Although the days are getting longer by a few minutes, being in the heart of winter still means waning light and cool shadows. As photographers, we tend to name lighting conditions such as the “Golden Hour” or full sun vs. open shade. For aerial photography, we are very concious of the change from summer sun to winter light.
The main issue we have in the winter is flight length. If we have a lot of sites to shoot for our clients, we have to get done by dark which gets earlier and earlier. The angle of the sun is also an issue. Winter light is caused by the earth’s tilt away from the sun in winter. The sun does not get as high in the sky, shadows are longer and much cooler in temperature visually. Post processing can be challenging. One image has a gorgeous warm tone with the sun behind us and another angle will be dark and contrasty.
While we wait for those few minutes each day to bring us more and warm light, take some time to enjoy the coolness and stillness of winter light.
Wendy Whittemore – Flight Commander
