I went to the Kosciuszko National Park to shoot snow gums, it is spring here in Australia and normally there is very little or no snow (I have never had the opportunity to shoot in snow), turns out my visit coincided with a really unusual cold snap. This is one of the shots I took.
Any feedback especially regarding shooting in snow from those familiar with it would be much appreciated.
I find this a striking image; well done for sure. The only thing I would suggest is to attempt to get a slight structure in the snow. It can be difficult as the light can be flat in winter, but it also tends to get lost in postprocessing.
Absolutely love this shot, Don! It is very unique. I like that it is basically B&W except for the brown trunk of the tree and a little brown on the fallen trunk in the MR side. I think the snow is fine. Any more burning on the darker areas of the snow, I think would be distracting. Great job on your first snow shot.
Really nice photo and the snow looks fine to me.
Thanks Jaapv! 
Thanks Donna that is very encouraging!
Thanks Ronald!
This is a wonderful composition, with the snow putting it SO far over the top! The soft and simple BG as also a wonderful element. As @jaapv said above, my only idea would be to try to dig out a little more tonal structure in the snow, but the light may have just been too flat. It may take going back to the raw file for whatever can be done there, followed by possibly Nik CEP Tonal Contrast and/or a TK mask and careful curve work. Maybe even separate processing for the lights and darks?
Don, this is an incredible composition. The tree, rock, and snow all work so well together. I could see losing a bit off the bottom to help ground the tree and rock. The almost B&W nature of the scene is a bit strange. I donāt know if you desaturated everything but the reds, but it looks that way. I might consider making this completely B&W. Of course thatās my own opinionā¦Itās also fine as is.
I usually try to look at an image first, prior to reading the text with the image and any comments that may follow. I chuckled when I read your text, because my first thought was āShovel snow on that stuff to the right of and behind the rock, let it snow more overnight, and then go back and shoot the rock and the tree completely surrounded by snow.ā Doesnāt sound like that was on the table! 
Regardless, this is wonderful Don. There is so much to like here. The way you used the rock to back up that amazing tree works well. I love the misted, distant, hills too; itās like a background on a background the way the tree/rock/hills work together.
I had a couple of somewhat random thoughts to play with. This looks slightly muddy, as opposed to the crisp way that winter feels. It is typical of heavily overcast snow, but I like opening up a bit. Cooling the scene slightly can also help with that effect. The mist on the hills is wonderful, and Iād be tempted to reduce contrast there to make them more mysterious and a more subtle backdrop. I agree this would be a fine black and white since the color is subtle, but I also like it with the saturation of that red strip of barkless tree bumped to help it stand out. This is great as is, but adding detail to the foreground, as others have suggested is worth experimenting with. (I played with that in my version; it posturized when I did that, but hopefully the raw would allow you to do that.) Another option would be to crop it square and reduce the white space above and below. Anywho, hereās a version where I tried to play with those ideas:
ā¦and then I thought well, Iām completely butchering this poor guyās image anyway, I wonder what it would look like with that stuff on the right not there?
Hi Don,
Iād had never heard of a snow gum tree or Kosciuszko NP, so I Googled it. Guess youāre going into spring in your part of the world.
Congrats on capturing an amazing photo. Living in the American Midwest, I donāt have a lot of experience photographing snow. So I canāt help you there. But, let me tell you what I like about your photo.
By the way the snow is stuck to the rock and tree, itās obvious that the wind was blowing when it snowed. The way that you positioned the tree in a manor that includes the snow on the rock and tree, but also contrast the tree against the snow is brilliant. The other thing I really like is the space between the top of the hill in BG and the tree canopy. There is a clear/clean break between the two. The tree canopy isnāt getting lost in the BG. If this were my photo, it would be hanging on my wall.
Thanks Diane appreciate the feedback, Iāll go back to the RAW file and see how much there is in there, from memory there wasnāt much but worth a second look for sure!
Thanks David. Not sure whether its because the foliage had been āburntā over the winter but there was virtually no colour at all. I may have saturated the orange to enhance the bark but that would be it with regards to colour manipulation, wasnāt much to manipulate. I put a B&W version together as soon as I had it edited as B&w is my preference. Thanks for your thoughts. 
Wow thanks for the in depth thoughts, much appreciated. I did go back a second day hoping for more snow how ever on getting back the snow had melted and was slushy as well as being trampled to death by yetis. Love what you did getting rid of the branch etc on the right, will do a version of that as well ā¦ thanks. Happy to have my image ābutcheredā when something valuable comes out of it. Thanks again for your effort!
Hi David thanks for the positive feedback, much appreciated! You right about the wind apparently the night before when it did snow there were gale force winds up there. I reckon you are right Iāll hang it! Thanks again.
Great photograph !!! I love the contrast and the Toneā¦
Thanks Gill! Appreciate the comment!
