Here are three Holga shots from Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park near Cochrane, Alberta. IF you want to learn more about the park and all of its winter possibilities for photographers be sure to sign up for our Twoonie Talk (2 dollars to get in) on Jan 21, 2012 in Cochrane – for more information please see here.
©Darwin Wiggett - Kodak Portra 160
©Darwin Wiggett - Kodak Portra 160
©Darwin Wiggett - Kodak Portra 160
Below are Sonia’s images from the January Photo Canadian Rockies Winter Photo tour. We had a bit of a spell of bad weather and Sonia writes:
The variety of weather conditions experienced over the course of the 31/2 days of the January tour did not help me in my quest to capture any outstanding images. Trudging through snow drifts, not knowing what dangers lay unseen beneath, trying to keep batteries warm, cameras working and lenses free of blowing snow in the gathering gloom, my tripod legs seemed to possess a will of their own. The result… a great deal of post processing in Photoshop 😉
©Sonia Wadsworth
“Textures” Taken in the afternoon at Nordegg old town site. Canon 40D. Lens 24-105 @95mm. f22, 1/6sec.
©Sonia Wadsworth
“Ice” Taken in failing light at Allstones Bay on Abraham Lake. Canon 40D. Lens 100-400 @ 250mm. f16, 1/2 sec.
©Sonia Wadsworth
“Weeping Wall” Taken in poor light & falling snow below Cirrus Mountain in Banff N.P. Canon 40D. Lens 100-400 @ 150mm. f16, 1/8 sec.
©Sonia Wadsworth
“Lone Tree” Further along the park highway & shot from the car window. Canon 40D. Lens 100-400 @ 285mm. f7.1, ISO 200, 1/160 sec.
©Sonia Wadsworth
“Along the Highway” Bighorn Wildlands, Kootenay Plains. Canon 40D. Lens 24-105 @ 82mm.f11, 1/15th sec.
©Sonia Wadsworth
“Ice Edge” The North Saskatchewan River off the Siffleur Falls Trail, Bighorn Wildlands. Canon 20D. Lens 70-200 @ 154mm. f32, 1/5sec.
I love big falling snow especially for photography. When it’s snowing hard, the falling snow really gives some great atmosphere. If you use fast shutter speeds e.g. 1/125 or higher you can suspend each snowflake in air like I did for the photo below:
©Darwin Wiggett - 1/250 at F8 - Canon Rebel T2i, Sigma 70-200mm lens
To show you just how hard it was snowing here is a little movie clip of the same scene:
So if you want to stop the falling snow use a fast shutter speed. In the dim light of a snow storm you’ll often need a fast lens and a higher ISO to get the shutter speeds you need. In the shot above I used my Rebel T2i at 800 ISO and my Sigma 70-200mm lens wide open at f2.8.
If you want long streaks of falling snow use a lower ISO (like 100) and extend your shutter speed to at least 1/15th of a second or longer. In the photo of the Weeping Wall taken just after I made the image of the tree in the snowstorm, I used a shutter speed of 1/4th of a second to blur the snow into long diagonal streaks. You can see the streaking snow in the dark canyon wall.
If the temperature is below freezing I don’t worry about exposing my camera or lens to the falling snow, it will just wipe off as long as the camera and lens are not warm. If the snow is melting when it hits the camera, I will place a plastic bag over the camera and lens to prevent moisture from seeping into the gear. Here are a couple of more images from the same stop at the Weeping Wall in Banff National Park.
©Darwin Wiggett - Canon Rebel T2i, Sigma 70-200 lens, 1/640 at f2.8
©Darwin Wiggett - Canon Rebel T2i, Sigma 70-200mm lens, 1/125 at f2.8
Don’t let a little foul weather trick you into putting your camera away, keep shooting and use shutter speeds to control the look of the falling snow. To learn more about how to always pick the right shutter speed check out this link.
One of the most common questions I get about winter photography is how I keep my hands warm for winter shooting. The video below shows my solution. It ain’t pretty nor fashionable but it works for me. If you wish to share your own solution feel free to add your comments below to help those first-time winter photographers. BTW the temperatures I mention in the video are in Celsius.
And for those wanting inspiration on why you should go out in the winter check out my Winter in the Canadian Rockies eBook for purty snaps and lots of practical information on how to prepare for winter photography.
©Marion Faria
I took this on a freezing cold afternoon at dusk at Ponagansett Dam. The sun was behind the spillway of the dam but shrouded in clouds so it gave me a nice even light. I used my Canon 70-200mm f4L with 4 stop ND as I sat in 2 feet of snow because I wanted to shoot from a low angle. I watched the ice covered rocks with water spilling onto them… and I was looking for the right feel of rock and water. It’s strange, but when I shoot, it seems I’m always waiting for the right ‘feeling’ about a composition coming together. And then something just clicks while I am composing… something inside me says: yes, “this is what you want”.
I liked the way this image came together that day; it just felt right…the only thing I had to do as far as editing was to give it a slight blue tone. marion faria
Photographer's Guide to the Canadian Rockies now available
Darwin Wiggett 