Winter Fresh

Gallery: LandscapePosted February 21, 2011224 views22 comments

Shooting in winter is hard work! Between shoveling my way out of campsites, keeping the camera and lens clean and dry, slogging around in knee deep powder, I'm tired! I was a little unsettled about going to sleep as snow that amounted to more than a foot fell through the night. I had trouble getting out of my site the previous morning, and it looked to be worse for the one to come. That might not be much of a deal to many of you, but I have little experience with this type of situation. But I was glad I didn't give in to the urge to leave the day before. I awoke to amazing pristine conditions this morning, as everything was compleately covered in fresh snow!

Large version included, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

D200,
18-70mm,
.8sec, F/13, +1.5 stops exposure comp(is this normal for snow/all white subjects?)

Thanks,
Chris

Comments

22 comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on February 21, 2011 at 5:38 PM

Gorgeous scene Chris. I really like the comp, with the small bare branches in front of the larger bare trees. Processing looks great too.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on February 21, 2011 at 5:51 PM

This is a beauty, Chris. Good you decided to stay. I think this made it worth your while. I over expose that much often with all snow shots, so for me that would be pretty normal. Just to get the snow back to more of a white than gray. Nice work..I like this!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Barry Vangrov on February 21, 2011 at 5:54 PM

Nicely composed and it looks to me like you got the exposure correct. Well done.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 148 Posts, 749 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on February 21, 2011 at 6:20 PM

Real nice, Chris.

It sure did dump thick, heavy snow. I am surprised I only saw one tree down.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Joseph Rossbach on February 21, 2011 at 6:43 PM

Beautiful winter intimate Chris!!!!

Registered on November 25, 2005, 484 Posts, 1377 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on February 21, 2011 at 6:47 PM

IMO your exposure is right on. I've been told by some of the best that +1.5 to +2.0 comp is normal for snow. I live in the stuff six months of the year and still have trouble with the white balance. You nailed this one. Very nicely done

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on February 21, 2011 at 7:10 PM

Chris,

Dang, guess I missed another photo opportunity..

Glad you and the others made it though.

This is a lovely and intimate little winter landscape. I like the depth created by the little pines up front, then the main tree, then the background. Well seen.

As the self appointed Color Correction Officer, I do notice a slight, and very slight greenish/cyan cast overall. Not so noticeable in the smaller version. I'm wondering if anyone else is picking up on that?

Looking forward to more images from your trip.

Lon

ps. Yes, it is normal to overexpose 1.5 stops from your camera's reading. Remember, all meters will try and render the exposure value for neutral gray. To get white snow, you need to overexpose from what your camera's meter is telling you.

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Vincent on February 21, 2011 at 8:03 PM

This looks great Chris and as winter winds down by me, I do miss the sparkling white fresh snow.

Great capture. The different size trees all add up to a wonderful little scene.

Well done

Registered on February 5, 2009, 199 Posts, 2775 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on February 21, 2011 at 8:22 PM

Very nice image Chris. I really like the composition with the 3 layers of trees. I agree with Lon about the image having a slight cyan cast. I prefer a bit more blue and magenta in my winter scenes, but I feel a lot of the processing of winter scenes is subjective.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on February 21, 2011 at 9:28 PM

Hi Chris

A beautiful snowscape! This fine composition captured the beauty of winter

Albert Darmo. Canada

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on February 21, 2011 at 9:33 PM

Shooting is winter can be difficult, but then you also get images like this one to make it worthwhile.

- Dan.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on February 21, 2011 at 9:52 PM

Wow, that's some snow. Glad you toughed it out.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on February 21, 2011 at 11:05 PM

Man oh man, Chris, this is simply fantastic. Wonderful composition with exquisite lines; isolating the smaller trees against the larger trees and background works so very well. Aside from the superb graphic appeal, one can really sense how the trees are creaking under the weight of all that snow. Love it.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Gabi Lach on February 22, 2011 at 9:56 AM

I take this kind of winter at any time!

Beautiful capture, Chris. It could be a great postcard or book cover.

Registered on May 1, 2007, 101 Posts, 3187 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on February 22, 2011 at 12:25 PM

Really nice comp for this intimate winter scene Chris, the fresh snow clinging to every branch is just great. I do notice a slight cyan cast in the large version. Exposure looks good.

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Pam Colander on February 22, 2011 at 1:29 PM

It would be nice to see some more separation between the BG and the three FG subjects, but would be nearly impossible to do. Pretty conditions.

Registered on December 7, 2006, 210 Posts, 1062 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on February 22, 2011 at 6:18 PM

A beautiful winter scene, Chris.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Adam Gibbs on February 22, 2011 at 7:57 PM

Quite beautiful Chris, well worth the extra effort.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 168 Posts, 870 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on February 22, 2011 at 8:54 PM

You should shoot this in shorts and a t-shirt--then get video of your shoot and post it on Youtube.

Fantastic shot, Chris!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Duval on February 22, 2011 at 10:49 PM

Worth the pain, this is truly another amazing winter and your out in it capturing it. Hat's off to you and X2 all the previous accolades. Chris, keep at it despite the discomfort, you'll always be warm and dry at home and these opportunities are rare. For my second honeymoon in Yosemite in December in 2008 there was no snow at all.

I'm green with envy.

Paul

Registered on June 30, 2009, 508 Posts, 1907 Comments

Comment posted by Jason Kim on February 23, 2011 at 6:12 PM

Glad to see you managed the conditions, your effort was well-rewarded. This is excellent, the framing helps to control the chaos in the snow-covered forest and this works very nice.

Registered on July 1, 2006, 60 Posts, 1233 Comments

Comment posted by Jimmy Gekas on February 24, 2011 at 2:12 AM

Very nice...very, very nice! Glad you got a good dumping and made it out of your campsite ok.

Registered on July 26, 2007, 244 Posts, 2807 Comments