Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 09/26/2007 - 06:07
Forums
SIMBA Antarctic Sea Ice

Hello Sarah!  Glad to hear all is well after the fire.  Sounds like you are having quite the experience.  Are you taking some video of the experiments?  The photos are looking great.  Jeff Vogel

Thu, 10/04/2007 - 14:10

Sarah Anderson

Hi Jeff - great to hear from you. I haven't taken much video yet, but there are plenty of opportunities. Do you have any suggestions for dealing with so much white? Some of the pictures I take just don't seem to reflect what I'm actually seeing. Sometimes the light is quite bright, other times overcast...any of your secret tips would be appreciated!Sarah

Thu, 10/04/2007 - 17:40

Jeff Vogel

Thanks for replying Sarah!  Shooting video in extreme white and cold situations (as you have found out) is tough to do.  First of all, protect the camera.  Cover it in plastic and keep the lens covered until you are ready to shoot.  If you have a neutral-density lens filter this will help if the snow is ultra-bright.  Also... White Balance is important.  This is from the Hewlett Packard web site:The purpose of white balance is to balance colors based on the lighting situation. When your camera "sees" snow, its bright white color can throw off the white balance. The results will be a photo that looks too dark or bluish in tone. There are two ways you can fix this:

Automatic: The Snow shooting mode, available on some HP digital cameras, will adjust the camera's shutter speed to compensate for snow and lighting conditions.
Manual: Or use your camera's manual controls to adjust white balance until the snow's color is accurate. You'll be able to see the image change on your camera's screen, so adjust up or down until the whites in the photo look accurate.

Happy Shooting! Jeff Vogel