Taking photos in the snow...and some C&C

[dormfab]

Snow began to fall last night and I set out to try and capture the snow-globe type effect I was seeing. It didn't take long to figure out that the long exposure times required turned the snow into a very faint haze falling down, and it was extremely difficult keeping flakes off of the lens. Here is about the only picture that turned out, not sure which one I like better.

Now for the onslaught of questions that came up. Any tips for taking pictures when there's a good chance of getting snow or rain on the lens? Would adding snow in PS be cheating? Should white balance be set to capture the orange-y street lights the way they really are, or adjust to make them and their light appear white? I'd appreciate any advice you could give.

 

[MelodySoul]

Ugh snow! Where are you located?

I think you should keep it true to how it looked, so if it really was yellow then leave it like that.

 

[Steph]

Would adding snow in PS be cheating?

I guess you could do it but it might not look natural. Alternatively, you could use flash to stop the movements of snow flakes but you might not like the effect (Click for an example).

Should white balance be set to capture the orange-y street lights the way they really are, or adjust to make them and their light appear white?

That's YOUR decision. It depends on how YOU want the scene to look. It is part of the image making to take this kind of decisions

 

[dormfab]

Ugh snow! Where are you located?

Southern Minnesnowta

 

[Synnove]

I like the black and white one. It looks more wintery and snowy than with the yellow of the second one.

 

[jwsciontc]

looks like rain

 

[AduNeButt]

Both pictures are great. The only problem is, as someone said, it looks more just like bad rain than snow. Really nice pictures though.

 

[Brutus]

I like the black and white one better.

 

[SlimPaul]

black and white definitely matches the scene and looks better. Great shot!

 

[Ron Evers]

You need a fast shutter to stop the snow flakes which is not likely possible in the conditions you had.

This is a pic I took here in the great-white-north on Oct. 21/08
ISO 200
f 3.5
s 1/500

 

[Early]

Any tips for taking pictures when there's a good chance of getting snow or rain on the lens?

You can wrap it in plastic, cutting out holes for the eyepiece and lens. And use a protective filter on the lens.

Would adding snow in PS be cheating?

Whatever floats your boat. Or sinks it. What I'm saying is, if doing stuff like that adds to your enjoyment of photography, then what the hey!

 

[dormfab]

You can wrap it in plastic, cutting out holes for the eyepiece and lens. And use a protective filter on the lens.

Not a bad idea

If doing stuff like that adds to your enjoyment of photography, then what the hey!

I tend to make a distinction between touching a picture up, and doing all out surgery on it, and it largely depends on the photo in question. In this case, I don't think I would even try it because it wouldn't look right. Either way, I tend to think of large alterations as crossing the line from photography into graphic arts.

 

[amira]

I definitely like the black and white one better. falling snow is a great subject, just too bad i live in California