5 Ways I'll Stay Inspired to Photograph in the Winter

I'm one of those New Englanders that dreads Autumn.
Not because I don't enjoy this season, but because Winter follows it. That's really a negative way of looking at things, especially as I hope to continue enjoying photographing into the next season. So here's what I'm planning on doing in the upcoming months to help keep me inspired...

1. Exeter, 2. Painted Pumpkins

1. Look into events that get me and my camera out of the house. So what if the festivals and fairs are long gone, and the birds have (mostly) gone south? We still have lots going on, especially as the holidays draw closer. Holiday decorations and lights on the mansions of Newport, Santa coming in by sleigh boat to Chatham harbor....whatever. There's sure to be something interesting at any of those events.

2. Branch out of typical "winter shots". (No pun intended.) Last year was my first winter with my new camera, and I took photographs of pretty much everything, because I was seeing everything with new eyes. Getting home, looking at image after image of tree branches....ok, not so inspiring. This year, what about taking photos of the same things I do in the summer? The beaches are empty, the Cape highways will be void of traffic, and there are flowers that bloom in winter, too. Amaryllis, holly, mums...just as stunning, and much more appreciated, in this gloomy expanse of a season.

1.       1.Red Shed II, 2. Cornfield Storm

3. Get more acquainted with portraiture. My cousin just had twins. I have a remote that I hardly ever used. I have a tripod that sits alone in the corner gathering dust. I'd love to take some photos of the boys as they enjoy their first months, candid and unposed and innocent. And I have downloaded some photoshop actions that I'd love to start using on faces.

1.Gold Buttons, 2. Fall Berries

4. Get up earlier on weekends. It's an unfortunate fact that in the dead of winter, my sun is gone at 3:30 pm, making me want to crawl into bed and stay there. So most working days, I won't be able to get outside and do much of anything with my camera. But on weekends, I can maximize the sunlight if at all possible, so the loss is easier to bear...

5. Pore through my flickr faves. I'm constantly inspired by the talented photographers on flickr, and especially by those in my Etsy group FPOE. Many of them live in New England, Canada, the Northwest, and Europe, so I'll have to check in to see what's keeping them and their cameras busy during the next few months. I'm sure I'll have plenty of computer time during those famous Nor'easter blizzards to get some new ideas of places to travel and nature to search for. Snowy owls?  Ducks that never seem to mind the frozen lakes and ponds? Seed and berry-eating birds? And speaking of birds, they're much easier for me to see in bare trees. Last year a particularly fat sparrow visited me every day in the same tree outside my house- he's there in the summer too, but I can't see him.

Whew! Maybe I can look forward to winter now. (Kind of.) :)