Shooting on Longs Peak, CO

[a1point8turbo]

I am fairly new to the photography game but quickly learning. I just keep trying new things that I read about and keep practicing the things I have all ready learned.

However being in Chicago there are not too many mountains with snow on them to practice shooting. So I am looking for some helpful reads, suggestions, faqs on when to use what (as it pertains to my gear).

My Goals (for the types of photos I want to take):


General landscape (just a full out shot of whats in front of me) Tripod

Panorama shots (whats in front of me on a grand scale) Tripod

Action shots of climbers w/in 20-40 yards (Fellow climbers, climbing) Free Hand

Scenic shots (looking out from the climb) Free Hand

Photosynth Shot (Microsoft project) Free Hand or Tripod
My Gear:

Canon 40D (familiar with most functions at this point)

Sigma 18-50mm F.8 EX DC Macro (What I think may limit me on the Individual shots)

Tiffen 77MM ND 0.6 (Have not used this at all and have no clue how to)

Hoya CIR-Polarzing 72.0s (Used this on the lake, decently familiar with it)

Hoya 72MM UV (0) (My protector lens I guess)

Manfrotto 785SHB Tripod (Fits my climbing pack and lightweight)

Lowpro Case (Fits everything on my pack stap except tripod)

3 Batteries (Canon brand)

1 Canon Wall Charger (Came with the set)

1 Promaster Charger (Works with my solio solar charger to allow me to charge while out and about)

Sandisk ExtremeIII 8GB (x2)

What I know how to use:

I know appeture
I know shutter speed
I know ISO

I kind of know exposure (both the camera gauge and the histogram)
I kind of know AEB Bracketing (for any HDR attempts)

I am still very new to getting the Appeture, Shuter Speed and ISO to always work in my favor (resulting in a good shot). I try to mess around in "M" mode a lot so that I have to teach myself how to adjust the settings to make the picture come out right. I can do it, its just not perfect.

I have no expierence with panorama shots

I have no expierence with shooting in the snow

I have very little expierence with shooting HDR quality stuff
( I can venture into the HDR threads for this but just thought I would list it)

Photosynth I have messed around with so as far as taking a lot of pictures I can't see there being to much more to it?


If you have read all this thus far much appreciated! Again I am just looking for some useful tips learned in the field while doing the above mentioned (as I can not until i arrive on my climbs), links to good articles and any othe useful information you think I should know!

In advance thank you for your time and effort!


Cheers!

Aaron:cool:


***Update***

Some of the things I found on this forum that may contribute to solving someone else questions that are similar to mine


*Using a hood* (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=739570&highlight=snow)


*Under Exposure* (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=738723&highlight=snow)


*Shooting Hockey* (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=738152&highlight=snow)





*Weather Proofness* (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=691631&highlight=shooting+in+snow)


*Cold Gear List* (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=678779&highlight=shooting+in+snow)


*Histogram and Snow* (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=678580&highlight=shooting+in+snow)

[a1point8turbo]

No one?

[ct1co2]

Greetings Aaron. First question I have is when are you going to be climbing Long's? If it's anytime in the next 6-8 weeks, you will encounter little in the way of snow. (From mid-Sept through Nov, there can be snow, but it tends to not really stick around until after early Nov.) The approach to the summit through the Keyhole may have some ice, but otherwise, once you are above treeline, expect open spaces of rock and boulders with the occasional area of snow.

- The problem with snow, especially just the sporadic area IMO, is that you risk having that area blown out in your image, so playing with exposures will help.
- I don't think the 18-50 will be to limiting for what you describe, unless you are trying to shoot climbers on the Diamond.
- For panorama photos, which I've not had a lot of practice with, I'm told to overlap the images by 30%.
- Play around with the circular polarizer. It will help with the sky and maybe any snow you encounter.
- And a general cautionary statement, be watchful for rapidly changing conditions on Long's. It's a loooong 8 miles from the summit to the trailhead, nearly 6 miles of which is above treeline.

Good luck and have fun!
Patrick

[a1point8turbo]

Greetings Aaron. First question I have is when are you going to be climbing Long's? If it's anytime in the next 6-8 weeks, you will encounter little in the way of snow. (From mid-Sept through Nov, there can be snow, but it tends to not really stick around until after early Nov.) The approach to the summit through the Keyhole may have some ice, but otherwise, once you are above treeline, expect open spaces of rock and boulders with the occasional area of snow.

- The problem with snow, especially just the sporadic area IMO, is that you risk having that area blown out in your image, so playing with exposures will help.
- I don't think the 18-50 will be to limiting for what you describe, unless you are trying to shoot climbers on the Diamond.
- For panorama photos, which I've not had a lot of practice with, I'm told to overlap the images by 30%.
- Play around with the circular polarizer. It will help with the sky and maybe any snow you encounter.
- And a general cautionary statement, be watchful for rapidly changing conditions on Long's. It's a loooong 8 miles from the summit to the trailhead, nearly 6 miles of which is above treeline.

Good luck and have fun!
Patrick

Thanks for the reply Patrick!

This will be my third time on longs ( 1st was a keyhole attempt, 2nd trough, this time is going to be a trough with some beta; a route that really hasn't been TR'd very well).

We are going to be going on the first trip early September, I have been watch the conditions on 14er's to see how much snow is on the ground at that time.

So for the panorama shots, I will be taking a photo where only 70% of the image is "new image" the other 30% should have been in my preceding shot, correct?

[ct1co2]

Thanks for the reply Patrick!

So for the panorama shots, I will be taking a photo where only 70% of the image is "new image" the other 30% should have been in my preceding shot, correct?

Correct, this way you give your post processing program as much material to work with to blend the scene, plus the overlap helps to prevent you from mistakenly not including an area of the scene. It's tricky, and there are other members here that are much more skilled than I am in how to successfully merge multiple images.

So far no snow, although it's been wet with rain here and some in the mtns. There is the potential for a system to come rolling in that will keep temps in Denver well below normal, and could bring some snow to the higher peaks. It's still a week out, so much can change, but the Boulder National Weather Service office has been talking about if for a couple days now.

Good luck with your climb! I look forward to seeing images. :)