicating sensory overload of sights, smells, sounds and the touch one can experience there, especially when alone.

“Having fallen in love with Iceland’s spellbinding landscapes from the first day of exploring the island nation, I ended up running photography tours there for many years to be able to share with others what I found so seductive about this magical place. This shot from my fourth of many visits is a long exposure that required a neutral density filter and tripod to achieve the dreamy effect in the water and sky.”

–Ken Kaminesky

The December 2020 issue is now available in a variety of digital formats including Apple News+.

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