4 Things to Photograph in January Across the UK

Whether you’re marching into 2025 full of gusto or suffering from a shade of the January blues, here’s 4 themes to help focus your lens, mind and creativity seeing you through the weeks and months ahead. 

While the short days may feel like a photographer’s curse, there’s actually a lot of benefits to the early sunsets. In fact at just 5pm on the 1st day of 2025, we saw a red Aurora alert coupled with relatively clear skies! As well as watching the night skies and aurora alerts, here’s some other ideas to point your camera towards in the weeks ahead. 

Don’t forget to share your photos on the Walking Photography Facebook group or email them over to feature the next newsletter. 

1. Frost Patterns & Ice

Drone shot of frost from above

When the temperature drops, nature produces scenes that even most creative designers would struggle to imagine. Frost transforms mundane surfaces into delicate works of art. From intricate patterns on car windows to frost-kissed leaves in your garden or local park, the opportunities are endless.

One photo on my bucket list is the a rare phenomenon called hair ice, where ice formations erupt out of dead wood appearing like strands of white hair.

Tips for Capturing Ice and Frost Patterns:

Getting closer can be a great way to create simple, yet striking compositions. The closer you get though the harder it will be to keep everything in focus. This could be a good opportunity for more advanced photographers to practice depth of field or even focus stacking techniques.  

2. Garden Birds

Collared Dove, increasing distance of the background from perch helps keep background simple 

With the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch on the 24th-26th January it’s a brilliant excuse to get practicing some garden bird photography. Think about locating some natural perches that allow for more simple (distance helps) backgrounds. 

Also think about where the sun will be at various times of day. Backlit shots can really bring ordinary scenes to life and give a professional feel to the photo. While beams of light breaking through garden and house features can create spotlight effects, helping to isolate your subject from a distracting  background. In both scenarios it will probably help to explore using exposure compensation, as darkening or lightning the scene can make a dramatic difference. 

3. Still Life: Post-Christmas Edition

iPhone

Got a secret santa gift that left you a little bit baffled? Or maybe you’re feeling apprehensive about offloading a gift that you know you won’t use. Why not photograph it?! 

Geek confession: There’s an album somewhere at my parents with photos of Christmas presents, new shoes before I wore them and favourite toys I never wanted to forget. And people wonder how I developed a 10,000 photos a month habit! :D  

Still life photography is a cosy indoor project, perfect for those days where it’s harder to get out. Why not create a composition using those hard to place Christmas gifts, or even those quirky cracker toys? 

From natural light pouring through a window to using artificial lights or flash, it’s a great opportunity to experiment and learn how lighting effects the look and feel of a photo.

4. Wintry Photo Walk on a Beach

13 seconds f13 ISO 100

(If) Adorning the right clothing you can’t beat a winter coastal walk! 

You could be forgiven for thinking that heading to the coast in January is more hassle than it's worth. Yet it’s often easier and closer than we think and there are many benefits to stretching your legs in fresh sea air, one being the off season parking! 

From big dramatic skies and crashing waves to dogs reflected in the wet sand and hardened coldwater swimmers defying all notions of reason. The coast this time of year can also be a treasure trove for wildlife with many migrant birds finding refuge around the British shoreline. One of my favourite things to photograph on the coast this time of year are turnstones who are remarkable scavengers, there’s even a 19th century naturalist record of them scavenging on a washed up corpse! Today though you’re more likely to find them pecking at discarded chewing gum or exposed seaweed from a turning tide. 

Of course there’s always the opportunity to experiment with the ever-popular Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) techniques which coastal landscapes lend themselves so well to. For that you’ll want some slower shutter speeds. Anything from 1/8th of a second to 30 seconds will create varying effects, though you’ll likely need a low light environment or a neutral density (ND) filter to get the best out of this technique.  

Conclusion

January might feel quiet, but it’s a month teeming with photographic potential. So, wrap up warm, grab your camera, and let’s set the tone for the rest of the year! Happy shooting!