Snowstorm

sarasphotos

A couple of days ago we had a good snowstorm, so I thought it might be a good opportunity to improve my snow-shooting skills. I did a bit of reading, set up the tripod on our balcony and followed some of the tips (manual focus, fast shutter speed, over-exposure). Here's what I came up with:

1)

2)

3)

4)

C & C welcome!

PJPhoto

We don't get much snow around here so I'm not an expert on shooting the white stuff, but I think they are a little too bright and the snow looks washed out. I appreciate it is very difficult to get right though, and as mentioned I've not done much snow landscapes!

That said the last shot in the series works really well - that's a really nice composition. The leaning tree on the left brings you into a nice & pleasing image.

denisegoldberg

My favorite shot of the set is 4 - it has a sense of motion to it.
2 is a close second.

Snow is hard! I find that I need to relearn snow photos every winter...

Cornflake

I like these, except for the first; the branch on the right in that one is distracting and even jarring. Otherwise, the high-key effect and the softness work well. The fourth probably works best for me. Keep it up!

kurzvorzwoelf

Number #4 also works very well for me. I'd just consider increasing contrast a little, maybe by lowering shadows or rasing up the blacks. On the other hand, it has a very nice effect as it is - if you look at it for a while, it's almost as getting snow blind. That's a very nice effect.

Number #3 has its unique charme due to the washed out scene. I like this one too.

For Number #2, I think a 16:9 crop cutting off the distracting bottom elements (the two rows of grass in the foreground) could work quite well!

That all being said, number #1's foreground is a little distracting too me and therefore doesn't work for me.

And I hope that snow doesn't turn in downright chaos in Bavaria! Luckily, in Stuttgart we didn't get that much snow as of now.

Stumblebum

Great Sara! #2 and #4 are precious! Cheerrs!

Cornflake

I hope I'm not derailing this, but what's hard about photographing snow? I know why a snowy scene will mislead automatic metering. Is there another difficulty?

denisegoldberg

@Cornflake said:
I hope I'm not derailing this, but what's hard about photographing snow? I know why a snowy scene will mislead automatic metering. Is there another difficulty?

no, that's it!

sarasphotos

Thank you all for taking the time to comment! All points of view are appreciated.

@PJPhoto Although I confess to have popped the whites a bit as an editorial choice, but it was almost this white outside.
@Cornflake I can see how that branch in the first photo makes no sense to "outsiders". That willow tree is a huge part of the view from our balcony so for me it is always a context point.
@denisegoldberg ...for me the other difficulty with photographing in falling snow is deciding on the focus point, e.g. 3) the snowflakes in front of you or 4) the trees in the distance.
@kurzvorzwoelf just for you I've re-edited number 2. Here are two different crops:

I confess I think I like the original best, as I find it gives me more of a sense of depth. But then, "chacun à son goût"...

BTW, it's not so bad yet here in Bavaria - the previous snowfall melted and it's just starting again. There's not quite enough snow for our local cross-country ski runs, but perhaps next week.

kurzvorzwoelf

@sarasphotos said:

I confess I think I like the original best, as I find it gives me more of a sense of depth. But then, "chacun à son goût"...

You're right, it's better in the original ratio/crop with the space of snow below. Not everyone's cup of tea, but how about cloning the grass plants out?

BTW, it's not so bad yet here in Bavaria - the previous snowfall melted and it's just starting again. There's not quite enough snow for our local cross-country ski runs, but perhaps next week.

It started to snow tonight here as well, and doesn't seem to stop either. Maybe I'm lucky enough to be able to take some pictures in the snow as well :-)

denisegoldberg

@sarasphotos said:
I confess I think I like the original best, as I find it gives me more of a sense of depth. But then, "chacun à son goût"...

I also prefer the original. It might be interesting to see how it looks with the plants on the bottom right removed but retaining the aspect ratio of the original photo.

roaddog52

A very nice set of images. I am partial to #2 as is, or with the first crop. #2 reminds me of some of Russell Chatham's Montana painting.

Phil

sarasphotos

Thanks for stopping by to comment, Phil!