Heavy snow, slow motion lives
Heavy snow has a way of forcing the world to slow down. Yesterday that became very tangible when I watched a van and a car carefully pass each other on an icy, snow-covered road. Weather alerts were active across the Netherlands, and for many people this meant stress, risk, and necessary travel. For me, it meant something else: a rare chance to observe how landscapes and human behavior change under extreme conditions.
This image was taken handheld with the Canon 5D Mark IV and the Sigma 100–400mm, pushed hard at ISO 12800 and f/29 to hold enough depth and structure in the chaos of falling snow. In conditions like this, photography becomes a balance between physics and patience. Snow scatters light, reduces contrast, and confuses autofocus systems — your camera doesn’t “see” snow as atmosphere, only as obstacles. You have to work with that limitation, not against it.
What fascinated me most wasn’t just the snow itself, but the rare phenomenon that accompanied the storm: lightning during snowfall. Cold air aloft combined with moisture-rich clouds from the relatively warm sea can create enough vertical energy for electrical discharge — something we still rarely witness here.
If you don’t have to be on the road during days like these: grab your camera instead. But walk carefully. Nature may slow us down, yet it always gives something back to those who stop and look.
#snowstorm #winterphotography #extremeweather #documentaryphotography
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#tilburg #013tilburg #dutchwinter #stormchasing #lightninginsnow
#environmentalawareness #pixelfedphotography
#ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #wonderinglens
#ThroughTheWonderingLens
