The snow just keeps coming. It arrives in short, overnight squalls or day-long blasts which cover everything over again and again. Wind builds up and speeds across the open fields, picking up the fresh, loose snow and tossing it into waist-deep drifts. The deer struggle to find places to walk; the rabbits repeatedly dig out the entrances to their burrows.

 

Throughout all this, the trees seem almost unaffected. Without their summer coat of leaves, the deciduous trees are less susceptible to wind damage, although the occasional ice storm can leave branches drooping beyond their weight-bearing capacity. Perhaps more interesting, especially in a northern forest, are the conifers—softwoods that retain their greenery throughout the long winter. It’s almost as if conifers don’t care what season it is. It’s as if they just ignore the weather and proceed as usual, shrugging, as it were, against the wind and the snow settling on their branches. Conifers in the winter are intriguing trees, and they make fine winter photography subjects.

 

On one of these wintery afternoons, I grab a camera and take off into the falling snow. I’m unsure what I’m searching for, exactly, but my vague goal is to study the conifers in particular. I protect the camera and lens with a sturdy weather-proof camera hood designed just for that purpose. The hood ensures that the camera stays dry, but it makes the whole rig a little cumbersome to use. This combined with the use of a tripod for the video shots means that I have to work slowly indeed, but in a strange way this can actually make you a more careful photographer. I’m hardly the first one to notice this.

 

The snow is falling pretty hard—with the wind driving it to the side. The wind makes the heavy pine branches sway slightly, and it’s an interesting motion. In the end, I use the video feature of my camera to set up a series of “still life” images—even though there is actually quite a bit of motion in them. Between the movements of the pine branches and the driving snow crossing the frame, these “still lifes” are hardly still at all—and yet that’s essentially what they are. It’s an interesting paradox.

 

I ended up with several shots that I was happy with. In fact, I shot so much video that I didn’t even shoot any still photos—a rare event for me!

From The Hill

Photographers often use reflector boards to control the lighting of their photos by bouncing light from the sun onto other objects. But did you know you can also use your camera to capture reflected light that bounced off the Earth itself? It’s not that difficult, but you do need exactly the right conditions.
It was a cold, windy, February day during a blizzard—but the weather was not enough to stop this brave flock of small birds with red caps. They used their short beaks to pry seeds out of dried birch catkins. These hardy birds are Redpolls.
But the deer don't seem to mind.
How do chickadees live in cold temperatures?
A pair of Sandhill Cranes arrive on the farm...only to find there is still snow on the ground!
The snow continues to fall...and presents a photographic opportunity.
A winter weather encounter with three hungry whitetail deer.

02/02/2018

Look what just arrived today, our author copy of our latest book, "Chicken DIY: 20 Fun-to-Make Projects for Happy, Healthy Chickens." Always a fun moment! Written and photographed by Fox Hill Photo's Daniel Johnson and Samantha Johnson.
We're now in week two of our two-week online Winter Horse Photography course that we put on with the Equine Photographers Network.

02/01/2017

Fox Hill Photo launches its new blog! We hope to bring you a little more insight into the work we do, our photography process, and the great place we live!

Still Life in Motion

2/28/2019

The snow just keeps coming. It arrives in short, overnight squalls or day-long blasts which cover everything over again and again. Wind builds up and speeds across the open fields, picking up the fresh, loose snow and tossing it into waist-deep drifts. The deer struggle to find places to walk; the rabbits repeatedly dig out the entrances to their burrows.

 

Throughout all this, the trees seem almost unaffected. Without their summer coat of leaves, the deciduous trees are less susceptible to wind damage, although the occasional ice storm can leave branches drooping beyond their weight-bearing capacity. Perhaps more interesting, especially in a northern forest, are the conifers—softwoods that retain their greenery throughout the long winter. It’s almost as if conifers don’t care what season it is. It’s as if they just ignore the weather and proceed as usual, shrugging, as it were, against the wind and the snow settling on their branches. Conifers in the winter are intriguing trees, and they make fine winter photography subjects.

 

On one of these wintery afternoons, I grab a camera and take off into the falling snow. I’m unsure what I’m searching for, exactly, but my vague goal is to study the conifers in particular. I protect the camera and lens with a sturdy weather-proof camera hood designed just for that purpose. The hood ensures that the camera stays dry, but it makes the whole rig a little cumbersome to use. This combined with the use of a tripod for the video shots means that I have to work slowly indeed, but in a strange way this can actually make you a more careful photographer. I’m hardly the first one to notice this.

 

The snow is falling pretty hard—with the wind driving it to the side. The wind makes the heavy pine branches sway slightly, and it’s an interesting motion. In the end, I use the video feature of my camera to set up a series of “still life” images—even though there is actually quite a bit of motion in them. Between the movements of the pine branches and the driving snow crossing the frame, these “still lifes” are hardly still at all—and yet that’s essentially what they are. It’s an interesting paradox.

 

I ended up with several shots that I was happy with. In fact, I shot so much video that I didn’t even shoot any still photos—a rare event for me!