exposing for snowscapes

LCPete

LCPete

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Hi am hoping to get out and shoot some snow landscapes in snowdonia at the weekend plan is to shoot a waterfall with the mountain inthe background

If I've got it the right way round I need to overexpose , plus exposure compensation to get the snow white don't want grey snow !
Is that right ?
I will.bracket the exposure anyway hoping to get nice blurry water so will be on a slow shutter speed
I've got a 4 stop nd and a polarizer will probably need both I guess as it will be bright with the snow
 
LCPete said:
If I've got it the right way round I need to overexpose , plus exposure compensation to get the snow white don't want grey snow !
Is that right ?
Click to expand...

Yep, that's right. I tend to meter off the snow and add about a stop and a half.
 
Brilliant thanks Simon :)
Hoping to get a bit of sun to light up the snow , forecast is not too good tho but will try anyway:)
 
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I go with one stop over and use RAW so you can tweak a bit more either way easily.
It depends on the scene, not every snow photo is lots of brilliant white.
 
4wd said:
I go with one stop over and use RAW so you can tweak a bit more either way easily.
It depends on the scene, not every snow photo is lots of brilliant white.
Click to expand...

Thanks I do always shoot in raw :)
 
LCPete said:
Hi am hoping to get out and shoot some snow landscapes in snowdonia at the weekend plan is to shoot a waterfall with the mountain inthe background

If I've got it the right way round I need to overexpose ,
Click to expand...

I know what you mean, but no. You need to expose correctly, but that will probably mean adding exposure to what the meter is telling you ;)

plus exposure compensation to get the snow white don't want grey snow !
Is that right ?
I will.bracket the exposure anyway hoping to get nice blurry water so will be on a slow shutter speed
I've got a 4 stop nd and a polarizer will probably need both I guess as it will be bright with the snow
Click to expand...

Yes, adding a stop or stop and a half to the meter reading will, ball park, get you near to correct, but it depends how much white snow occupies the frame and how you're metering it.

The way I'd do it is to have blinkies enabled and push the exposure up until they're just flashing on the brightest areas, then back it off a smidge until they stop. Then you're safe, but will have optimised light capture on the sensor to give max leeway in post processing.
 
Thanks Richard :)
I do try to remember to expose to the right have found that it does help
Was not sure how to go tho with large white areas (snow )
Have already got blinkies set and will bracket as well
Am glad I posted as I normally bracket plus and minus half a stop for landscapes so may well have got it wrong
I will bracket around plus one stop as suggested :)
I only do landscapes occasionally but should do more living in north Wales :)
 
Just a quick example to show what sort of exposure time gives what sort of milkiness to a waterfall. This one was shot at 1/4s at lunchtime using a relatively wide aperture. The fall drops into a deep and quite gloomy bowl, hence I was able to get the relatively long exposure using just a polariser to drop the light. Being a bear of very little brane, I had left my external flash at the top of the steps down and the onboard didn't have the power to light the dark, wet rocks! Looking forward to going back for a reshoot.

DSCF02841.jpg


An extra 3 3/4s exposure doesn't add much milkiness!

DSCF0281.jpg
 
Just an update on how I got on
I was planning to go yesterday but checked the webcam the morning before I left (at Ogwen (Snowdonia)) and the snow had mostly gone:'(
So I went to Chester zoo instead , there was plenty of snow there :)
So the advice did come in handy:)
I found that I needed plus 2/3 to 1 exposure, 1 1/3 was too much but that was I think because the was a cheetah in frame so did not need as much compensation
Still hoping to go to Ogwen there is plenty of time yet this winter for a bit of snow , just hope its there on my days off !
thanks again for the help:)

ps posted the zoo pics in the zoo section
pps thanks Nod for the waterfall info forgot to reply before, looks like a good place
 
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It's a lovely place. Half way between Tintagel and Boscastle. Lovely valley walk from the car park up to the visitor centre and not too hard a climb down the stairs (and back up again) to the foot of the falls. I had taken my travelling kit rather than the full SLR bag (for weight reasons) but will take the SLR next time for extra control. Looking forward to the trip.
 
Nod said:
It's a lovely place. Half way between Tintagel and Boscastle. Lovely valley walk from the car park up to the visitor centre and not too hard a climb down the stairs (and back up again) to the foot of the falls. I had taken my travelling kit rather than the full SLR bag (for weight reasons) but will take the SLR next time for extra control. Looking forward to the trip.
Click to expand...

thanks may well be down there this year:)
Mother in law lives in Cornwall now:)
 
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