SNOW, SNOW AND MORE SNOW!

[pbelarge]

Yesterday, last night and today we had approximately 20" of new snow over the 8" on the ground. I snapped a ton of photos, but it I have found out this winter, that snapping photos while it is snowing is not easy.
It is still snowing, but the light is increasing. It will only be light enough for maybe 2 more hours, then the lighting is tough.

What do you guys use for settings while the snow is still falling?
I have a T1i, 18-55mm lens. I have it on manual, and I am shooting with bracketing. I am centered at +1. I am not too unhappy with the EV, but the falling flakes make it look almost blurry...not blurry on the lens though, as I am constantly cleaning the lens, during and after each shot.

Thanks for any help.

BTW: The snow is wet and sticking to limbs like glue, it is a very cool affect that I have not seen in decades around here.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Capturing snow is a challenge.

This image, was exactly what I wanted, just the slight blur, to give the idea of motion. I took several, resulting in long soft streaks, to stopped in time. This I believe is the best. Also note that closer snow blurs more than distant snow.

ISO 400
1/250
f/8
Tamron 28-75mm 2.8

This one, I feel captures the quantity of the snow better than the velocity.
ISO 400
1/2500
f/2.8
Tamron 28-75mm 2.8

Does that give you any ideas?

 

[gardy90]

i saw a video on youtube about shooting in the snow, one tip that i found usefull is set a costom WB and over expose by 1-1.5 stops, and use a lens hood, unless its like WY and snow comes down sideways hehe

 

[reznap]

That's a great shot, Bitter. Thanks for the tips!

Also +1 on lens hood, unless you want blurry globs all over your photo.

 

[pbelarge]

Bitter
I understand exactly what you were explaining, only because I have shot so many photos in the last 2 months in lots of snowy conditions.

I still struggle with the proper settings...hopefully I will get much better within the next year or so.

I also am lacking in some items, such as a lens hood. I should have one, yet I don't. I did purchase a nice Manfrotto tripod though:mrgreen:

I went back out this afternoon hoping the snow had stopped...no such luck. And, it was too dangerous to enter the wooded areas as limbs and trees have been coming down all day, and it is not even windy yet.

 

[pbelarge]

I see from this shot, that to get the flakes white, I may need to raise my ISO to 400. I have been shooting mostly at 200.

Bitter, did you do any PP on this shot?

 

[gardy90]

maybe you could do a DIY hood, maybe some light cardboard like card stock or somthing, could use just a rubber band to hold it on

 

[Ron Evers]

Shot this one today:

ISO 200, f5.6, 1/250s

 

[myfotoguy]

pbelarge- I don't know if you need to raise your ISO from 200-400. If your snow is gray looking, then that would give you one stop more exposure, which would brighten the snow and make it more white. But it could be that you open the aperture, or decrease the shutter speed.

As for getting the snow falling, I think it helps when the flakes are big (obviously) and there is some contrast in the background. From looking at examples, it appears above 1/250 starts to "freeze" the falling snow, but that will of course change based on how fast the snow is falling that day.

This was shot 1/320 at f/5, ISO 200, Aperture Priority, +1.0 EV, Center Weighted Metering, 150mm with a hood on

 

[pbelarge]

Thanks to all who have responded, I really do appreciate it. I like when the photos are posted and the details are listed, this really helps me. The only way it would be better, if I was there with all of you.

 

[Ron Evers]

Here is a shot this morning - ISO 200, 135mm @ f5.6 & 1/500s.

 

[pbelarge]

Ron
You have a really good eye, love that shot.

 

[Dominantly]

It's going to be all about your metering and white balance.
Yadda yadda yadda, camera looks for 18" neutral gray reflectance, freaks out when large portions of the subject are on either extreme of your Histogram. It will freak out and try and make your white, neutral gray, giving most people that dirty, dull snow.

How to work with it? Well, a custom (manual White balance) WB, and a manual exposure off a gray card are steps in the right direction.

 

[Dominantly]

Capturing snow is a challenge.

This image, was exactly what I wanted, just the slight blur, to give the idea of motion. I took several, resulting in long soft streaks, to stopped in time. This I believe is the best. Also note that closer snow blurs more than distant snow.

ISO 400
1/250
f/8
Tamron 28-75mm 2.8

Does that give you any ideas?

That first photo is pretty darn sweet my friend!

 

[Jeremy Z]

Another thing you could try that hasn't been mentioned is to force the flash on.

There is a big difference between taking pictures while it's snowing vs. taking pictures after it has finished.

You have to decide first on how white you want the snow; that will be a matter of how much over exposure to dial in. Most times when it is snowing, it is overcast. Make sure you set your white balance accordingly.

You can have neat effects whether you freeze the snow mid-air with a faster shutter speed or slow it down a bit and let it blur.

I'm not that familiar with your camera, but maybe it has a special snow mode? Some have a "sand and beach" mode. If it does, set it there and take some pix. See if you like how they come out. If so, you can look at the EXIF data in the JPG file and see how the camera set itself up.

Another thing you should consider doing is posting the pix you're not happy with. We can look at the pix and the EXIF data and see what's going on. Otherwise, we're kind of like mechanics trying to diagnose car problems over the phone.