A few years ago, I found this open field with some very nice birch-trees close to home. I have visited the area numerous times, trying to capture the character of these wonderful trees. The problem at this location (as it often is with photographing trees!) is separation from the background. A huge, dark hill behind the field makes it difficult to make the trees stand out properly.

Alas, I have concluded that this area has to be photographed in fog. Surprise.

I have waited all autumn, winter and spring for fog, but with no luck. We have had quite an early spring here in Norway this year. Grass and trees are mostly green, and temperatures have been really nice. But, as April often is this far north, this weekend brought a significant drop in temperatures and chances of a fresh dusting of snow. Now, a heavy snow-shower also gives a lot of atmosphere, much like fog. Snow-covered ground can be considered a bonus, adding to the minimalist feel of the scene. With this weekends forecast in mind I drove out early one morning and waited in my car for the snow to appear. As soon as it started, I headed out.

The heavy snow-shower made for a wonderful atmosphere and great separation between the birch-trees and the background. I mostly had the compositions dialed in from previous visits and that made photographing in these conditions a lot easier. However, using a camera in heavy snow is, as you may know, quite a challenge. The camera and lens is quickly covered in snow. My cameras are very well weather-sealed, so no worries there. But huge snow-flakes on the front element of the lens is a different story. Of course I used a lens-hood, but I also used a tripod, making it possible to shelter the lens from the worst snow, and also wipe the front element with a clot just before I pressed the shutter.

I tried out different shutter-speeds. Often, around 1/15-1/30 of a second will give nice snow-streaks and convey the feeling of a heavy shower. A shutter-speed around a second or more will mostly eliminate the streaks and giver an impression of a more homogenous atmosphere, like fog. I tried out different shutter.speeds this morning, but found that I liked the images with snow-streaks best. Maybe because I was soaking wet and freezing, and wanted to show the harsh conditions through the images.

Anyway, here they are. Some are captured with the Hasselblad X2D with the 35-75mm, and some with the Nikon Z7ii with the 24-200. I used two bodies with different focal lengths, as changing lenses in these conditions is no fun. I hope you like them. Which is your favorite?