French photographer Christophe Jacrot has released a stunning new photography book titled "Winterland: The Colors of Snow," published by TeNeues Verlag, which documents the increasingly fragile world of winter through 120 breathtaking snow-covered photographs. The 205-page volume serves as both an artistic celebration of winter's beauty and a subtle warning about climate change's impact on seasonal weather patterns.
Jacrot, a passionate snow photographer, opens his book with a quote from Albert Camus: "In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." His landscapes, captured across Norway, Iceland, and Russia, tell the story of nature buried under snowflakes that will be reborn once winter disappears. The photographer describes himself as a "snow storm hunter," traveling to cities from Paris to New York, Amsterdam to Bologna, chasing dramatic weather events.
The photographer's dedication to capturing extreme weather is evident in his account of photographing Bologna under 20 inches of snow: "Bologna under 50 centimeters of snow - never seen before! When I heard this weather forecast, I jumped on the first plane. When such phenomena occur in cities, it quickly becomes chaos. I knew I had to act fast." This urgency characterizes Jacrot's approach, as he transforms urban landscapes frozen in white into scenes that appear chaotic from the street but serene when viewed from indoors.
Jacrot's fascination with winter photography dates back to his childhood and connects to his love of bad weather. "Maybe it's from my childhood. Otherwise, this passion is linked to my taste for bad weather. Hong Kong in the rain, New York and its snowstorms imposed themselves on me. Two forces confronting each other: the arrogant city and the storm in all its power. Then there was Iceland," he explains. Each image tells a story of fear and raging elements, particularly evident in his work from the mining city of Norilsk.
Norilsk, built under Stalin by gulag prisoners 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, provided Jacrot with some of his most dramatic shots. "I was lucky to be caught in a snowstorm like only Siberia knows. Sometimes I had to walk on all fours to avoid falling," he writes, describing photography as "combat sport." Many of Jacrot's photographs feature isolated, solitary silhouettes that lead the viewer's eye toward the difficult march through snow, mirroring the photographer's own battle against wind and gusts.
Contrary to conventional wisdom that snow poses challenges for photographers, Jacrot embraces the monochromatic white landscape. When asked if snow is a photographer's worst enemy, he responds frankly: "For very bad photographers maybe. But honestly, it has never bothered people like Ragnar Axelsson (Icelandic) or Pentti Sammallahti (Finnish), two brilliant photographers (in black and white)." He notes that snow in color photography is never truly white but takes on the tint of ambient light, creating interpretive challenges about how to see and tell the story of snow - "almost painting it," as he describes his process.
The book's subtitle, "The Colors of Snow," reflects this artistic philosophy. Jacrot acknowledges that all the world's beauties seem destined to disappear with climate change, including retreating glaciers and eternal snows that have eternity only in their past. While "Winterland" serves as a warning, Jacrot sees himself more as an archivist: "Warning, yes of course, but I don't have that pretension. I feel perhaps closer to an archaeologist. And without snow (and/or rain), we cannot live. And I can see over the years how winters are shrinking everywhere!"
Jacrot told L'Œil de la photographie magazine: "In my eyes, there are two great ways to photograph the world: capture its horror (there's plenty to do) or sublimate it. I chose the second." This philosophy permeates "Winterland," which presents winter not as a document of environmental loss but as a romantic vision of bad weather and beautiful, unsettling snow squalls. The hope is that this work will remain an artistic vision rather than becoming an archival document of a disappearing world.
"Winterland: The Colors of Snow" is available from TeNeues Verlag for 65 euros, featuring 205 pages and 120 photographs that capture the ephemeral beauty of winter landscapes across multiple continents. As climate change continues to shorten winters globally, Jacrot's work serves as both celebration and preservation of one of nature's most dramatic seasonal transformations.
