Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1977-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1977)
Correct camera techniques help recreate winter wonderland By Lorraine Stratton Of The Print Cold, white, brilliantly reflect ive, wet snow can be difficult to photograph. Excessive light will cause overexposure. Not all cameras can adapt to it by aper ture and shutter setting-just as camera cases will not always keep your camera dry. Of the many options available to help keep cameras dry, plastic bags work the best. A sack of silica gel (which comes with your camera) placed in the plastic bag will absorb moisture which camera gathers from air. Plastic bags can be left camera exposing only front lens. All lenses should have a pro tection filter on front element. A U.V. filter (Ultra-Violet) is clear and is made to block out U.V. light rays during sunrise and sun set, preventing blue tint and un sharpness. A skylight filter serves the same purpose and adds warmth to the scene. U.V. filters are pri marily used with black and white film, but can be used with color film. A skylight filter is the oppo site. A camera can freeze up so that the mirror or shutter will not work. If this happens simply put it in side your jacket for a few minutes to warm it up. Steam will occur if the camera is warm and sud denly brought out into cold weather. Film for use in snow should not be of high ASA (American Standard Association). ASA refers to the amount of light that the film will absorb. On sunny days it is good to use an ASA of 125 or less. 64 ASA color slide film, 100 ASA or 125 ASA black and white film work well in an open field of snow or for scenic shots. Having a low ASA may still not be enough. With your lens stopped all the way down (f/16, f/22) and a high shutter speed (1/1000, 1/500) the light meter may still state a high reading. Neutral density filters come in 2x, 4x, 8x exposure facters. These can be used to darken scenes with- out changing color or quality of the light. They can also be used with either color or black and white film. Polarization filters will reduce glare and reflection while darken ing blue sky and bring out clouds. They are adjustable as to how much reflection they withhold. These basic filters will help darken the amount of light that hits film. Color correction filters become complicated, while black and white filters are fairly easy. Any yellow to red filter dark ens the sky and brings out clouds (increasing contrast). All colors in this procedure, except red and yellow tones, are absorbed in the filter so blue is absorbed making the sky appear darker. All colors except the filter color are absorbed and therefore the opposite color will go darker. Orange is good in snow, it has a 4x exposure factor that will reduce light. It makes the snow white and will give skin tone cor rectly. Yellow is not enough and red will cause white faces instead of a grey tone. Yellow-green improves foliage colors. A green filter also improves foliage colors, but will also give good skin tones and make snow white. Orange and green are best in snow. Sunrise and sunset will pB some of the most dramatics in the snow. The low anglew sun will show hills and slopeswi the snow giving a feel for the! rain. Bright over head sum will washout details in snow. Some interesting angles in snow are some that people do nd usually see. Try shooting upfr the ground and in scenic slS add detailed foreground. Remember to check lightfl frequently, a slight change Wil greatly effect quality of a pha graph. Keep camera dry, mois| will steam up a camera as] sudden and severe cold. Usejai lower ASA film and carry fill to add to light. Do not forget to bring extr film along, placed in a pfl bag and kept cool, which in® film life. Always be on the ifl for new and interesting anl and photographs. Thursday, December 8, D50 Illuminant, 2 degree observer Density