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Show v ' f ..fc. , - 11..., ' But correcting the exposure by opening the aperture two stops to f8 will give jou the picture as you remember it. tim inn. .i.-i mm .i.i in iiiiii. i.im i.. w-1" SZSLm 1 By following the light meter's suggested reading of fl6 at l.ri()0th of a second the snow turns out grey and the people are almost black. i How to get a sure shot with a snowy backdrop by Nan Chalat You saw the sparkling action shots in Powder Magazine and you figured that with all that bright sun and beautiful scenery (and a 'fully automatic camera) you could do just . as well. But when your own ski vacation photos came back they were dark and muddy. What went wrong? Actually, ski photography is tougher than it looks. The trouble is, all that glittering white snow thoroughly confuses most in-camera light meters, which are programmed to average the amount of light hitting your film. The result, if you go by the meter, is an underexposed photo in which your friends are just dark silhouettes against a grey (or blue) background. But the pros of ski photography have devised a few tricks to fool their light meters into helping them get the bright images they want. Each different type of film has an ASA rating which indicates how sensitive ,tha particular f film ig.,-toj' light. The most popular outdoor film used by amateur photographers is Kodacolor negative film with an ASA of 100. Pat McDowell, the official photographer photo-grapher tor the Park City Ski Area, suggests if you are using Kodacolar 100 set your camera's ASA meter at 80 instead of 100. By telling your light meter the film is less sensitive to light than it really is, your images will be brighter. If you are only shooting part of the roll outside and you are hesitant about changing the ASA rating, the same effect can be achieved by opening your aperture one stop or setting more than the recommended exposure. (The aperture settings are located on the lens and control the amount of light which reaches the shutter.) Many automatic cameras have a 1 or 2 "override" switch. Now is the time to use it. The same goes for black and white negative film. This newspaper uses Tri X black and white film which is rated at ASA 400. McDowell suggests setting the camera instead at ASA 250 for crisper photographs. Randall Hanskat, who shoots the ski racing photos for the Park Record, said he leaves his ASA at' 400 but sets his exposure by taking a reading from a nearby stand of aspens, not the open slopes. Hanskat added he keeps his shutter speed at l500th of a second to stop the action the racers passing through the gates. When shooting slide film, however, how-ever, McDowell said it is best to use the recommended ASA and to go by the meter. Kodachrome film (ASA 25 or 60) is preferable to the Ektachrome films which give the snow a bluish cast, he said. His photographs of Courchevel, France which are featured in this month's Ski Magazine were shot on Kodachrome Koda-chrome 64 slide film. But when the faster Ektachrome films are necessary, McDowell "warms up" the blues with a 81A filter on his lens. As a general rule of thumb, snow shots, like backlit portraits, should be overexposed by one or two stops. If you are still skeptical try "bracketing" a few shots of the same subject. Bracketing is a technique the pros use to insure getting a quality shot. Take one photograph at the recommended meter setting then open the aperture one more stop and shoot it again. To be sure,' take another shot two stops over the meter reading. |