I always get excited when it snows. I feel like a little kid, rushing to put on my snow boots, hat, mittens, coat and scarf so I can go outside and play.
Today I decided to photograph individual snowflakes. I've never done this before, but since I have a set of close up filters I decided it was a good time to get started.
At the end of this post, I will show you my set-up and give tech details.
Here is my favorite image of the day:
I love how fluffy yet defined this snowflake looks. It is pure perfection.
Settings:
ISO 2500
1/60
F 10
This is my second favorite from today. It appears grainier because I was losing the light. I turned on the tungsten porch light, and I think it only added color noise. No discernable difference in the light quality otherwise.
Settings:
ISO 2500
1/60 sec
F 6.3
This third image is to show you that you must work quickly with snowflakes, even though the temperature may be at freezing or below.
I set this self-healing mat outside for a couple of hours to become acclimatized before I went out to shoot today, and when I had to touch the board, I always touched the same area to keep my body heat from affecting the snowflakes.
Even so, the snowflakes began melting almost immediately when they landed on the board. It may have been partially due to me wiping the board on my clothes between shots when I wanted to catch fresh snowflakes.
A quick shot of me from my cell phone.
I had a good time working outside this afternoon, even if it was freezing cold!
As promised, here is the info on my setup:
Items used;
Tripod with pistol grip (mount is a quick release plate)
Canon 60D
Canon 18-55mm image stabilizing lens
Vivitar filter set, I used ALL of the filters stacked (close up+4, close up+2, close up+1, and 10x macro.)
Xacto self healing mat (pink)
What do you think? Do you like the results?
I'd like to see sharper images. I need to work in better light next time so I can set my f-stops higher to increase my depth of field.
Today I decided to photograph individual snowflakes. I've never done this before, but since I have a set of close up filters I decided it was a good time to get started.
At the end of this post, I will show you my set-up and give tech details.
Here is my favorite image of the day:
Settings:
ISO 2500
1/60
F 10
This is my second favorite from today. It appears grainier because I was losing the light. I turned on the tungsten porch light, and I think it only added color noise. No discernable difference in the light quality otherwise.
Settings:
ISO 2500
1/60 sec
F 6.3
This third image is to show you that you must work quickly with snowflakes, even though the temperature may be at freezing or below.
I set this self-healing mat outside for a couple of hours to become acclimatized before I went out to shoot today, and when I had to touch the board, I always touched the same area to keep my body heat from affecting the snowflakes.Even so, the snowflakes began melting almost immediately when they landed on the board. It may have been partially due to me wiping the board on my clothes between shots when I wanted to catch fresh snowflakes.
I had a good time working outside this afternoon, even if it was freezing cold!
As promised, here is the info on my setup:
Tripod with pistol grip (mount is a quick release plate)
Canon 60D
Canon 18-55mm image stabilizing lens
Vivitar filter set, I used ALL of the filters stacked (close up+4, close up+2, close up+1, and 10x macro.)
Xacto self healing mat (pink)
What do you think? Do you like the results?
I'd like to see sharper images. I need to work in better light next time so I can set my f-stops higher to increase my depth of field.
