Winter
Photography Six tips for taking pictures in cold weather By Alan Li
winter Garden Photo Contest
Begins January 1 and ends February 28, 2022
We are looking for striking digital images of winter, captured January or February 2022 at the Toronto Botanical Garden. One winner will receive a one-year Toronto Botanical Garden (Family) membership.
What and How to Enter Photos should be taken: At the Toronto Botanical Garden, Edwards Gardens or Wilket Creek sometime during January or February 2022 torontobotanicalgarden.ca
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Submit an email to photocontest@torontobotanicalgarden.ca with your current photograph(s) including: • Where in the Garden the image was taken • Date the image was taken • Your first and last name • Your age • Description of the submission For more information and for full rules and regulation visit torontobotanicalgarden.ca/photocontest
Winter 2022
Photo: Glenn Davidson
Winter presents many opportunities for the photo enthusiast, but it’s important to prepare before heading out into the cold. Here are six tips to help ensure your winter photo outing goes smoothly. 1. Thick winter gloves or mittens will not allow you to operate your device without exposing your fingers to the cold. Look for gloves that are specially made with touchscreen operation in mind. 2. Cold temperatures cause the ions in your phone’s battery to drastically slow down and eventually come to a halt. With no electric current, your device will shut down. To prolong battery life, keep your phone inside a pocket when not shooting and conserve power by keeping the screen turned off as much as possible. 3. Large areas of white snow will fool your camera by telling it that the scene is brighter than it really is. The camera will then underexpose the photo causing the snow to appear dull and gray. You can override the camera by manually brightening up the scene, but be careful not to overexpose too much. 4. Winter light will give your photos a cool, blue colour cast that you may want to correct. Some apps allow you to adjust the camera’s white balance prior to shooting so that the photos will appear warmer and less blue in colour. Photo editing apps, like Google’s Snapseed, gives you the option to alter the white balance after the shot has been taken. 5. A landscape blanketed with snow will challenge your camera’s autofocus system. Look for subjects with contrast that your camera can lock onto, such as a dark tree against a snowy background. 6. At the end of your shoot, place your phone into a Ziploc freezer bag before heading inside where it’s warm. This will prevent any condensation from forming on your phone, or more importantly, inside the device where the electronics are housed. Allow your phone to gradually warm up to room temperature (wait at least an hour) before removing it from the bag.
