Winter in the forest 2024
The winter 2024 was a tough one, at least compared to what we are used to in Denmark. Temperatures dropping to below minus 15°C and snow covered large amounts of the country in a way that I have a hard time remembering anything similar, with big disturbances for traffic and people getting stuck in their vehicles for several hours before help could arrive.
I know that many places in the world people are used to this and it is a part of their everyday life, but here in Denmark this came as a shock to many and many were not prepared for it. For me this also came as, well I will not say it was a shock, but it did come as a surprise. As I wrote earlier I have a hard time remembering when we last had a winter like this, and I just love winter so much, I would actually go as far as to say the winter is my favorite season, so this came as a pleasant surprise for me, and it presented some amazing opportunities to go out and do some winterphotography.
Not even one week after 2023 had turned into 2024 we were hit by the first blizzard which in just a few hours caused huge problems throughout most of the land. I was at work at the time and I remember vividly how anxious I was to get out there, so as soon as my workday ended I jumped in my car and drove out to the forest.
As was to be expected I did not get very far before I got stuck in a big snowdrift, fortunately I had a shovel and at set of snowchains in my car so I was able to get the car free on my own, but it was clear to me that it was impossible to get to the forest that day.
Disappointed and sad I had to drive home instead and wait for the storm to end as it was simply to risky to continue. The storm continued throughout the evening but the following days were a completely different story.
The days after the snowstorm I spent almost all my time in the forest, as soon as the sun came up I drove out there and did not come home until after the sun had set.
The forest had literally turned into a winter wonderland with snow covering the entire landscape and every tree and bush bending over from the weight of the snow, it was absolutely amazing and I really can not remember when I last saw something this beautiful.
Off course I was there to photograph but I must admit there were times when I had to pack the camera away, and just sit there with a cup of coffee and just take it all in. It was stunningly beautiful and I was actually a little bit sad every day when the sun began to set, cause I really just wanted to stay out there.
One day as I had finished at work I once again went to the forest to photograph in the few hours of daylight still left.
On my way there I saw a dead deer on a field just at the edge of the forest, and on the deer there were two buzzards feeding on the remains.
I stopped the car to get a closer look and take a photo, but as soon as I rolled down the window the buzzards took off. I had only my Nikon D700 with a 80-200mm lens, so I could not quite reach them, and with only the D700´s 12 Mpixel there were not much room for cropping, so the next day I brought a 200-500mm lens hoping this would bring me close enough to the birds.
As soon as my workday ended I drove out to the field again, the camera was lying on the passenger seat turned on and ready. I knew I had to be quick as the buzzards would most definitely take off as soon as I stopped the car.
The buzzards were still there and sure enough as soon as the car stopped they flew away but I did manage to get a few photos before they left.
This went on for 4 days and I went out there in every lunch break and after the workday had ended and every time I got a few photos before they flew away. They did not fly far away though, they just flew up into a nearby tree, just out of reach of the camera and as soon as I left they´d come back.
Unfortunately I had to do it this way because the field was private property and I did not have permission to go there, and they were too far away for me to reach them from the edge of the forest, so my only chance was to photograph them from my car.
The fifth day the carcass was gone and so was the buzzards, but it was fascinating to follow them these past 4 days.
It really was an amazing time in the forest this winter and now spring is pushing on, which will also be a very fascinating time when the entire forest comes back to life, but for now I can just sit with a cup of coffee and look back on this winter and hope the next one will be just as amazing.
