# I Got the Winter Shot Woes



## AgentDrex (Dec 16, 2012)

Presented for your critiques and comments are three photos shot today.  It's so beautiful out today with all the fresh snow on the trees.  None of these photos really do anything for me and I have no clue why.  I'm hoping someone will have some tips for me.  I'm currently without a ride and so going somewhere else would have to be on foot and I'm not really up for doing that.  There is one spot I would love to go but not walking twenty miles to get there. There is a tree across the lake that I would like to go take a photo of.  I'm pretty sure the ice is thick enough by now to walk across.  I'll go take a photo of that soon here and post it in this thread. 

For those of you that live in the forest like I do, what shots work with the winter snow and which ones don't?  Thanks for the assistance in advance.  I will be posting more photos in this thread as I come across scenes of the winter landscape and as I am given ideas and suggestions by you all.  So please check other pages in this thread for more images.  Also, feel free to edit any of my photos as you feel they should look and re-post them here.

*per a recent rant by someone (i.e. ME) and for clarity's sake, there are no intentional mistakes in these photos for any mischievous purposes.  

These were all taken hand-held.  Not only do I have kinetic tremor, it's frickin' kind of cold out after awhile.  Cannot believe there is not more motion blur than already present.  Custom white-balance was set using the snow.  I set the shutter, ISO and aperture for the exposure (obviously) and then auto WB against the snow to get a gray then set the custom WB to that.

#1 - Just trying anything that may work and so I made this shot of the front deck where I live (it's nautically themed I guess is what the landlord calls it):



#2 - Still having no luck finding a suitable subject today to showcase the snow, I shot this house across the lake through the trees from off the back porch (notice how winter has made me use selective-coloring against my will?):


#3 - While on the deck, I thought maybe a black and white shot would work best with the snow.  With that, I shot the corner of the back porch and converted it to B&W in post-process (may have over-done the sharpening in the first so I made a second):
 

And remember, only YOU can prevent forests.

All photos in this thread have been taken between Cass Lake and Bemidji, MN USA with a Nikkor AF 28-85mm f/3.5-4.5 on a Canon 1000D.


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## AgentDrex (Dec 16, 2012)

Here's that tree.  This just makes me feel worse though.  Not exactly what I was hoping for:


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## dxqcanada (Dec 16, 2012)

First you should figure out what attracted you to take the picture.
Really look at what it is ... then start cropping mentally.

I can see the mental interest in taking these images ... just problem is that your camera did not see the same thing you did.
Now, you might be limited by the lens focal length, but in most cases you could work around it.

Remember ... it could be the empty space or very small that attracted your attention.
Keep working at it.


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## AgentDrex (Dec 16, 2012)

That's the thing.  That's the composition I had in mind (with the tree photo) but something about it isn't right.  You know, I'm thinking this tree needs to be centered in frame with the woods filling up the background.  I'm going to try that.  I would have done that but I was a little nervous out on the lake and seeing so much slush everywhere.  Wussed out and didn't stay out as long as I should have.  It'll get much colder soon and then I'll be more sure of the ice thickness.  

Thank you for looking and commenting.  That's appreciated very much.


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## bunny99123 (Dec 16, 2012)

I like #2.  It reminds me of how a snowy, winter day feels like.  We don't get much snow here anymore, and I miss it some times.


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## AgentDrex (Dec 17, 2012)

I suppose you don't get much snow.  It is extremely beautiful out here  right now.  I am glad at least one of the photos portrayed that snowy  feeling.  

I think what I'll do once I get a chance (I may be gone for a week or so  unfortunately starting tomorrow) is hope for the sun to come out early  in the morning (if it does, the sun will light up the left-front part of  that tree), bring a ladder (pretty tall step ladder) and climb up it to  take the photo.  Maybe the vantage point I currently have of the tree  across the lake (I'm up on a hill) is the reason for my disappointment.   The tree was shot at standing level so its boring and not the same view  as what I got stuck in my mind.  Then I'll center the tree and fill the  rest of the frame with the woods behind like I mentioned earlier.

Thank you for looking at these bunny!


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## AgentDrex (Dec 17, 2012)

Trying for a composition of a tree and its busy branches:


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## AgentDrex (Dec 18, 2012)

Nature and its selective coloring:


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## dxqcanada (Dec 18, 2012)

Need to get those whites whiter.

Does the snow look white on your screen ?


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## AgentDrex (Dec 18, 2012)

Here, I'll add bleach!   I have my monitor calibrated so it looks dull white, yes, not bright white.  How does it look on your screen and does this look any better?

Side-by-side comparison:


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## dxqcanada (Dec 18, 2012)

Ah. #1 looks white.

You should brighten your selective colour shot to remove the dull white.


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## AgentDrex (Dec 18, 2012)

Okay, nature's selective coloring is now brightened.  How's this?


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## Rick58 (Dec 18, 2012)

Much, much better :thumbup:


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## AgentDrex (Dec 18, 2012)

Is it just me or did my brightening lose definition in the snow?  And ideas on how to brighten an image without losing texture?


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## Rick58 (Dec 18, 2012)

You may have lost a little, but it was worth the cost. The white really pops compared to the one not washed in Tide


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## AgentDrex (Dec 19, 2012)

TIDE...dang it...that's what I was trying to say but couldn't think of it so wrote bleach instead...thanks man!


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## AgentDrex (Dec 19, 2012)

A grove of small trees inside a grove of large trees:


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## AgentDrex (Dec 19, 2012)

Footsteps towards the trees:


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## dxqcanada (Dec 19, 2012)

That's what I was looking for ... white whites.

Hmm, I wonder if a close crop would be suitable ?


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## AgentDrex (Dec 19, 2012)

I'm assuming you mean a closer crop on the grove of trees photo?  I may have done one.  I'll look.  For that one, it was my desire to have some trees in the foreground as well to show the short trees were in-between taller trees and not just in front of them.  Also, I'm thinking of bringing a step-ladder there to get a higher view-point.


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## dxqcanada (Dec 19, 2012)

Ah, it appears I posted too slow and not notice pg2 ... I mean the selective colour shot.


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## AgentDrex (Dec 19, 2012)

Ah yes, no...it was my fault for the miscommunication, I am sorry.  Thank you so much for the help by the way.  I have remembered what you said and adjusted the brightness of my lcd on the camera so that I see better what the photo will look like so I don't have dingy looking snow.  You're awesome!


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## AgentDrex (Dec 19, 2012)

Another shot on the frozen lake:


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## AgentDrex (Dec 21, 2012)

And the over-sharped version as is typical of my dumbness:


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## COLTSFANATIC1 (Dec 21, 2012)

good stuff i like reading post like these, as it helps me as well


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## COLTSFANATIC1 (Dec 21, 2012)

Agent Drex    your note at the bottom of your post is the best, so tru yet so funny, HAHAHA


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## thetrue (Dec 21, 2012)

No sharpen Drex, that first one has wonderful colors, and you lose a lot of range with the sharpened version.


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## STIC (Dec 21, 2012)

...


:lmao:


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## AgentDrex (Dec 21, 2012)

I hope Santa has air-conditioning in his sled as he goes your way but it has been unseasonably warm up here as well 18F (-8C):

Bemidji Weather - AccuWeather Forecast for MN 56601

Next month or February we should have a few days of -30F (-34C) as well (or I hope so anyways).  I love listening to people complain about the cold around here while I'm walking around comfortable in my AirForce surplus parka I bought a couple years ago.  We're Minnesnowtans for crying-out-loud!  I know I was bred to handle a wide extreme of temperatures (with all the lakes up here and trees, when it gets hot it gets HOT and muggy with no way for the wind to really push all that heat away).


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## AgentDrex (Dec 21, 2012)

dxqcanada said:


> Ah, it appears I posted too slow and not notice pg2 ... I mean the selective colour shot.



Cropped per suggestion:


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## thetrue (Dec 21, 2012)

Duuuuude I'm jealous! It's in the 30-40 range OVERNIGHT here. I want to move to Minnesota!


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## AgentDrex (Dec 21, 2012)

Right?  I like the cold though.  The feel of cold cheeks, the way the freezing winds take your breath away literally and the smell of wood smoke in the air while taking a walk alone at night.  I would like to go visit other places but would never want to call any other place home.  That and I live in the best/worst town in Minnesota, Bemidji.


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## STIC (Dec 21, 2012)

...


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## dxqcanada (Dec 21, 2012)

AgentDrex said:


> dxqcanada said:
> 
> 
> > Ah, it appears I posted too slow and not notice pg2 ... I mean the selective colour shot.
> ...



Yup, that did the trick.


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## AgentDrex (Dec 21, 2012)

Right on, I will keep that in mind then for future shots...I'll get better...may take thirty years...but I'll get there...not doing too bad for three years practice


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