Nordic Shooting Tips

[84NETgal]

Okay, try not to be jealous, but I'm going to spend a week in Norway in 6 days.

Bringing the 20d, the 70-200, the 18-55, polarizer, tripod, 4gb microdrive, remote timer, etc.

Any tips on shooting snow? Should I buy an infrared filter (there will be mixed amounts of snow and possibly some greenery, though the chances are slim)? Interesting perspectives? Advice from seasoned cold-weather photographers?

Basically, I'm looking for inspiration and technical guidance. We can call it the "quintessential winter photography guide" if you like. I do have a fjord on location, but seeing as how I can't drive rental car or a stick shift to save my life, my travel means are limited. For background purposes: small town, house on top of a low mountain. beautiful scenery. my only means of self-transportation are walking and cross-country skiing around the rural areas (miles and miles) surrounding the house. Will pack hot chocolate, open faced sandwiches and hardboiled eggs, if necessary.

Ready, Set, ADVICE!

[exposedmedia]

Not sure about shooting in the snow, I'm sure you'll have to watch out so you don't blow it out, watch your histogram. I will suggest though if there is a big temperature difference indoors to outdoors I would watch for condensation on your lenses and your camera. Best to keep it in your bag or better yet put your gear in a plastic bag until the temperature matches that of its surroundings before taking it out. My .02. Have fun!

[LoungeLizard]

From what I've seen (and remember from my days in the COLD), batteries will go fast. Snow...remember that your meter will try to render all that beautiful white snow 10% grey - so compensate accordingly. When I shot with some snow in DC, I set the exposure compensation to +1 to +1.5.

Rircardo's advice on the histogram is right on - but remember that THERE is a lot of white pixels! Don't try to get that beautiful "bell curve" or you'll greatly underexpose.

[popawalker]

Keep your spare batteries in an inside pocket so they stay warm till time to replace. Hope you have more snow than we are seeing right now in Bitburg Germany.Also be careful going from warm building to very cold outside, will cause fogging on the lens.
Hope you have fun and plenty of photos to share when you return.
Steve

[Mike G]

Even better for the batteries get a few chemical hand warmers and keep one in your pocket with the batteries. A few dessicant packs will also come in handy for inside the plastic bag with your camera while going outside to inside or the other way around.

[84NETgal]

Great tips! Yes there will definitely be a big temperature difference--it's currently -10C! unnaturally cold for this time of year, which is my kind of weather :) if i EV+1 or +1.5, will I still retain texture in the snow or do I want to lose that?

Also, what about long exposures on tripods, for sunrise/sunsets?

[Wendy]

No photo tips, since I avoid cold weather at all costs.

I did want to say have a great time, though! Where in Norway will you be? We go over every couple of years to visit my husband's family. He has a cabin that we stay in just outside of Halden (little town south of Oslo) where all his family is from. It sits up on a mountain top overlooking a fjord with Sweden on the other side. It's just an amazingly beautiful place!!! There are quite a few of those settings in Norway!

We went over one year in early - mid May so I could see the 17th of May Norwegian independence celebration. It was way too cold for me then. Now we only go during July. Chris and now my kids really want to go during winter to see all the snow. I tell them I will not be joining them on that trip.

I can't wait to see your snow photos, though! I will be eagerly awaiting them!!! I can not imagine how beautiful it must be.

[84NETgal]

Hi Wendy!! Thanks for the well-wishing, I do know I'll have a blast! I'll be in a small town in the Hallingdal area 3 hrs outside of Oslo in our cabin. It too is on a mountain top overlooking a small fjord, with a view of a year-round-snowtopped mountain. We like easter because it's supposed to be not as bitterly cold, but with snow still on the ground--perfect for xcountry skiing. however, very very cold temperatures at the moment. Hope it warms up a little, but not too much! :) it's about -10C which translates to also about +10F, to get some perspective. Brr!

[84NETgal]

A view from our cabin, in the winter of 2004-2005.

[84NETgal]

any word on what people think about long exposures on a tripod in nordic weather?

[pfritzd]

something that may help in the glow of white snow is a grey card

[Gordon]

You've had a lot of good advice. Long exposures in cold climates are tricky due to the batteries dying so quickly. Though if you are talking about just typical sunrise/set long exposures you should be fine. If you have two batteries you can swap them around when one dies and stick it in a warm pocket to come back somewhat to life. Keep them warm when not in use.

If you have a metal tripod, then pipe insulation is worth getting to put around at least one leg for carrying. The cold from metal will 'seep' through any gloves pretty quickly. Pipe insulation is cheap from home depot.

Condensation is an issue going from cold to warm. ziploc bags around the camera/ lenses are worth having to keep the moisture out. Make sure they've warmed up to room temp before taking them out (about an hour or two). Weirdly enough I've had the same problems in summer in Austin, going from airconditioning to outdoors...

-10C isn't too bad. I've had digital cameras working fine at -40C. Some times the LCD will freeze slightly but that should recover without any problems when you get back to room temp.

Try to avoid breathing on the back of the camera when composing, as that'll freeze on the camera.

Metering for snow - like people have said +1 to +2 will be required and will depend partly on the light and partly on the amount of snow in the scene. If it is all snow, then you'll need to meter more than if it was only half snow.

Easier is to switch to a spot(ish) mode, meter on your brightest part in the scene and set that at +2 stops over any metered reading. Check your histograms to make sure it the results are mostly to the right, but not pushed far over to the right (which would show clipping) Switch on highlight clipping warnings if possible - if it all flashes white you are in trouble, if bits flash that might be okay (bit scene dependant)

+1 & +1.5 should retain most of the texture in the snow (again fairly lightly/ time dependant) Early morning with lower light will give you more texture in the snow than when the sun is higher, though it probably doesn't get too high in Norway anyway at this time of year.

[84NETgal]

Thanks for the invaluable advice! I will take all of those precautionary measures. You're right about the sun, it doesn't rise much higher than the mountains, and there's only a 4-7 hr window of sunlight during the winter season (more near 6 probably now that we're past the middle of winter) so i don't envision myself being outdoors for any significant amount of time. :) probably won't catch any aurora borealis this time of year (i have before in norway just not at this time) but with the crazy weather they're having, maybe. if the atmosphere miles high will agree to cooperate with me.

thanks again guys!

[Gordon]

I remembered something else I do in cold weather - if I'm going to be taking pictures I'll wear two pairs of gloves.

One very thin pair of glove liners, with fingers, that I can work camera controls with. Then one thicker, warmer pair of mitts that I could never work a camera with. This means I'm never using anything with bare hands and can stick my hands back in the mitts pretty quickly to keep them mostly warm.

[84NETgal]

Great idea gordon--we usually use mittens in such cold weather because they're exponentially warmer than gloves, but working controls in mittens should be an olympic event!

and a big ALSO*** >> How friendly are airport security and flight officials etc about me taking my camera bag on board? Obviously packing my tripod, but can i take my camera essentials with me in the cabin? I don't like the idea of "security" opening my luggage and rifling through my expensive equipment--there are horror stories concerning some dishonest individuals pocketing whatever fits their fancy.