Skiing Photography
roccityroller
Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins
So, I really got into photographing when i got my dSLR last summer. Now, it's winter and i love skiing. I plan on taking my camera with me whenever i go. But, this brings up a few questions for only the dGrin experts!
1) I need a way to keep the camera/lens safe while I'm skiing. If i take a tumble i need to know that the camera is going to be safe. Some of the guys on the skiing forum suggest a padded ski pack with the camera wrapped in a nice fleece sweatshirt or something. Not sure if it works, but what ever i do has to protect the camera without sacraficing balance.
2) Settings settings settings! Obviously snow is bright and during the day i'm sure it could appear over bright. What settings should i be using in terms of WB, shutter speed, aperature, etc should i be looking at for like a mid-day on-the mountain shot?
3) How beneficial would a polarizer be for both on mountain action and landscape shots?
1) I need a way to keep the camera/lens safe while I'm skiing. If i take a tumble i need to know that the camera is going to be safe. Some of the guys on the skiing forum suggest a padded ski pack with the camera wrapped in a nice fleece sweatshirt or something. Not sure if it works, but what ever i do has to protect the camera without sacraficing balance.
2) Settings settings settings! Obviously snow is bright and during the day i'm sure it could appear over bright. What settings should i be using in terms of WB, shutter speed, aperature, etc should i be looking at for like a mid-day on-the mountain shot?
3) How beneficial would a polarizer be for both on mountain action and landscape shots?
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I've done a little bit of skiing photography, and from my experience I can tell you that if you are going to bring your dslr out on the slopes you just need to really dial it down and ski a lot more conservatively. If you put the dslr in a backpack wrapped up then its really too hard to get to when you find that perfect shot (which is always on the side of a very steep slope...which is not a fun spot to have to take off the backpack, take off the gloves, dig though the backpack pull out the camera get set up, take the picture then put everything back away and put the gloves and pack back on). I will usually keep my dslr in a holster bag on my hip strap of my backpack or in a holster bag on my chest. This makes it easier to get to. Just make sure you have a good weather proof holster bag.
If your shooting a moving skier you'll obiously want a fast shutter speed, which usually isn't a problem mid day out on the snow. Your sensor will try and make the snow medium gray not white. So a rule of thumb for photographing in snow is to overexpose 1 to 1-1/2 stops depending on how bright out it is.
If its a blue bird day and you are using a polarizer against the snow and sky it can turn the sky almost black, which is an interesting effect, but not very natural looking. The effect of a polarizer will be somewhat less noticable if its not sunny out, but can still give you more contrast...something you might not want when you already have a dark subject on a white background.
Hope this helps.
initialphotography.smugmug.com
"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera" - Dorothea Lange
Here are a couple of threads that may help you understand the issues with shooting in a snowfield
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=6366
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=30235
The short answer is that you need to add + exposure compensation if you are going to shoot based on the reflected based light meter readings in your camera. I add about +1 2/3s stops of + EC in snow fields and watch for blown highlight - blinkies in your LCD on the back of your camera and watch the RGB histogram as well. I tend to prefer to shoot in 'sunlight' rather than AWB, or even 'shade'. A WhiBal card or an Expo disc will also work well.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
The very best skiing I ever done partake in was following the shedding of THE PACK
Always look at the histogram
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a good versitile pack/holster is the LowePro 75AW....mine came with enough strps to choke a small army....shoulder strap, a back/chest pack harness and another curved strap.....but I mount mine on a military pistol belt ....I have ridden my mc with both of them on pistol belt and one as a chest and the other as a bak pak....and they ride high as a pack.....will fit a 5D with drive and 70-200 f2.8.....tried it a best buy when the 5D first came out for another Dgriner asking about the 75AW's....it also has an all weather cover stored inside and storage room for extra batteries and other goodies like ND filters and such....I also put one of those shakable handwarmer bags in the bottom storage area to keep all batteries warm enuff to shoot and not loose their juice....the camera stays warm also but not enuff to cause condensation ..... do not use the large ones but the smaller ones that fit either in a gloe pocket of in the toe of a boot.....they only last like 4 hours....the 8-10 hr ones ar too hot and will cause condensation.
I use the handwarmers if I am going to be out all day shooting deer, other wildlife and landscapes here in Ks where the winds howl more than any werewolf ever did or does......
I carry my D2X with 70-200 attached in a Lowepro MicroTrekker 200. I don't add any additional padding to the backpack. I have no trouble skiing with it on. It is a bit of a pain on the lifts because you have to get it off and out in front of you before the lift comes (while managing to get into position and deal with your poles), but I always seem to manage. When I have the camera on, I don't ski as aggresively so I don't fall that often, but I have taken a few good spills. In soft snow, I don't even think twice about it. On hard pack (I fell once in a half-pipe - yeah don't ask me what I was doing in a half-pipe with the backpack on, but that's where the kids went so I followed), I've taken some good spills and the combination of the little bit of rigidity of the pack and the padding built in has protected everything fine even when I've rolled. I've never had an issue with the camera. I think you just want to make sure the compartments are adjusted well in the backpack so the camera can't move around inside.
I've often wondered about one of these slings that you can easily switch to front, side or back (for getting on the lift or getting the camera out), but they don't seem as secure while skiing and I like how secure the small backpack is.
For mid-day full sun in the snow, it depends a lot on your metering and the composition and direction of the shot. A centerweighted or spot metered shot that is metering off predominantly sunlit snow will tend to come out 1.5-2 stops underexposed (the meter tries to make the snow be a middle gray) so you need +1.5-2 EV exposure compensation. Matrix metering can be more complicated to know in advance what it will do because the logic of the matrix metering might realize that you have a snow/beach kind of scene and compensate for it. I find there's just no substitute for a test shot and a quick look at the histogram. If I race to the bottom of a hill to catch people in my group coming down a hill, I will always find some other skiier to grab a test shot on and look at the histogram to see where things stand before the real subjects come into range. You can do a lot with very little expertise by just checking the histogram on a test shot and adjusting before the real shot occurs.
Without metering or a histogram that you can check, in general the sunny 16 rule will apply: ISO 100, 1/100, f/16 or ISO 200, 1/200, f/16. So, if you raise the shutter speed to 1/1000 (what I often shoot skiers at), then you'd have something between f/5.6 and f/8 for ISO 200. If you want to make sure an capture good detail in the snow and don't have any deep shadows to worry about, you can underexpose slightly to make sure you don't clip the highlights. If you need good facial detail in the shade, then forget about the snow highlights and go for the facial exposure.
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Some folks even place their pack with their camera in it into a plastic garbage bag to prevent moisture from condensing on the cold camera surfaces when they come back indoors.
I once had frost completely cover the front element of my 500mm f4 while shooting in Bosque. It evaporated as it warmed up in my truck, but it was sure opaque for a while.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
have you tried a sling bag, like the Lowepro ones? I haven't tried taking my dslr out yet, but debating it this winter
Nothing like powder for pics and protection.
Hi,
I've taken the Lowepro 200 sling bag which has been great... not only can it sling round for the lifts (so you don't have to take it off) but you can access the camera without taking the bag off as well. It has an additional strap (essential) for securing it when skiing that is done at the side and an all-weather cover to protect contents in the snow (never had a problem) - so definitely recommended.
For size: it took my Nikon D80 with the 18-135mm kit lens and the 70-300mm lens with room for some extras without any problem (I often carry it around with an SB-800 and sometimes either a 50mm or 10.5mm as well but I don't want too much on my back skiing !).
It also works reasonably as hand-luggage on the plane and can take a paperback just next to the camera !
Away from the packing... I've found a polarizer very useful for skies but watch out for blue snow ! (can't remember the physics but a polarizer can make the snow reaaaaaallllyy blue in a clear sky).
Some pictures (without the blue snow) here if you are interested:
www.chrisol.smugmug.com
Thanks
Chris