Posted by Rylan Schoen on March 5, 2009 at 10:08 PM
This one's up for critiques. Taken today, approx 13-15 inches pretty much over night, and then this clearing, which ended up lasting for the rest of the day.
This is a cool shot. It would be worlds better if it were sharper though. I don't know what kind of camera you are using, but I'd recommend bumping the ISO up as far as you dare to gain some shutter speed. Iso400 would have allowed 1/500 sec, and better yet, iso800 for much better action stopping power of 1/1000 sec. Depending on the conditions you could even underexpose a bit and correct it later in PP to gain even a hair more shutter speed. The faster the better for sports shots.
Posted by Rodney Ninow on March 6, 2009 at 11:49 AM
I am guessing this is a snowboarder? It's really hard to tell what he is doing, besides kicking snow up. If you could see the board, I think it would be a lot better. Seems a bit dark on my calibrated monitor.
Observation: overall looks a little gray to me. Might try a white point adjustment…
Thoughts: for a person in action, it would be great to a little more of the subject. Then, again, as is, it really shows off the depth and condition of the snow. To me it's okay to have some blur in an action shot; and here, it's okay to let the swoosh of snow tell the story about action. I guess it depends on what you want the photo to tell: about the snow conditions or about the person and his activity. If you want both stories, then we need to see more of the person. Even one flailing arm or a hand or the tip of the board or ski would do it.
These "action" shots need to be tack sharp and a good part of the Skier/snowboarder has to be visable. Red and blue seem to stand out. I also agree that it seems too grey. I realize sometimes you have to go with what ya got. Their tough to capture.
I'll echo the above, especially Aaron's suggestion to kick up the iso.
Posted by Rylan Schoen on March 10, 2009 at 5:14 PM
Thanks for all the helpful comments. Aaron you are right about the iso. It's my fault for not paying attention to it before the shot. I swear it was more bright and sunny in that spot right before I took the pic, I think a small cloud passed over at the wrong time.
This is actually a telemark skier. I was trying to show the incredible snow conditions more than the skier, but i'll keep in mind that i might want to get more skier next time.
Discussion
6 repliesf/4.5
iso 160 1/200sec
Observation: overall looks a little gray to me. Might try a white point adjustment…
Thoughts: for a person in action, it would be great to a little more of the subject. Then, again, as is, it really shows off the depth and condition of the snow. To me it's okay to have some blur in an action shot; and here, it's okay to let the swoosh of snow tell the story about action. I guess it depends on what you want the photo to tell: about the snow conditions or about the person and his activity. If you want both stories, then we need to see more of the person. Even one flailing arm or a hand or the tip of the board or ski would do it.
This is actually a telemark skier. I was trying to show the incredible snow conditions more than the skier, but i'll keep in mind that i might want to get more skier next time.