As an avid nature photographer, I enjoy capturing landscape images throughout the year. Each season offers an opportunity to see the world in a different way. What’s really interesting is being able to photograph the same scene in two different seasons, such as summer and winter. I enjoy winter photography the most because you have to battle the elements to get to some locations and get the right shot. It then becomes all the more rewarding to create the landscape image you had in mind when you started out.

Winter scenes have such a great feel to them. I especially like to photograph landscapes during this season that have some flowing water feature, such as a waterfall that is surrounded by snow and ice. The right kind of image will then give the viewer the sense of what it felt like to be in the place where the photo was taken.

It was with this goal in mind that I set out recently on a cold winter day to Tumalo Falls not far from my home in central Oregon, USA. The road to the falls at this time of year is closed to vehicles. This made it necessary to hike 2.5 miles over compacted snow to get to the falls. Upon arrival I set up my tripod and found a spot for a pleasing composition. I chose a four stop ND filter which allowed me to capture the photo at a slower shutter speed in order to soften the flowing water. I believe that this enabled the icicles behind the falls to be visible through the curtain of water, thereby giving viewers of this image a sense of the icy chill of winter.