|
December
15, 2007
Winter
Red-rock, Slick-rock Photography
The red-rock, high deserts of The Western states
(Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada)
seem more surreal in winter. Snow can cover the
ground, patches of ice coat slick-rock where
snow-melt flows, or crust a pool, and frost can
grace trees and sage brush with fanciful sparkle.
The white contrast of frozen water in all forms with
the deeply toned earthy reds, buffs, browns, and
golds of the exposed geology form an essence unique
to this place and season. In one sense, like a mask,
frozen water conceals details beneath while
softening shape and texture to dazzle with
distracting brightness.
Photographing the white of
desert winter reminds me of the studio exercise of
imaging a white egg on a white saucer with the
addition of a black and white checker board beneath.
The strong contrast demands controlling studio
lighting to render shape, texture and tonal quality
while rendering the essence of each element. Making
pictures in the snow-covered red-rock desert
landscape demands great attention to light, shadow
and emphasis of snow or exposed geology in the
scene.
 When
snow, frost or ice dominate both foreground and
beyond, selecting the point of view most favorable
to the bright aspects under given illumination will
most likely produce pleasing results. When the
reverse is true, dark tones and red-rock dominating
the view, exposing for the medium tones will likely
prove most pleasing.
Now consider the bottom of a
dimly lit slot canyon with an interesting ice patter
capping a still pool. Controlling reflections and
rendering highlights of the glints from the ice
texture will yield something pleasing from a close
up perspective. If too great a distance were chosen
for the viewing perspective, the spectacular
qualities of the ice will likely be lost in the dim
light. A wide angle view can keep the ice close
while rendering the scene in pleasing context.
Winter
Shooting Tips
Winter offers
opportunities for beautiful scenery and backdrops for photographic adventures. Winter conditions also present a couple
of challenges to keep in mind when venturing out for a day of
photography in the snow: Temperature and Light.
Temperature
Cold temperatures cause batteries to drain more quickly than we
might be accustom. Spare batteries will allow prolonged shooting
sessions.
By keeping the spares warm will assure maximum capacity
when they are required. Keeping them in a pocket close to the body. In some cases it will help to rotate
batteries periodically to allow them to recover in a warm place.
Another consideration on cold days will prevent moisture from
condensing on and inside of your camera. When you return from your
chilly day out, protect your camera in a protective bag before
going into a warm room. Allowing the camera to warm up for an hour
or so before using it in the warm building will prevent moisture
from entering camera components.
Light
The bright white snow that makes scenery so beautiful can also
spoil photographs, by making the subject look too dark. Camera
exposure systems, and light meters “see” the bright snow as medium
gray. Light readings directly from snowy scenes would result in
underexposing the scene. Compensating for this potential exposure
error simply requires a wider lens opening or slower shutter
speed. Manual cameras can be set to the wider opening of between 1
and 2 f-stops. This range usually suffices. Most automatic cameras
have an exposure compensation feature +/- that can be set to
accomplish a similar result. Refer to your user's guide to see if
your particular model has this setting, and where to find it. Look
for this symbol
 ,
and set the exposure compensation lower, to counter the extremely
bright light that can reflect off of the snow.
I'm preparing to head out for some
more high desert winter work in slot canyons,
red-rock and slick-rock and frozen deep canyon
photography. When I get back I will put up
some new images to consider.
Winter
Exhibition
Exhibiting my work always
challenges with opportunities for creating and
selecting new work and preparing it for people
to see as a themed grouping. Fine
presentation really makes a difference in the
total look of each piece of work and how people
perceive the value of the work. Even the
finest image, poorly prepared for show will fall
short in perceived value without careful
finishing.
Beginning with making the image
in the camera, I strive not only to make a
photograph, but do all possible to make a
sharply focused and accurately rendered image.
This means care in framing the view, eliminating
any unnatural motion in the picture such as
camera vibration by always using a tripod with
the camera. In addition, keeping the
camera clean both inside and out goes a long way
toward eliminating extraneous imperfections in
the original image.
With a background in photography
rooted in medium and large format film where
keeping the camera and sheet film clean from the
time the film is loaded into the film holder (in
the dark) to the time it is processed after
exposure I maintain similar practices now with
digital photography. While touching up the
image after exposure is a more efficient and
accurate process now in the virtual darkroom
than with film printing, care and cleanliness
from exposure to finial printing results in a
higher quality photograph.
Cheers!
Let me know what you think.
Click here to contribute your input. |
