Howdy! Heading to Colorado...

[Cowgirl]

Hey everyone! I hope that ya'll had a great Thanksgiving!

Well, I'm fixing to buy a Canon 20D for weddings, and Main Camera use, and keep my 10D as a backup. I still love my EOS 3 and still occasionally shoot some film (slides for landscapes).

Anyway, I am planning my first WINTER trip to the Rocky Mountains soon ,and I'm looking for some advice. I'm worried about the elements, (shooting outdoors) so I'm checking into rain covers/guards, Can anyone recommend a certain brand? Are velcro attaching guards better than the pull string/zipper guards? I really don't want to attach velcro to my lens hood/under camera.

I am reading up on shooting in the snow. Here in Central Texas its a rare thing to see snow. The December 2004 issue of Outdoor Photographer has a snow article, which I'm going to absorb. Any other snow advice would be appreciated! I will be bracketing.

So I am packing three bodies, 4-5 lenses, 2 flashes, Provia/Velvia slide film, B&W film, red filter, tons of digital cards/batteries/chargers, laptop w/cdrw, Sekonic L-358 meter, Moose warming polarizer filter, 1 Reg. polarizer filter, 1 rain guard, & Tripod.

What about a split-neutral density filter? I've often thought about getting one for landscapes, and it would probably be a good thing to have.

Anything else that I should be aware while shooting in the snow?

I'm really looking forward to this trip and want to really be prepared (for once).


I also have a HUGE RESPECT for mother nature! With all of this photo junk, and x-tra blankets/coats, I won't have any room for the kids! ;)


Thanks in advance!

Kathy

[another view]

First off, glad to hear you have a healthy respect for Mother Nature. It's needed out there, especially if you're not used to snow! If you're going to be out for awhile, go to a sporting goods store and get the handwarmers that are designed to go in your boots - might not find them in Texas though! They make life much better...

I have a pretty simple rain cover that I bought from a guy on ebay a few years ago. Came in handy last night because we got 4" and it was still coming down. These came out about a year or so ago and look much better if you want to get serious: http://www.kirkphoto.com/aquatech.html

Random thoughts: Careful with a polarizer in the mountains, it can quickly turn the sky black. Keep spare batteries inside your coat, next to you. Keep your equipment inside the bag for a few hours when going back inside - the problem with condensation buildup on equipment happens when going from cold to warm (no problem going out in the cold with it though). You probably want to open up an extra stop in most cases when shooting snow, or a lot of snow in the scene. Digital might be a big help with the histogram. Split ND filters would be a great addition with film (or combine exposures in Photoshop), I use the Cokin two-stop grey filter which is cheap in comparison to some of the others and it works pretty well.

[Cowgirl]

Thank you for the advice!

I'm going to check into the cover too.

Thanks again!

[Steph_B]

ND filters will help you... not necessarily to darken the sky, but eventually to darken the snow and get a good sky exposure.

I use the Cokin two-stop grey filter which is cheap in comparison to some of the others and it works pretty well.

Shoot! I must have gotten lemons. My Cokin (120 and 121) give a magenta cast to my pics. Mostly the 120. It is so bad that I do not use it anymore. There is a tremendous work in PS to take care of this cast.

I can only suggest to check the filter before buying them! Put them in front of a white light source (e.g. light table). The cast is barely noticeable but it is there. At least on mine.

I am still waiting for the Galen Rowell split ND filters from Singh Ray. They are about 3 times more expensive than the P Cokin filters. But I hope they won't scratch as easily so that I do not have to replace them every year or so.

Enjoy the snow!

Steph..

[Darren]

You can leave the rain cover at the store. It's certainly not going to do that this time of year! A lens hood, at most, is plenty sufficient if it's snowing pretty good to keep the lens dry.

Have you decided when you are coming up, and for how long? Any ideas yet where you'll go?

Here's something that I happened to scan last night that might even get you more in the mood to shoot some winter stuff!

[Trevor Ash]

Garbage bags and ziploc bags.....they should always go in your camera bag when in outdoors weather where you'll be away from cover. Get the big lawn bags so that you can put it over the camera while tripod mounted and have it cover the tripod legs well too.

I don't shoot in the rain so never have a need for the fancy rain covers that let you shoot. If you also don't need to shoot then just settle for the thick lawn bags and ziploc bags.

Good luck, have fun.

[Cowgirl]

Thanks so much everyone!

I will be in the Durango area.


WOW! Darren that is AMAZING! I hope that mine look half that good! Did you use any filters for that shot?

[Darren]

Thanks, Kathy! No filters, just Velvia on that one.

That shot is 80 miles north of Durango and is always tough to beat, as are the San Juans in general.