antexp
newbie
Reged: 25/11/2006
Posts: 2
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Hi, I am off to the Antarctic Peninsula in a weeks time. I am taking a film camera (Olympus OM1) and colour film.
I have never really shot many snow pictures before, my camera skills are OK but I don't want to mess it all up as I will probably never get the chance to go back! I have seen a few posts that talk about the effects of temp on battery life etc but what I would really appreciate is some technical advice on how to get my metering right.
The Olympus OM 1 just has a light meter so the rest (ie speed and apperture size) is up to me.
I guess my main question is what effect does bright white snow have on the light meter - will it give false reading and how do I compensate for this.
Any advice on film would also be appreciated.
Many thanks
Jamie
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Woolliscroft
veteran
Reged: 23/08/2005
Posts: 1253
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The camera light meter will assume that the world as a whole reflects (I think) 18% of the light that falls on it (Kodak grey), which it usually does, but as snow is much more reflective, the camera will try to make it grey rather than white. In other words it will under expose, probably quite dramatically, like maybe 1 1/2 stops or more. If you are using neg film, you can probably get away with just biasing the meter to over expose by 1.5 - 2 stops, which (if memory serves) you do on the OM-1 by setting the film speed that much lower. With slide film, exposure is more critical so you might want to think about getting an incident meter. Another trick is to exploit the fact that the reflectivity of a white person's skin is roughly Kodak grey, so you can meter off your hand (probably difficult as it should be kept gloved in Antarctic temperatures) or some one else's face.
As for film and batteries, the OM-1 only needs power for the meter and if you go the incident meter route you can keep the meter warm in a pocket and don't even need there to be a battery in the camera. I don't know what light levels are like down there, but my guess is that fastish film would probably be a bonus. Keeping the camera free of ice and condensation might be an issue.
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David.
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taxor
Reged: 09/07/2004
Posts: 556
Loc: Lancaster, UK
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Good advice from David. I would also recommend using an incident meter especially if you're using slide film or the use of a Kodak grey card (or something of similar reflectivity). If you don't want to use either, then David's advice of overexposing by 1.5 ~2 stops is spot on.
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"I wanna hold your gland". Lemming & McCartney
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antexp
newbie
Reged: 25/11/2006
Posts: 2
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Thanks for the tips - I will do my best to get a grey card before I go.
I was planning to shot Fuji superior 200 negative film. Do you think that will be okay?
Jamie
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Woolliscroft
veteran
Reged: 23/08/2005
Posts: 1253
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Quote:
Thanks for the tips - I will do my best to get a grey card before I go.
I was planning to shot Fuji superior 200 negative film. Do you think that will be okay?
Jamie
You can get grey cards in Jessops.
The film sounds good. One point about neg film if you don't do your own printing is that snow scenes can fool automatic printing machines in the same way that they do cameras, making them over print. If you use a decent printer, rather than a happy snap place it's worth telling them what they are getting so they can make sure they compensate.
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David.
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TheCircleOfConfusion
veteran
Reged: 01/03/2006
Posts: 1364
Loc: The People's Republic of Geord...
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At very low temperatures film can become a little bit brittle so wind on carefully.
Also watch out for sharp temperature changes, condensation can be a nightmare if you go from the cold outdoors to a warm building. And watch where you breathe in case you steam up the viewfinder!
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www.thecircleofconfusion.com
"They're just photos after all"
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Woolliscroft
veteran
Reged: 23/08/2005
Posts: 1253
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Quote:
watch where you breathe in case you steam up the viewfinder!
Or ice up the lens.
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David.
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John_K
addict
Reged: 03/09/2006
Posts: 560
Loc: North Yorks
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One point that hasn't been covered is when re-winding do it slowly! The air in the polar regions is so dry that when it is coupled with well below freezing temperitures, you run a risk of static electricity inside the camera causing electrical marks similar to lightening inside the camera.
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kmb9000
newbie
Reged: 04/10/2006
Posts: 18
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I have just come back from the Arctic and ensured that my camera was placed in a plastic ziplock bag for about 1/2 hour when I got back inside to compensate for condensation. I have a DSLR but would assume that a film camera would be affected the same way. Never had any problems with the camera except for shorter battery life. Have a fantastic trip.
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AJUK
Reged: 22/03/2005
Posts: 2656
Loc: UK
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Why go to the antarctic?
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Al
[Insert clever comment here]
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