Skiing picture advice

[Visi]

Hi all-  First post, long time lurker.

I'll be bringing along my 7D and 5Diii with 70-200 2.8II to the family ski trip this year, but I've never shot snow sports before.  Are there any tips on filters, camera settings or gear that would be smart to bring along?  I expect that shooting in the bright light, with the snow glare, will require adapting... but I'm not sure in what way.

Practice makes perfect, but some tips along the way never hurt 

Thanks!

[Menace]

Glare from the snow can be a problem - try a circular polarizing filter

Cheers

[thebowtie]

I'll be bringing along my 7D and 5Diii with 70-200 2.8II to the family ski trip this year, but I've never shot snow sports before.  Are there any tips on filters, camera settings or gear that would be smart to bring along?  I expect that shooting in the bright light, with the snow glare, will require adapting... but I'm not sure in what way.

Depending on how you envisage shooting (e.g. taking landscapes, or action shots) may also influence whether you are interested in slower shutter-speed / shallow DoF.

If you want shallow DoF, you'll probably want a strong ND filter, say ND8 or more, to reduce the EV so that you still get suitable shallow DoF.

Glare from the snow can be a problem - try a circular polarizing filter

+1 on this one.

[RustyTheGeek]

Ditto on CPF.  Read up a little (see below) on setting your exposure for the bright snow or all your subjects are going to be dark.  Remember, the camera wants to "help" you achieve the perfect exposure for 18% gray averaged over the frame.  (Eval metering)  So your snow will be gray!  If you want to overcome that, you have to be smarter than the camera.  You might want to switch to center weighted or spot metering.  Tip:  Point the camera up at the blue sky, set the metering (use * to hold it) and then reframe and shoot.  It might also help to change your camera settings so the AF is separate from the metering.  Maybe practice using the M setting so you won't have to fight the camera metering constantly trying to under expose.

Or, forget all that and just read this... (and get Bryan Peterson's book, it's one of the best)
http://photonaturalist.net/how-to-get-a-perfect-exposure-of-a-snow-covered-landscape/

[RustyTheGeek]

Um... don't forget to enjoy skiing!!   

It sounds like you are taking your "good" camera and big lenses out on the slopes?  If that's the case, I think you would be wise to invest in the Cotton Carrier chest harness device.  That will hopefully allow you to worry less about your camera and have more fun.  Once you get the chest mounted harness properly fitted to your torso, you'll love skiing with it.  And don't forget to test out using the camera while wearing your gloves, coat, hat, sunglasses, lip balm, etc!

OR - Get a Canon D10 or D20 Rugged camera and worry a lot less!

Have a great trip!

[jcns]

CPL like mentioned already.
Also a dry bag.  While in hotel/house, where it's around 70 degrees, put your camera in the dry bag (a thin one is preferred as it will adapt to the temperatures more quickly). Pack the camera and head for the slopes. Take the camera out and you should have no condensation.
After you are done for the day, put the camera back in the dry back and head back to the hotel/house. Once in the hotel/house, leave the camera in the bag for about 30 min for the camera temperature get up to room temp. Remove the camera from the dry bag and you should have no condensation. 
Same process should be followed when headed to the tropics.

[stefsan]

If you're planning on action shots you might want to have a look at Dan Carr's blog: http://theskiphotographer.com/ There you can get some useful advice for setting up and exposing ski action shots.

[RustyTheGeek]

QUESTION TO OP:  So what are your shooting plans?  What do you want to shoot?  Are you doing video too?  Are you just looking to get a few nice group or candid shots of the family on the slopes or are you wanting to go all out nuts and take lots of action shots, "ski-bys" and panning, silhouettes, close ups, etc?

If you are planning on the 'going nuts' plan doing lots of shooting, backpack with equipment, etc then I would take a lightweight tripod & pack stool or something to sit on if you are waiting for long periods for the family to come back around from the last pass, etc.  Walkie Talkies might be a good idea too for that so you know when they are coming and won't miss the shots and so you can meet up at designated times or whatever to help you get good shots and still let everyone have fun.  Plan out the day's shooting like a pro and decide what, when, where, etc using the slope map and try to get others on board with the plan before you go out.

And if you are 'going nuts', I would just go nuts for one day, get all your shooting in and done and then just ski the rest of the time and give yourself and everyone else a break.  Maybe have a Canon D20 rugged cam or inexpensive Rebel with you all the rest of the time.

The part I hate the most about travelling and photography isn't the shooting or even carrying the camera, it's packing/managing all the photo gear, batteries, chargers, other misc stuff you need other than just the camera and lenses.  Don't forget to take a power strip (or 2) so you can charge all your batteries, cell phones, PSP/gameboy, iPad things with the rest of the family using the likely one power outlet in the room.

[RustyTheGeek]

If you're planning on action shots you might want to have a look at Dan Carr's blog: http://theskiphotographer.com/ There you can get some useful advice for setting up and exposing ski action shots.

As a scout leader and hiker, I gotta say that the Dan Carr site is awesome!  Thanks stefsan!  I glanced over it and he rocks!  Now if I only lived near ski slopes....

[ChipKalback]

Something to think about too is that when you're taking your camera out skiing in what will presumably be colder temps, the lens(es) over the day will start to get adjusted to that temperature, so when you go in for lunch and the temperature rapidly when you get inside, it's possible you'll start to see condensation form on the lens. It just depends on how much you have your camera out in the colder temps prior to that. The best way to avoid that is to leave your camera in the bag while you go inside. Don't open it and let all the warm air into the bag, just let it adjust to the warmer temps slowly inside the bag. When you get back to your hotel, do the same, leave your camera in your bag for a few hours, let it adjust slowly to the warmer temps, then take it out and let it dry out overnight if it's been exposed to any condensation throughout the day. I definitely wouldn't do a chest mount; one fall and your camera just went crunch. I would suggest a comfortable pack instead, preferably one with waist and sternum straps so your pack stays in place. I highly recommend F Stop bags. http://fstopgear.com

[Halfrack]

Grab something wider too - 17-40f4L, etc.  I've taken a 1D mk2 + 17-40 up a few times, it works, UV filter and OP/Tech neoprene cover to keep out 80% of the snow.  Where is this ski trip where you expect lots of blue bird action?  Not sure if you're of the 1 plank or 2 plank mentality, but you'll really want glove liners, and there's no such thing as too many microfiber cloths for clearing snow.  Heed the whole temp change condensation concerns, so a bag that you can slowly warm, and some of the dry packs. 

Also consider a PoV camera like a GoPro or Contour as they'll record stills or video without the concern of snow/ice/etc.

[AJ]

Be careful with a CPL.  It can turn the sky black on sunny days.  Shooting without a filter will work just fine.

On sunny days, just go ahead and shoot with evaluative metering.  If the light is flat then overexpose by 1 stop, and don't forget to increase iso when shutterspeeds get to slow for action shots.

Have fun shooting.

[Botts]

Try to avoid falling 

But seriously, consider bringing along a tough camera if you have one, for your real "action shots" i.e. if skiing backwards while videoing a colleague on a tough slope.  I use a Panasonic TS3 or a GoPro.

Also remember your extra batteries!  And keep these next to your body or as close as possible.

And one thing I can't recommend enough, bring good gloves.  Get either a pair that has round elastics that go over your jacket arms so that you can easily rip off a glove to shoot with and have it remained tethered to your arm, or even better a pair of "shooting gloves" either for hunting or photography that have at least a flap to uncover your shutter finger, or better both flaps to uncover your thumbs and pointer fingers.