Geysers of powder,
glaring light, deep
shadows, dazzling speed.
The Equipment
camera. To prepare tor extreme
cold, some people recommend Lik
ing the camera to a dealer and hav
ing the oil on its moving parts re
placed with a graphite solution (to
avoid treeing! Ryan doesn t do
this 'I've never had it done, and I've
never experienced'any serious prob -
lems he says However liyou do it
the graphite solution should be
changed back to oil when you return
to normal temperatures as the
graphite will not lubricate moving
parts as long pi as well, vis oil
The one potential danger area
that should be checked is the cam
• era's shutter speeds, to see if they
are accurate Since you will be
shooting at 500ths of a second and
up to -freeze the action shutter
speeds viie important As a camera
gets older, shutter speeds will tre
quently go out of whack it lor
example you are shooting at I 000th
ot a second but in reality \our cam
era i> shooting at 500t.K ot a second
you'll end up xcith black spots on
the picture Shutter speeds are crit
ical- says Ryan especially at taster
speeds It s the first place you !i have
problems
LENSES. Normal \ a goes! combina
tic'll of lenses tiSr any photographer
to carry would be a 2M mn\ 50 mm
and a 105 mm When it comes to ski
photos tjoxvever Rvan suggests
leaving the 50 mm at home You'll
probably want another more power
tul lens, such as a 200 mm i It you
are really adventurous a 500 mm
can be even better I Zoom lenses
are ideal lor skiing They tend to be
slower lenses, but the bright sun
light will make up for that Plus, they
will eliminate the need to carry too
many extra lenses
A UV filter is a necessity to keep
out ultraviolet light, otherwise the
photos will have a bluish tinge The
tillers will also protect the lens sut
face A word of warning when using
filters in cold weather, lie aware that
the trapped air between the actual
lens and the filter can fog.up It pays
to check the lens occasionally, or.
better yet. use some type of anti
fogging solution
When you take to'the slopes with
your camera,.bits of snow and gunk
I
will fly up onto the lens. So be sure
to puck along lens cleaner and lens
paper
FILM. Since you will be shooting in
bright sunlight with high-reflective
surfaces, film with a low film speed
is the order of the day Ryan usually'
uses Kodachrome 64 him If it is ex
tremely bright. Kodachrome 25 him
is the way to go. Shooting black
white? Use Kodak Plus-X pan Him
with its 125 ASA rating. For color
prints, Kodacolor II film with ISO 100
is recommended
CAMERA BAGS. While you are skiing,
a .camera bag is both bulky and im
practical, so you have two alterna
tives here: use .either a backpack or
a camera caddy Backpacks specifi
cally designed for carrying cameras
and equipment are sold in the bet
ter mountaineering stores. Basically,
they have many compartments that
are lined with a heavy sponge pad
ding.
A camera caddy is similar except
that it rests in front of you with a
strap to hold the camera in place, so
the camera won't flop around and
bang you in the chest while you are
skiing It will also protect the camera
if you take a spill.
other equipment. Special shoot
ing gloves are sold which cover the
hands but leave the fingertips ex
posed for easier focusing and shoot
ing. The shooting gloves are usually
worn inside regular ski gloves. An
other option to consider when tackl
ing the great outdoors is an auto
matic advance They are relatively
inexpensive and are great for action
shots; plus, you won't have to pull
the camera away- from your face to
advance the film
(continued on page 14)