VIRTUAL VIEWPOINT: ERIK GOETZE'S FOV
Winter is soon upon us in the northern hemisphere; what do you need to consider to shoot VRs in snow & ice?
by Eric Goetze
CHALLENGES OF SHOOTING VRs IN SNOW & ICE
Winter would not be complete for me without visiting snow covered mountains. That white stuff magically transforms the wilderness into a sparkling new world, with its own vocabulary. For instance, sastrugi are wind-blown ridges of snow, while seracs are large ice blocks formed by glaciers tumbling down steep gradients.
There’s something compelling about the powdery texture of fresh snow, the dramatic shadows of tree branches, the frozen waterfalls and twisted ice formations, and the monochrome palette of snow, sky and shadow. It can take a lot of determination to set down the hot chocolate, leave the blazing fireplace, and step out into the frosty air. But the bears are almost all hibernating, and you were going to build that giant snowman sometime, right?
Before you head out in snow or ice, be sure you know what you're doing. Learn about the risks of traveling in snow country, which include frostbite, hypothermia, avalanches and freefalls down icy slopes (see links). As with any wilderness activity where help may not be available in time, you are responsible for your well-being; and in wintertime, the margin for error is very small. No VR is worth following Capt. Oates into the great white beyond.
If you decide to shoot VRs in the snow/ice, the following tips address possible problems with tonal range, tripod stability, finger dexterity, LCD washout, condensation, and camera freezing.
You probably wouldn’t forget the basic winter checklist with layers of synthetic clothes, snowshoes or skis and poles, but what about snow gear for your tripod? The first time I set up my VR gear on six feet of packed snow, the tripod’s rubber feet kept sinking in deeper and deeper, and I couldn’t get a stable platform to spin the camera on. Amazingly enough, photo equipment vendors make snowshoes for tripods. Or you can use a tennis ball cut in half for each leg.
I found it challenging to keep my unwieldy snowshoes from knocking the tripod out of place while shooting a 360º. If you are using XC skis, circling the tripod without hitting it would sorely test even Laplanders. I usually tamp down a circular area to stand on without snow footgear, or consider shooting a hand-held pano without the tripod.
Snow and ice are tremendous reflectors of light, resulting in maximum contrast and extremes in tonal range which can throw off exposure meters. A time-tested technique involves spot metering multiple objects in the scene as well as the snow and averaging the readings. Or just use matrix metering and add +1.5 to 2 stops compensation.
If you are faced with bright snow on one side of your scene and dark shadows 180 degrees away, the safest approach is to shoot two pans using different exposures and merge them in Photoshop. Shooting extra shots beyond 360º assures coverage when fast moving clouds change the look of the starting point too much.
Winter’s cold temperatures can cause cameras and batteries to stop functioning, not to mention the operator! Some ways to keep your camera or appendages from freezing up include:
LCD displays reportedly stop working below 14ºF (-10ºC). Try to keep the camera inside a plastic bag under your parka until you shoot with it, or put a glove-warmer heat pack in your camera bag, or take along an older camera without LCDs.
Lithium batteries last longer than most other types, and work at temperatures as low as -40ºC (-40F). Next best in the cold are NiCAD or NiMH which are rated down to -20ºC (-4ºF) but NiCADs provide 60% of their capacity at -15ºC (4ºF) and NiMH only 20% of capacity at -20ºC. Akaline batteries go down to -20º C (–4ºF) but must be thrown away when used up. You can keep extra batteries warm in your pocket.
Experienced winter photographers report that zip-lock plastic bags are great for keeping the camera secure from water and condensation.
My fingers freeze up quickly if not protected from freezing wind, but thick gloves or mitts make it difficult to operate camera buttons. Compromise with glove liners, fingerless gloves, or use two layers: underneath thick mittens wear glove liners or thin gloves with a grippy surface. A remote control with an easy to hit shutter release button could be helpful as well.
If your tripod or panhead has bare metal surfaces that you might come in contact with, consider covering them with gaffer tape or duct tape to avoid parting with some skin.
Winter scenes are often at their most dramatic early in the day or late in the afternoon.
When using a digital camera, the strong light from sun and snow can wash out the brightest LCD display so consider getting an LCD viewing hood.
Snow can reflect the sky’s blue light, so keep a warming filter handy.
After all the careful preparation, go out and have fun shooting your wintertime VRs in the sastrugi.
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