Winter Photos

[Chopperjohn52]

Hello everyone, John Clinton from Illinois here.
Well with winter coming up, and the snow about to fall, what are some good tips for taking photos with all the snow in the back ground? My son is a big snowmobile rider, he does a lot of jumps and such, and I would love to get some shots of him doing his thing.
I’m fairly new to the DSLR world, using a Canon Rebel XS. With the stander lens that comes with the camera. My wife says as I get better, so will my camera’s. I think she means I can upgrade as I grade up.
So what about filters, lens, sunlight, and whatever might through a glitch in my winter photos?
Thanks in advance for the advice!

(A photo a day helps keep boredom away)

[i speak in math]

There is plenty of light in the outdoors especially after some snow. Your kit lens will be plenty fast. Filters are just going to give you bad flares.

Stick it in Tv with a fast shutter speed and low ISO to freeze the motion of the snowmobile. Although its probably pretty dangerous, going wide (18mm) and getting in really close, maybe low and looking up slightly, on a jump might make for a pretty sweet shot.

Remember that all the snow will trick the camera into underexposing (because it is trying to make the bright white scene into 18% gray). So, dial in +1 to +2 exposure compensation and check you histogram to see if you are clipping. If so, dial back down but try to keep the end of the histogram all the way to the right.

[Chopperjohn52]

Thanks for the info, hope to post some great snowmobile jumping shots here this winter.

[theosus]

Originally Posted by i speak in math

Stick it in Tv with a fast shutter speed and low ISO to freeze the motion of the snowmobile. Although its probably pretty dangerous, going wide (18mm) and getting in really close, maybe low and looking up slightly, on a jump might make for a pretty sweet shot.

+1 on the danger factor. Saw one of those "stupid video" shows not long ago where someone was doing just that - trying to get a close up shot as the snowmobile zoomed by. He got hit and wound up in the hospital. Came close to dying. Maybe a good time to invest in a remote?

[Jim Bryant]

try to keep batteries warm before using. Let the camera cool down and after using let it warm up slowly otherwise you'll get condensation. Search google tips at winterizing camera equipment - Google Search

[Chopperjohn52]

Thanks everyone, good tips and info, and i will be carefull.