Melissa N. Robertson

I am humbly honoured to receive multiple awards in the European Photography Awards. It inspires me to continue seeking and chasing nature’s moments that make people smile. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share delightful displays of God’s creation across the globe through recognition in the European Photography Awards.

In June of this year, I had the opportunity to see the Kilauea Volcano erupt during the early morning hours. It was one of the most beautiful displays of the landscape’s natural wonders. I still don’t have the words to describe the amazing views of lava shooting from the earth, later joined by a morning rainbow. I couldn’t wait to share this fantastic event. It was an honour to have three of my volcano photographs recognised in this competition.

My niche is snowflakes and frost. I was awarded in several categories for 4 of my images, which show the beautiful designs, shapes, and patterns brought forth by winter's cold. ‘Birthday’s Surprise Frost’ is a photograph of a beautiful frost-flake that formed on my car window. I woke up on my birthday in December 2023 to find the window covered in amazing icy designs. This one was my favourite capture of the morning. It was the first hint of frost or snow of the season, and it made my birthday very special.

‘Cross and Snowflake’ is a cluster of snowflakes that fell exactly as they are pictured. This amazing representation of nature’s beauty shows the main symbolic theme in the Good News of Jesus Christ. He offered himself as a sacrifice on a cross for all people, so our souls may be washed as white as snow.

‘Frosty Trails’ is a gorgeous image of how frost grows and shapes itself on glass windows. As it creeps along, it makes stunning designs.

‘Snowflake Ducky’ is another beautiful snowflake pattern that brings together nature and wildlife. It is a snowflake that brings a smile to my face every time I look at it.

‘Green Spider’s Web’ was a fun side road I took when I saw a tiny spider hanging from its web. The brilliant green patterns of its abdomen caught my eye, and I quickly grabbed the camera.

Canyonlands Tree and Sunrise Over Bryce National Park are two of my favourite National Park landscape pictures showing the adorning views nature offers.

‘Prairie Dogs’ Secret Kiss’ was a fun picture taken of the critters running around their home area. Prairie dogs have always been a favourite animal in my heart, and they never fail to entertain when quietly observed.

If my heart skips at a picture, I will submit it for a competition. I love taking pictures, and I take them so others can enjoy them. Therefore, if I get excited about one, I assume at least one other person will enjoy it. The story behind the picture can add even more layers of enjoyment to the moment and the feeling you get when you look at it. My pictures have to make me excited and tell a great story.

I can’t remember what first made me pick up a camera when I was young, except that I wanted to document the fish I caught at the lake and every rainbow that graced the sky after a storm. However, I enjoy telling the story of why I picked up the camera for snowflakes.

It was a cold, snowy morning; my husband was working from home, and I had two very young children. I needed just a few moments to get away from the cries and noises of motherhood. What better way to do that than to go outside, where the kids wouldn’t follow?

I grabbed the camera, and out I went into the bitter, white morning. I started taking pictures of the visible snowflakes. The designs of the snowflakes that I photographed caught my attention very quickly. Then, it was I who cried with joy throughout the house as I showed my family the fun discoveries. To this day, if it is snowing, I am outside.

I love snowflake photography because every snowflake is different and mysterious. I never know what will show up in the camera frame because it is too tiny to see with the naked eye.

Even more, I love snowflakes because they tell the story of God and His redeeming love for all people through His Son, Jesus Christ. I use some snowflakes to illustrate specific parts of the Biblical story, but every snowflake reminds me how we are washed white as snow by the love and sacrifice of Jesus. Every snowflake has a secret design to be found, and I find it quite hard to stop taking pictures when it is snowing because I want to see them all!

I also really enjoyed taking pictures and videos of the Volcano at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. That might be something I pursue later in life. It definitely opened my eyes to a new world of nature’s beauty.

I use a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV camera with the Canon EF 100mm Macro Lens and 4 Kenko extension tubes. I have a small photo light to illuminate the area around me as I sit on the ground and take pictures during snowfall.

I love how close I can get to the snowflakes without needing a microscope. I hand-hold the camera and lens to each snowflake that looks intriguing. It is a great setup for taking close-up, high-resolution pictures and quickly moving from one flake to another.

For the longer-range pictures, I use a Tamron SP 150-600mm lens or a Canon 24-105mm lens. These work well for capturing larger landscapes and zooming in on particular spots from a distance.

I would want someone to feel joy and inspiration to get out and enjoy nature in all its seasons and elements.

The most challenging part of photographing snowflakes and frost is keeping the camera steady to avoid blur and capturing all the focal points. I use focus stacking in post-processing, so it is important to capture every sliver of the focal points as I focus in and out of the subject.

Snowflakes and mountains inspire me the most to get out with the camera. You never know what you will get from either one - patterns from snowflakes and scenery, animals, and plants from mountains' majestic habitats.

The beauty of God’s creation and the story of Jesus Christ have been my biggest influences. I sit out in the freezing cold to photograph tiny snowflakes because they share the story of a merciful, all-loving God that I want people around the world to hear and know. I keep taking pictures, even though I have thousands, because He keeps showing up in the tiniest details of our world.

Photo competitions are a wonderful opportunity to display your art in unconventional ways and share it with people you never would have dreamed of. Competitions provide feedback from unbiased people outside your clientele and encourage you to keep pursuing your photography and story. The title and story that you place with your photograph are just as important as the photo itself. Always place a description with your work. It is your time to share.

Go have fun and play with all the settings on your camera. Who cares how the pictures turn out at first? We are in the digital world; you can just delete them. Get off of ‘auto,’ turn on manual, and explore the amazing possibilities of creating your own photograph just the way you want it to be from the beginning. This will also help you limit editing on the post-processing side.

A piece of advice I heard at the beginning of my professional journey was to take the full picture and crop later. You don’t always need to zoom all the way in at the moment of capture. That advice helps with resolution and ensures you capture all the elements in the picture.

The largest post-processing step in my workflow is focus stacking for my macro images. Since I shoot macro, I combine multiple images into one overall picture. A single macro image can combine 2-50 pictures to create a fully sharp image.

I try to create the image I want in-camera using manual settings. This helps reduce post-processing work. I may make slight adjustments to exposure, cropping, and noise in Photoshop, as needed.

I do not use AI in my photography, and I try to create pictures in camera the way I want them in the final form. I enjoy keeping my pictures as natural and original as possible. I do feel that advances in technology have helped reduce the time it takes to focus-stack multiple pictures into one clear image.

I would love to photograph the underwater world, and since June, it would be interesting to see and photograph more active volcanoes.