What's the best way to photograph glaicers in Alaska?

[world_traveler_et]

Scubacruiserx2,

 

Nice glacier photos! Can you let me how you were able to make a still photo from your video clip? I have some shots I would like to do this with but I haven't figured out the process. Thanks in advance.

[spbstan]

There are a number of ways using editing software but the easiest is to simply use the PrintScreen function of MS Windows. Use MediaPlayer and locate the scene and pause at the desired frame. Press the PrintScreen key which caputures the image. Then open Paint that is in the Accessories program folder and create a new image, and paste the captured image to the new image. Crop the image to eliminate the border. Save the new image as any name you wish.

If you are doing serious videos you probably have a video editing suite of programs and almost all have a way of generating JPGs from video frames.

 

Some cameras like the D4s Nikon can take stills while shooting video and maintain a higher quality image. Stills of videos have a lot lower image quality than stills even from the same sensor because not as much detail is needed for images flashing on the screen for only 1/30th or 1/60th of a second. HD video is much lower resolution and dynamic range than still cameras so you will not want to print them larger than the minimum size suited for your display purposes.

[spbstan]

Photos of glaciers are not hard if one thinks of what the metering in the camera or external meter is seeing, and not just what it is saying.

Camera meters are calibrated on the concept that the middle grey is mid point in perceived between deepest black and brightest white which turns out is black with about 18% white mixed in. That is the design mid point in a camera's interpretation range of light and dark. In a typical scene, adjusting exposure to the middle of that range(18%) will preserve some shadow detail and most high tones in equal balance. It works fine....except when there is a strong scene bias towards black or to white. In those cases, a meter picking the mid point between, say very dark and moderately dark is going to assume the scene needs more light, for longer for proper exposure and the black groom's suit ends up grey. The same happens when taking an image of the bride's shockingly bright wedding gown that dominates the scene. The meter assumes proper exposure is mid point between ultra bright and moderately bright so will under expose the scene by reducing exposure time, stopping down aperture or decreases ISO. The result is a dull grey dress.

Snow scenes usually look grey and lifeless.

The answer is to trip the meter into making a different assumption about the mid point of the scene. Most modern cameras have Exposure Compensation controls where you can dial in a specific bias to increase or decrease exposure compared to what the meter guesses to be appropriate.

That allows you to still use automatic exposure modes but with under exposure bias for a dark scene so it actually looks dark in the photo, or adding exposure in a bright scene so it looks brighter.

Most experienced shooters shoot in full manual exposure mode much of the time so they can just adjust speed, aperture or ISO to reflect their best estimate of the mid point of that darkness to lightness scale.

A EC setting of +1 to +2 stops seems to fit most snow scenes as a starting point. A glacier is a little trickier since there is often a large expanse of sky and dark water so try a smaller increase in compensation of 1/2 to 1 stop as a starting point.

Post processing is a key in getting glaciers to look like glaciers since they have color tint, deep shadows in placed and a large sky so the dynamic range of the scene might be wider than the camera can capture, something is going to be lost unless using HDR. Some modern cameras have excellent DR such as the D800e Nikon with 14.8 stops so you can get most scenes handled even if the scene far exceeds the DR of the display media(paper or screen). But any decent camera now can handle 8-9 stops. If you error in exposure, it is better to slightly underexpose so highlights are preserved and you can increase shadow level in post processing in Lightroom or Photoshop or other editing software.

Shoot with the lowest ISO you can, since that maintains the very widest DR the camera is capable of. High ISO noise and lack of DR hurts you a lot in limiting post processing options. This all assumes you are using RAW format, burned in JPG's have more limited flexibility. For scenes that will likely need adjustment in exposure in post, shoot them in RAW. For general photography, JPGs rendered in the camera are pretty darn good.

[scubacruiserx2]

Scubacruiserx2,

 

Nice glacier photos! Can you let me how you were able to make a still photo from your video clip? I have some shots I would like to do this with but I haven't figured out the process. Thanks in advance.

 

Thanks world_traveler_et ! The way I do it is with my editing tool , Picasa 3. I simply view the video and pause it where I want. On the left side is a camera icon with the words Take snapshot . A click on that icon saves the photo under Captured videos . I click on that and edit as I normally do and then export it to my Windows photo library and subsequent upload of choice. ;)

[peety3]

Most experienced shooters shoot in full manual exposure mode much of the time so they can just adjust speed, aperture or ISO to reflect their best estimate of the mid point of that darkness to lightness scale.

A EC setting of +1 to +2 stops seems to fit most snow scenes as a starting point. A glacier is a little trickier since there is often a large expanse of sky and dark water so try a smaller increase in compensation of 1/2 to 1 stop as a starting point.

 

Let's clarify this: when shooting in manual, exposure compensation is essentially disabled, since you aren't using the camera's meter to get the settings where you want them. When shooting in Program/Aperture/Shutter, EC is enabled since you are using the camera's meter for whichever setting(s) are handled by the camera.

 

I'd also like to mention that I consider myself a very experienced photographer, having shot Canon for 7 years now and owning 7 Canon DSLRs and 10 Canon lenses in the household. That said, I shoot in aperture priority 95% of the time, knowing that I can adjust aperture and ISO as desired to get the shutter speed in the general zone I want, while letting the camera do what's necessary to get the exposure consistent. I shoot in manual when I "bring my own light" (i.e. use flashes and/or studio strobes as main/only light), perhaps 4% of the time. The last 1% would be shutter-priority in an attempt to be strict about the shutter speed, almost always when trying to achieve a controlled blur (propellers and helicopters are best around 1/125th, bicycles can be neat around 1/40th especially with "second-curtain" flash, etc.).

[world_traveler_et]

Thanks world_traveler_et ! The way I do it is with my editing tool , Picasa 3. I simply view the video and pause it where I want. On the left side is a camera icon with the words Take snapshot . A click on that icon saves the photo under Captured videos . I click on that and edit as I normally do and then export it to my Windows photo library and subsequent upload of choice. ;)

 

Thank you! I will try doing what you have suggested later today. My video was taken using a Canon Rebel 4Ti that I bought for my trip last year--in case there are any additional suggestions.

[Flyer55]

Don't worry about being expert enough to know the best manual settings. Use the landscape setting for some shots and sport setting if the glacier is actively calving. Frame the shots you find interesting and take lots of pictures. Sort through them later and use software to make the adjustments you think are most pleasing.

 

Even old 6.1 MP cameras with decent lenses are capable of producing results that you won't be ashamed to enlarge and display. They look great on computers, TV's, and electronic photo frames.

 

These were taken in 2006 and 2008 under varying light conditions with a Kodak Z650 10X

 

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=72DE290B70082286%21105

Edited May 29, 2014 by Flyer55

[world_traveler_et]

Thanks world_traveler_et ! The way I do it is with my editing tool , Picasa 3. I simply view the video and pause it where I want. On the left side is a camera icon with the words Take snapshot . A click on that icon saves the photo under Captured videos . I click on that and edit as I normally do and then export it to my Windows photo library and subsequent upload of choice. ;)

 

My video is in a program using windows media. Any ideas on how to do this using windows media player?

[scubacruiserx2]

I tried using windows movie maker but you can only capture a small still photo. I did a search and found this:

 

http://www.ehow.com/how_2142404_capture-still-image-video.html

 

It requires a download and seems more complicated than Picasa. On our HAL cruises , a Windows representative conducted photo/computer classes (South America) and answered questions.So if you ever cruise HAL - ask him. We are currently enrolled in a photobucket class at the local night school , but I find it more difficult to work with for a tech - challenged person - like me. So I would recommend Picasa . It's a free download and user friendly.

[RoxnDox]

Pentax K-30, 18-135 @ 135mm, ISO 100, 1/200s, f/16.0, TAV mode, AWB

 

Margerie Glacier from the top deck of the Golden Princess last week, about a half-mile out, perhaps a bit less.

 

Jim

 

[Giantfan13]

Hi, I am new to this part of CC. I love to take pixs, but I am really an amateur. I usually shoot most pix in auto mode. My kids bought me a Canon T3i and I used this on our trip to Alaska last year. If no one minds here are a few of my pixs, again, mostly on auto settings. I do have a 200x zoom which I used for the eagle shot.

 

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/new%20alaska/alaskamain319.jpg

 

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/new%20alaska/alaskamain397-1.jpg

 

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/new%20alaska/alaskamain479.jpg

 

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/new%20alaska/alaskamain492.jpg

 

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/new%20alaska/alaskamain514.jpg

 

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz267/Giantfan13/new%20alaska/alaskamain593.jpg

 

Cheers

 

Len

Edited June 24, 2014 by Giantfan13