Behind the Image: February 2026

February 2026: “Whiteface mountain greeting the new day.”

Nikon Z8
Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8 @ 70mm
f16 x 1/6s
ISO 64

As with my choice for the January image, I wrestled with the choice for February a good bit. For me, February is one of my busiest months photographically along with October and November. Looking back through those February images from 2025, however, not much was standing out that was consistent with the feeling I wanted to evoke for February. Around my home studio here in the Southeastern Adirondacks February is typically one of the coldest months of the year, so I wanted to go with something that had a wintry or cool aesthetic to it.

Of the images I considered, this one seemed to fit well with what I was looking for. This is a view of Whiteface mountain up in the Adirondack high peaks region across a body of water at daybreak. I was with a private client for this photograph and we enjoyed watching the scene move from very dim light into nearly full light as the Sun rose over the course of an hour. It was very cold, there was frost all around us, and we were not really ready for those conditions. Given that, my memory of the scene was one of cold and low light and that seemed to come across in the image itself.

In this photograph the warmth of the atmosphere above and the coolness of the foreground play well with each other. I also enjoy the interplay of the lines moving left or right across the image. The sky itself seems to have a sinuous nature to it. The hills in the foreground have a nice curvature to them as well. And the grasses in the foreground also complement those lines. The variation of textures from the foreground to the mid ground to the sky above also appear complementary. It was such a lovely morning, we had a great time out there shivering and watching the light change.

Patience in the field

As I mentioned, this particular morning at this site was considerably colder than we had anticipated. The sky was pretty clear that evening, so much of the residual heat had been lost to convection over the night. In most cases, this time of the day is often the coldest time of the day for that reason. That worked in our favor, because it gave us the fog that we really enjoyed as well as a significant frosting event around us.

We knew exactly where the Sun was going to come up and we were hopeful that some backlighting of the fog and some side lighting of the woods may occur. That didn't happen as we had hoped, but the conditions kept changing on us enough to keep us occupied. This happens a lot in the field, so it's expected. One of the things I like to do at these times is to see what else is available to photograph while I wait for a primary scene to possibly develop. It's a good reminder to be open minded to as many different photographic opportunities as you can. Easier said than done, but it's something to be mindful of as you may discover something more compelling than what your primary objective was. Time again, I feel this is one of the most valuable lessons I can offer my students when in the field.

Nikon Z8
Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8 @ 200 mm
f2.8 x 1/320s
ISO 64

While standing around for the light to develop in our primary scene, I noticed that we had some really beautiful frost on the grasses around us. It was an easy pivot to photograph them, I only needed to adjust my location. The lens choice for that morning did not need to be adjusted, which was great because my thin gloves were not cutting it at that point. The 70 to 200 f2.8 has the ability to open to a wide aperture giving me a very shallow depth of field. These white aperture lenses allow the photographer to focus the viewer’s attention on just a few details in a scene, particularly if it's a close-up. The background and foreground can fade away into diffusion. In the example I have included, all I had to adjust was pivoting 90° and moving a few feet to my right from where the primary scene was photographed. I really enjoyed how the rising sun was causing some of the frost to light up in the background and the impact of the heavy frost which caused the grasses to bend.

Reducing One’s Impact

Depending on where you are from, you might recognize this scene which I am avoiding identifying specifically. As a habit, I rarely discuss specific locations due to concern for them getting abused. Truth told, I was actually hesitant to bring my client to this location. Given the time of year, I was reasonably confident we would have the spot to ourselves. The foliage had passed and much of the nearby town was on a bit of a vacation before the ski season and holiday season started. It seemed reasonable to me to take this single client to this location. We absolutely stuck to just the identified trail and nothing else, and I reinforced with him that we needed to do so to minimize our impact in this location. It was an educational moment, because he could clearly see the result of people who don't follow the rules. I'm glad we visited as our first spot for the day, he shared his images with me later and they were fantastic. The Adirondacks did not disappoint that morning. All that said, nearly all the time I spend out in the field in the Adirondacks is in locations have seen next to no traffic. It's a massive park and there is a lifetime of imagery that can be made across it. My personal preference is to spread out and enjoy the peace and quiet of the Adirondacks. That helps to minimize my impact upon it and reduce the pressure upon the most heavily traveled of scenes.

Personal Workshops

I have been offering personal photography workshops for several years now. It has been a real pleasure over that time to take the occasional client out into the field and share my love of photography with them while also helping them to explore the Adirondacks in a way they may not have experienced before. Each of these workshops has been quite different, because they are customized to my client and what they are interested in learning and gaining experience with. If you or someone you know would be interested in such a thing, please feel free to reach out anytime and we can schedule something meaningful. There are amazing photographic opportunities throughout the year in the Adirondacks. Personal workshops can be scheduled for two hours to full day events. Again, depending on what the client wants. They can even be arranged as a one to two or one to three small group which reduces the overall cost for each participant. For more information visit this page on my website, or drop me a note anytime!

If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of this year’s calendar — including the option of getting “Whiteface mountain greeting the new day.” as a collector’s print — you can find them here.

Thanks for your ongoing interest! Questions or commments? Drop them below!