Hi!

It’s Jaymes again, coming to you from cold and snowy Michigan! (As I write this, the snow is piling up higher and higher outside my window…)

In this newsletter, I share three items:

1. The dPS bi-weekly challenge
2. Tips for keeping you and your camera gear safe in the cold
3. Two more image critiques

So without further ado, let’s dive right in with:

The dPS Bi-Weekly Challenge: Best of 2023

From Sime:

Well, here we are in 2024! We do this almost every year, the old "share your best or most favourite photograph of the last year" Now, keep in mind that it doesn't have to be the most polished photograph, doesn't have to be taken with the best gear (gotta be a camera / phone and not Ai!) just your best or most favourite photograph. Blurry, Sharp, whatever - it's your moment to share something that means something to YOU. 

Make sure you include the hashtags #dPSWeeklyChallenge and #dPSBestOf2023 in your post, whether it’s in the comments of our official weekly challenge page or over on social media. You can tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!

And you can also share your image(s) in the dPS Facebook group!

Tips for Photographing in Cold Weather

Not all of our readers are currently experiencing cold, but for those of you currently dealing with freezing temperatures, I wanted to offer a few quick tips to ensure that you’re able to safely and successfully take photos in the winter weather!

1. If it’s snowing, use a rain cover. While snow won’t damage your camera equipment as quickly as rain, it’s still best to avoid exposure to precipitation as much as possible - and that’s where a rain cover comes in. You can purchase a high-quality cover for around $20 USD (this is the cover that I often use); it’ll slip over your camera and lens, and it’ll allow you to access the camera controls while shielding your precious electronics from the water!
2. Grab some warm and waterproof gloves. I shoot in the cold for about five months every year, so I’m speaking from experience when I say that you simply cannot do winter photography for more than a few minutes without good gloves. Not only will you risk frostbite, but your frozen fingers will also struggle to operate your camera controls successfully, leading to missed opportunities in the field. Fortunately, there are a lot of great gloves designed for complex operations in the cold; I like to use this pair of EnergeticSky waterproof gloves, though if I plan to photograph in extreme cold, I’ll also carry glove liners, warm mittens, and rechargeable hand warmers (which fit inside the mittens) to be safe.
3. Seal your camera before taking it inside. It’s a common problem: After photographing outside, you bring your camera into a warm car or house, only to find that the lens has fogged up. In the short term, you can just let the condensation evaporate, but in the long term, it’s a good idea to avoid this kind of exposure. Therefore, before heading indoors, I recommend sealing your camera inside a camera bag or even just a plastic bag. Then, once you’re inside, give it some time to adjust to the warmer air before bringing it back out. 
4. Carry a hand towel and a rocket blower. If you plan to photograph in the snow, the flakes will get everywhere - and even if you use a rain cover, you’ll want to keep a towel on hand to dust off your setup every once in a while. I also like to have a rocket blower, which is great for effectively removing snow from the front of your lens and the inside of your lens hood.
5. Dress warmly. This probably goes without saying, but you should make sure that you’re covered up before heading out for a winter photography adventure. Boots, a warm hat, and a heavy coat are essential, though depending on the weather, wearing snow pants and a balaclava can be a great idea! The warmer you are, the safer and more comfortable you’ll be while shooting, which is always a good thing!

For more tips on photographing in the cold, be sure to check out this dPS article!

Critiquing Your Photos

I had a great time going through your critique submissions this week, so I figured I’d include a couple more critiques in this newsletter. (Remember, if you have an image that you’d like to see critiqued, simply hit Reply to this email and attach the file!)

First, we have a stunning seascape from Phil D:

First of all, Phil, I love the dramatic lighting here, with that powerful side-backlight bringing out some nice texture while also creating those dark shadows. I also love the swirling clouds and the way the faint lines in the sand lead the eye out toward the waves, not to mention the contrast between the blue sky on the right and the pinkish sun on the left.

Some landscape photographers would advise you to find a more powerful foreground subject and move closer to emphasize those jagged waves, and you could certainly try that, but I actually quite like your perspective here; the emptier foreground gives the image an interesting sense of scale. 

I like the image as-is, but I have a few ideas for (minor) improvements:

First, I’m noticing a lot of noise in the image. Normally, this would be caused by a high ISO, but the file information indicates an ISO of just 250. Perhaps the image was heavily underexposed to retain detail in the sky, but then you had to brighten the foreground, revealing a lot of noise? Regardless, I’d encourage you to apply some noise reduction to this file in a program such as Lightroom. 

If you were to shoot this scene again, you could consider capturing several shots at different exposure levels, and then blending them in post-processing for a detailed (and less noisy) result. 

Second, I think you could make this photo even more powerful by adjusting your composition. Right now, the image feels very centralized - the distant cliffs project out to the center of the image, and the horizon line cuts across the (near) center, too. But I think you could add a bit of dynamism by following the rule of thirds more closely. For instance, if you were to swing your camera slightly to the right, you could ensure that the cliffs jut out a third of the way into the frame while emphasizing that stormy water and sky. You could also play around with moving the horizon line slightly lower in the frame to further emphasize the dramatic sky.

Of course, if you were to reshoot, you could try out a variety of different compositions, but you could also have fun with a bit of cropping, too! (And while you’re at it, the image looks slightly tilted, which you can correct very easily in pretty much any editing program.)

But it’s such a fantastic image, Phil, so thank you for sending it in!

Second, we have a lovely urban nature scene from Francis T:

I love scenes like this, Francis, and you’ve done a beautiful job here. The foreground leaves contrast wonderfully with the lush grass, plus they draw the eye into the frame and add lots of depth. I also love the warm lighting, as well as the layering effect created by the bridge meandering through the upper portion of the frame, backed by that gorgeous sky.

Bearing in mind that you already have a lovely image, here are three suggestions:

1. I’m noticing a couple of slightly distracting areas throughout the frame. First, on the left-hand side, there’s a circular gap under the bridge where the sky breaks through - that draws the eye, and I’d consider cropping it out (either in-camera or in post-processing). Then, in the upper right-hand corner, the vegetation clumps together and detracts from that beautiful layering effect as well as the loose symmetry created by the buildings, the trees, and the bridge. I’d recommend working to eliminate these - for instance, you could try moving closer or zooming in (and you could also play around with cropping the file, too).
2. I like the inclusion of human figures on the bridge, but I do wish they overlapped less with one another and the background. Right now, the biker behind the sightseer creates a small area of confusion because of the overlap; if you were to take this image again once the biker had left, the main figure would be emphasized. Additionally, it might be worth reshooting to see if you can capture a figure that’s slightly off to the left; that way, they’re framed by the sky and don’t overlap with the distant buildings.
3. You’ve done a great job processing this image, and I love the way you’ve brought out the details in the foreground and those distant trees. When viewing the image large on my monitor, I am seeing a touch of purple fringing in some of the high-contrast areas (e.g., where the bridge overlaps with the sky), so I’d recommend removing these in a program such as Lightroom.

But as I said, you’ve captured a really wonderful image, Francis, and thank you for sharing!

Well, that’s all for today! But thanks again to everyone who submitted images, and I look forward to tackling some more critiques for the next newsletter!

Jaymes Dempsey and the dPS team