Finally, Some Real Snow Photos

[Photo-John]

It's been very dry in Utah this winter and I have been spending a lot more time in the office in front of the computer. But this last weekend I finally got out for some real snow photos. I've been doing some work for a new splitboard company here in SLC (Chimera) and we went up for a little photo tour in the Alta backcountry. This was my first real venture out of the resorts this winter, too. One unfortunate consequence of the lack of snow has been very, very dangerous avalanche conditions. But things settled down enough that we did some very cautious sampling of a nice, low-angle, untouched slope. In spite of my snow photo technique being a bit rusty, I got a couple great images and I also got what were probably the best turns of the season for me. I only got about four or five getting down from my camera position, but they were glorious!

These photos were all shot with the Canon EOS 7D and my trusty old 70-200mm f/2.8L.

[SmartWombat]

In that last photo it looks like the board is spotlit.
Is that because of the snow spray shadowing him?
It is a great effect, brought out even more by your special snow post-processing I think.

I love that second one too, the Photo-John landscape with action is almost a trademark of yours I reckon


Hmm almost make me want to take up skiing !
Yeah, I said almost.
Did about 400m walk today, nearly didn't make it back, man am I UNfit !

[NoKnees]

Love the photos..... To say I'm jealous, well, that's an understatement. I've got two days in Tahoe this year, and they were grey, very stormy days (which I like) but it was powder over rock, no base...

Anyway, to your photos... Dig'em... Conditions look pretty great for a photo shoot. Good snow, good light, good talent...

The first one covers the part of backcountry snowboarding and skiing that offers the most "fun" photographic opportunities... Failed kick-turns. They are my specialty. The failed kick-turn, not the photo...

I think the "spotlit board" affect is that of just good solar reflection with a neon base. On flat light days, you can actually see the snow appear to light up under the tilted edge of a board with a bright base, as if the base itself was providing the light. Cool affect...

My only technical question on the photos is with the exposure. Some of the riders gear and the surrounding scenery look a little lighter color, less contrasty than I'd expect to see naturally in a few of the photos. The blacks look good in the jumping snowboarder and the last shot, but the others look a little muted. Were exposure and curve adjustments made after the fact to manage keeping the bright snow bright, or did you shoot with a standard + exposure comp, shadow recovery, or.... Just curious the process used... I always find this this is the biggest challenge when shooting mid-day snow...

Hard to get the balance right and I tend to go back and forth for maximum dynamic range (sometimes flatter looking photos) vs good/accurate contrast.

[RoguePix]

Ive never tried shooting on a moving object but I can say that these shots are simply amazing. The subject, timing, natural lighting everything of its elements makes it very great

[Photo-John]

Ive never tried shooting on a moving object but I can say that these shots are simply amazing. The subject, timing, natural lighting everything of its elements makes it very great

Thanks! Glad you like the photos. You should try some action photos. There's so much that's out of your control that it's a real challenge. I've found action photography to be a real addiction. You never quite know what you're going to get and they can always be better

[Photo-John]

The first one covers the part of backcountry snowboarding and skiing that offers the most "fun" photographic opportunities... Failed kick-turns. They are my specialty. The failed kick-turn, not the photo...

I think the "spotlit board" affect is that of just good solar reflection with a neon base. On flat light days, you can actually see the snow appear to light up under the tilted edge of a board with a bright base, as if the base itself was providing the light. Cool affect...

My only technical question on the photos is with the exposure. Some of the riders gear and the surrounding scenery look a little lighter color, less contrasty than I'd expect to see naturally in a few of the photos. The blacks look good in the jumping snowboarder and the last shot, but the others look a little muted. Were exposure and curve adjustments made after the fact to manage keeping the bright snow bright, or did you shoot with a standard + exposure comp, shadow recovery, or.... Just curious the process used... I always find this this is the biggest challenge when shooting mid-day snow...

Hard to get the balance right and I tend to go back and forth for maximum dynamic range (sometimes flatter looking photos) vs good/accurate contrast.

I have one very memorable failed kick turn. I was skiing with a bunch of Mormons (I'm in Utah, remember). They had to leave me to fend for myself because of all the cursing as I flailed around, trying to get back up with my huge camera pack pulling me down

You're right about post-processing. I do a ton - especially for snow photos. I almost always use a curve adjustment layer to pull in the snow detail and then I also use a masked levels adjustment layer to brighten up the subject a bit. I usually end up with at least two or three adjustment layers in Photoshop - and that's after processing in LR. In this case, I also ended up over-exposing a bit too much and that might have also affected the overall quality, after I recovered the blown highlight detail. Does the post-processing bother you in these photos or is it just something that you noticed? I'm very careful to try to keep things looking natural and if the processing is distracting you, I'd like to know.

I only skied about five turns in that pow but they were the most memorable turns of this seriously crappy season. Can't wait for the bc to settle down so we can start doing some real touring!

[NoKnees]

Yah, I'm a bit late getting back to this thread, but wanted to make sure you knew I caught your reply and appreciated it!

The post processing doesn't bother me at all, just reminds me of what I see sometimes while trying to do the same thing at home editing my photos. I think your shots turned out great, and on average better than what I used to generate on bright days with dark subjects.

I used to try to get it all done in LR, and only recently started going the multiple layer route in CS4 to separate my highlight and shadow corrections. Funny thing is that now with "Perfect Layers" from OnOne, I may end up back in LR for everything. We'll see how it works out for me, still learning it.

Anyway, yes, this has been a rough year all around for snow sports. I'm hoping for, yet I'm also a bit weary of a miracle March here in Tahoe. Due to the few storms up to this point, we actually do have a funky layer or two in the snowpack that we'll need to watch out for after the next big storm, if we get one.

At least it's been a good winter for beach volleyball in Santa Cruz... ;) God bless California... Maybe I'll get off my butt and post a couple of those photos at least...

[mattb]

Nice stuff John. I've only had a couple of decent BC days this season. I really don't want to push the limits and be another sad statistic. I'm definitely thinking about a air bag pack these days with all the good feedback surrounding them lately. I have an Avalung pack but it sounds like the air bag packs are a better solution.

I've also been doing light XCD style touring that makes the lower angle stuff more fun for me. That way I can have my fun and stay out of avi terrain when it's sketchy with is most of the time this season!

I'm also interested in your processing techniques. I've been using ev and Lightroom (fill light & blacks mostly) to process my snow shots. I just bought Photoshop CS5 (upgrade sale from Elements 7 for $300) so I'm trying to get up to speed with that tool.

[plgili]

The photos are very impressive. I really like.