Alan Edward Klein
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Well you could use a gray card and reflective meter.
Incident light meters are really the way to go in the snow. Unfortunately outside of places likeAPUGPhotrio, most people never heard of them.
pretty much every Sekonic meter (what the OP is using) i've seen has the option for taking incident readings.
As noted without knowing what film, camera, metering or if OP has a hand held meter it is only possible to give very general answers. So in general, if a older camera with an average meter, as already recommended use palm of free hand as a gray card, second assume that with lots of snow figure that the scene will be underexposed by 1 stop. If camera has a spot meter meter the main subject, such as hiker, skier, building, tree ect. If newer camera with matrix metering assume that the meter will correctly read the scene. If a hand held meter with incident mode, meter the scene with meter at the subject facing the camera. If OP think he/she thinks she/he has a very important shot, bracket.
Yes he did...something you don't have in New Jersey....
Alan....it doesn't matter what camera he's using....
I believe Alan meant what, not where...
Some good advice all around. This image was found while wandering around in the snow in the upper Mono Lake basin a bit snow-blind -- I ended up with the darkcloth over my head, peering thru a slit. Almost stepped on the skull -- I had to get at least this close to exclude my bootprint.
Pentax Digital Spot readings: snow 18, skull in sun 17, darkest on skull 14. Given one extra stop exposure for bellows extention (as insurance, and certainly did not hurt). So exposed at 16 plus 100% for bellows (f64 @ 1/4 sec, TMax100). Developed normally in HC-110.
The photo is a decent reproduction of the 16x20 print (from 4x5 negative, 1991) printed on Grade 3 Ilford Gallerie.
Well you could use a gray card and reflective meter.
In bright, snowy mountainous conditions most light meters will tend to underexpose, unless you're using a spot meter and placing the snow on Zone VII - Zone VIII. If you're not using a spot meter, I would advise giving a bit more exposure (in the range of a stop or two) over your meter reading. I don't use incident meters so, maybe, someone with specific experience will jump in here.
Good luck and enjoy your trip!
Take the light readings off the palm of your hand and that will be close enough for most exposures. Sometimes you may need to have your palm in the shade if the subject is in the shade. If you use a general light meter reading, you will only get the contours of the snow and everything else will be silhouetted.
You have time to do a quick test roll...bracket and pick the best neg.
Love the graghics on theback of my Rollei!
What kind of Sekonic? Incident, spot, reflective?
Sorry...I assumed the OP developed their own film. If not, my advice is still good, it was just was asked for weeks too late.
Totally my habit to take a new film or whatever on a unique trip and just wing it (with a few decades of background knowledge and experience).
The OP neither said what camera he is shooting or what kind of meter nor what kind of pictures he's shooting. So the answers he gets will be non-specific as well.
If the snow if close, I use my Sekonic both in incident and reflective mode with snow. In reflective mode, I get close to the snow, making sure that's all I'm getting (essentially making my meter equivalent to a spot meter reading). If there is texture in the snow, I put it in zone VIII (opening up three stops from the reading), if not, I go to zone IX (opening up four stops from the reading). I compare that to the incident mode reading, just to make sure.
If the snow is far, just part of the general scenery but not dominant, I just go with the incident reading. If you will do landscape, i.e., snowy mountains from afar, I would suggest a yellow filter. You'll get better tonal separation between the sky (slightly darken) and the snow. Snowy scenes with washed-out sky don't make for very appealing photos.
With high contrast snowy scenes, you also have to make sure you use the right developer. For example, stock D-76 or Xtol risk blowing your highlights, so best to use a compensating developer.
It would have been more helpful if we knew his camera type, film, and type of meter.
And we do have snow in New Jersey, if not mountains. Beach too.
Yep I’m taking a tank with me and my little light box so I will be scanning negs whilst away!
Lols……a reasonable excuse to look up the cost of Rollei’s in Austria!
I believe Alan meant what, not where...
Some good advice all around. This image was found while wandering around in the snow in the upper Mono Lake basin a bit snow-blind -- I ended up with the darkcloth over my head, peering thru a slit. Almost stepped on the skull -- I had to get at least this close to exclude my bootprint.
Pentax Digital Spot readings: snow 18, skull in sun 17, darkest on skull 14. Given one extra stop exposure for bellows extention (as insurance, and certainly did not hurt). So exposed at 16 plus 100% for bellows (f64 @ 1/4 sec), 150mm lens, TMax100. Developed normally in HC-110.
The photo is a decent reproduction of the 16x20 print (from 4x5 negative, 1991) printed on Grade 3 Ilford Gallerie.
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