The Maine winter may seem like a poor time to think about outdoor photography.  But whether you’re into ski-mobiling, cross country skiing, snowshoeing or if you simply go where the snowplows go, to really enjoy the outdoors you should keep your camera handy: winter's beauty surrounds us.

    Have you ever really looked at a fir tree heavy with snow?  The ice encased limbs of a leafless maple?  The reflected sunset on the frozen Penobscot?

     Have you ever studied the ways of the chickadees as they flock along forest edges?  Watched deer sneak out across frozen lakes at dusk?

     Winter in Maine certainly brings hardships, sometimes even dangers.  But it also provides those who take the time to truly see a chance to enjoy nature in a way that many folks never do.

     Seeing is what photography is all about.  Before you can shoot it, you must "see" it. While that may seem an obvious statement, if you think about it for a moment you'll agree.  Do you recall times when you've looked at the landscape before you and "seen" something out there?  It's that feeling that what you see at the moment should be on a postcard.  Those who learn to "see" better, who really look at the world, know that those moments occur every day and in many ways.  All that you have to do is to practice seeing.

     The best way for me to do that is through a camera lens.  How about you?  Doesn't looking through a camera lens - no matter how simple a lens it may be - make you more aware of the world?

     Try an experiment.  Find something outdoors that interests you and point your camera at it.  It doesn't matter what as long as it interests you.  Frame your subject in the viewfinder of the camera in as many different ways as you can imagine, until you find the one that you like the most.

     Now take the camera away from your eye and look at your subject.  Can you still see it in the same way as when you looked at it through the camera?  I'll bet that you can.  And is that way different from how you first saw your subject before you pulled it out of all the clutter by framing it in the way that you liked the most?  I'll bet that it is.  And if it is, you're seeing the world better.

     Because photographing wildlife interests me the most, the camera that I keep handy is fitted with a telephoto lens.  Telephoto lenses in the 200mm and up range do strange things to the world: they compress it and crop it by narrowing the angle of view as they bring the subject closer while enlarging its size.  After many moments spent looking at the cropped world a telephoto lens provides, you start to see things in little pieces with the naked eye.

     A wide angle lens in the 20-28mm range gives you the opposite effect.  Try looking through both wide angle and telephoto lenses.  Do they change your view of the world?

     And how do you keep your camera handy so you can see better if you're active in the outdoors during winter?  First, there's the leather case that you can hang around your neck.  Some call those "never ready" cases, however, as you have to unscrew the case from the camera to change film.  Since most cameras run out of film during the best photo opportunities, consider the type of photography that you want to pursue before you get one of these.

     Some prefer the camera bag.  A wide variety of designs offer many choices.  Again, consider the type of photography you want to pursue.  Will the bag hold all the lenses you want to bring along?  Is it easy to access your camera?  And is the bag comfortable to carry?

     Others like the fanny pack.  Some designs hang on your side for easier access.  Those who plan to carry the most gear or the heaviest telephoto lenses should consider a good backpack, especially when on skis or snowshoes.  If you pack right, you can still get at your camera in a hurry.

     And if you've really got a load?  You might want to strap your heavy backpack to a light plastic child's sled and drag it behind you.  It helps to secure it to the sled with the pack's straps upwards so that you can throw it on your back, sled and all, if the going gets too tough for the sled.

     No matter how you get your camera there, keep it handy so you can get out there and truly "see" this winter.

     Season’s Greetings – and catch yours in the good light.