Snowboard Photography Tips

Jeremy Winterberg

So, this year I plan on taking my camera with me when I hit the slopes. The resorts open this weekend in Wisconsin!! I will be taking stills and video with my 5DMKII. Obviously, when I have my camera I wont be doing anything crazy or going fast, but what are some good pointers to make sure the camera makes it home safely at the end of the night? As well as come home with some killer pics and video footage of course .

Some things I'm wondering include:

• Proper transfer techniques from warm inside -> cold outside -> warm inside.
• When I dont want to use my camera, and want to have fun, where would be the best place to store it? (my guess is locked in my truck)
• How to balance the bright white snow with a dark snowboarder without blowing out the snow (too badly at least)
• Gloves that work well in freezing temps but thin enough to press the shutter release.
• Any other tips seeing as I'm not a sports photographer

I have some ideas about these things, but I'd like to hear from you sports people. Oh, and to make this fun, post your favorite snowboarding picture you've taken if you have one.

I'd like to see this turn into a Help Everyone type of thread, so add all of your knowledge on the subject so other noobs like me can learn too.

Zerodog

Here is what I have found from just starting to do this myself.
#1 good pack.
#2 carry what you need. Do not bring all your crap.
#3 make sure your friends understand not to hose you. More on this later
#4 remember to close your bag.

I went out with a buddy for some preseason backcountry riding a few weeks ago. We had 2 feet of fresh snow and it was epic powder. For a pack I am using an Fstop Loka. This pack is almost perfect for ski touring and is perfect for in resort riding. It carries the load like nothing and is not too big.

It was an overcast/ snowy day. We got to the top and I told my buddy what to do. We were riding a nice chute. I went down first and situated myself behind a small rock outcrop and a few trees to be a little more protected from avalanche danger. And I got out the camera and yelled for him to come down. All went great. Wished I had a longer lens than the 17-55. Missed a lot of great action because he was just too far. He got closer and closer then did a huge turn 10ft above me. All I saw was white and a huge wave of snow shot over me. I was like, "WHAT THE FUCK!!!" I am standing there with my d300s and a 17-55 2.8 covered in snow up to my waist. The lens hood was packed with snow. I look down at my pack, which was under 2 feet of snow, and by the way, I did not zip back up. It was full of snow too. WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So anyway the lessons learned from this are. Zip up the Pack. Always. Tell the buddies to NEVER EVER EVER hose you with snow. So a longer lens will be good to get close without being close.

The good part was that it was really cold. I scooped the snow out of the camera, and the bag and put it away. There was still a lot of snow in the bag. But none of it melted. There was even a little ice on the camera when I took it out back at the truck. So all was fine, no water no problems.

Here are a few photos.




The hosing!

Mike J

Great questions and I love seeing people think about snow already. Mt Hood opened up a week ago and we got our first day in yesterday.

Jeremy Winterberg wrote: »

Some things I'm wondering include:

• Proper transfer techniques from warm inside -> cold outside -> warm inside.

It's the cold outside to warm inside transition that you need to worry about - condensation. Here's something that I came across a while ago (from http://www.ritzcamera.com/static/articles/tips/winter-photo.html):

Now it's time to come back indoors. Here's where condensation can be a problem. You've seen moisture condense on a cool glass of water on a hot summer day. Your lens and the film inside the camera behave the same way when you bring them inside – moisture from the warm inside air condenses on their cold surfaces. The lens can become completely covered with moisture, as can the film and the mechanical and electrical components inside the camera. You don't want moisture – water! – on your lens or inside the camera. So how can you avoid this problem?

Let your camera warm up slowly. Place it on a cool windowsill or an unheated porch for a couple of hours so it can rise slowly to room temperature. Since condensation can play havoc with an all-electronic camera, you want even greater protection for them. This is where the suggestion of wrapping a cold camera in a plastic bag comes into play. The moisture will settle on the outside of the bag rather than on the camera's outside and inside surfaces. You can protect the delicate electronics this way. In fact, it's best if you place the bag on the camera while still outside, not when you bring the camera in.

I use large ziploc bags and have never had a problem. I put the camera in the bags and the bags in the pack and let everything warm up to gether.
Also remember that your batteries are going to drain faster in the cold.

• When I dont want to use my camera, and want to have fun, where would be the best place to store it? (my guess is locked in my truck)

Locked up in your truck (out of site) or in a locker at the resort. We have a season locker at the resort so when I'm not shooting, it is in the locker.

• How to balance the bright white snow with a dark snowboarder without blowing out the snow (too badly at least)

• Sunny day with the rider backlight by the sun - You'll need to choose your poison ( or use high-speed sync flash)
• Sunny day with the rider frontlight - expose for the snow and all will be well
• Overcast day - expose for the snow

As you know, the camera's meter is going to get fooled by the snow and on its own will underexpose the snow. Lot's of people will say to add 1 or 2 stops to compensate and this is a good starting point.

My technique that I use for ski racing is to shoot in manual. I'll zoom in on just the snow and set the exposure for about a stop over. I'll then check the histogram and the blinkies on the LCD. I want to blow out a little of the snow - have a few blinkies and get the histogram spike for the snow as far to the right as possible. I shoot RAW so I know that I can recover that with no problem and not lose any highlights. I'll adjust the settings as needed to get a few bkinkies to show up.

• Gloves that work well in freezing temps but thin enough to press the shutter release.

I use glove liners.

Other thoughts:

• When I'm out skiing hard, I leave the DSLR behind and put a P&S in my jacket pocekt. When I have my D300 with me, I going out to photograph something specific like a race event. In this case, my skis are my transporation. In other words, when I have the D300 and lenses wtih me, I don't push too hard.
• Backgrounds - This may be my preference only but I don't like to shoot and have all white backgrounds. I prefer the sky, trees, or something else. This means getting low (kneel or lay in the snow) and choose your spots carefully.
• A 70-200 or an 80-200 should work for most of what you want to do. 300mm is probably the longest that you will need. Like any sports photography, fast glass is a plus. I tend to shoot ski racing between f/2.8 and f/4.0.
• I like to keep shutter speeds as high as possible > 1/1250
• Shoot in burst mode and learn how your camera's focus tracking system works. I shoot Nikon so I can't give you any suggestions on how to set-up your Canon. I'd be happy to share my Nikon set-up with anyone that is interested.

Best tip is to just have fun and enjoy the outdoors!

You can check out last year's ski racing shots at: http://www.mikejulianaphotography.com/Ski-Racing

JSPhotography

Don't forget to pull your cards and batteries out of your camera before putting it in the zip lock bag. Then you can download and charge up without cracking open the bag.

Jeremy Winterberg

I went snowboarding from 2-9:30pm yesterday, so much fun. I didn't take my camera with though. I'm going again this thursday and it will be coming along for sure. Thanks for the tips, keep em coming!

lstzephyr

Zerodog- can I ask who the rider is? He looks familiar, but then almost all snowboarders do in all their kit.

Zerodog

It is my buddy Kevin P.

Tharhawk

• Proper transfer techniques from warm inside -> cold outside -> warm inside.

Don't take your camera out in a building that is warm(er) and muggy. If you do get it fogged up, put it in your bag and don't try and clean it up until you are outside. If it is really bad, it will clear up on its own.

• When I don't want to use my camera, and want to have fun, where would be the best place to store it? (my guess is locked in my truck)

A backpack....in my case...or I guess a locker at the ski area would work if you don't like carrying anything.

• How to balance the bright white snow with a dark snowboarder without blowing out the snow (too badly at least)

Light is everything...and there is no easy fix. I usually use exposure compensation of around +1 on shutter priority.

• Gloves that work well in freezing temps but thin enough to press the shutter release.

It is usually best to take them off for a quick moment, then put them on. I would have an extra pair in my pack for when the others are too wet and cold.

• Any other tips seeing as I'm not a sports photographer

Your subjects, boarders in this case, have to know which way to turn, where then need to be and body position (frontside or backside). As with any turning, they need to remember to turn above you, then turn around you, not to the side, then traverse toward you...at least when they need to be close. It makes for a bad turn that is unnatural. Let the subject know where to be...between what objects and how far away...10,20, 30 feet out? Remember that 500 is your max min on speed. Although, 1000 or higher is optimal, especially if it is a side shot rather than a boarder coming toward or away from you. In other words, looking straight up or down. Don't chase the boarder with your camera. Instead know where they are going to be because you told them, and wait for the moment! Then you have it...a great image. Well, you hope ;-)

This is a quick and dirty response, but I hope it helps some.