How to Capture a Winter Wonderland

Oh my God the SNOW HAS FALLEN. And we all know what that means: HOCKEY, SKIING AND SOME DOPE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOTS. Every season has its cool photos, but to me winter has some photos that are just flat out amazing. Recently, I've been studying hard on how to get the perfect winter wonderland shot. I've found that the New York Institute of Photography has some incredible tips to almost every type of photography and they've helped me a ton with writing this blog post (so basically I'm telling you to check them out).

A beautiful winter shot found on Dreamatico

Unfortunately, winter is a season that takes a lot more skill to take the perfect shot. There are many different obstacles to hurdle to take a decent shot. Unfortunately for all of us, most of the time we'll rack ourselves on those obstacles.

A large problem with winter photog shots is that the majority of the photo is one color: white. This is a very boring shot, so try to add a variety of things. This could be a person with some colored clothing, or add in some trees and other shrubbery. Without contrast or any movement, winter shots could be quite bland. Another thing that could add some color is either sunrise or sunset. Everyone loves sunsets (if you don't like them get off of my blog fool). Like the picture above, sunrises/sets add contrast and lots of color. In this specific photo, the sun adds some yellows and oranges while it also creates a nice contrast with the snow being different shades. Although to get a quality picture with snow, you can't just go out and straight up shoot. Snow is a b**ch, so you have to adjust to get the right photo you want. Without adjusting anything, the snow will turn out to be gray. To compensate and get the right color NYIP says to add 1 or 2 to your exposure level. This should level out the light and give you a solid white color. 

Another problem that I have already started to witness is that in the cold, batteries die like they have Ebola. They die sooooo fast it's unreal. I'm sure you've witnessed it with your iPhone or whatever, and it sucks. Picture it (no pun intended) you're about to get the perfect shot, and the battery dies. Wow. Just wow. What's the lesson here? BRING A SECOND BATTERY. When you're not shooting you could even wrap it in an extra blanket or something to keep it somewhat warm. 

So. Lots of tips for one season huh. Well, hopefully they pay off. I'll be honest I haven't gotten very good shots so far, but I'm still experimenting. Do these tips help? Please comment if you have other suggestions, reviews on my tips, or anything else! I'll hopefully be posting some of my winter photos soon!

Adios!

'Tis the Season to be Skiing

Hello Internet! Sorry I haven't posted in a while but it's been hectic the past few weeks! Since I've posted last, many things have happened! The main great thing is that the snow has finally fallen!! It's sooo close to ski season it's unreal; six days and counting! I'm so ready to ski and this year I'm getting a few sweet things to shred the gnar with. I know, this blog isn't about skiing, but since it's almost opening day, I thought it was necessary to post something on skiing.
The first item I'm getting happens to be the most necessary, but also the most expensive. They're skis of course, and I've frantically been scanning the internet for a pair perfect for me. So far I have found two pairs of skis, both being Armada: the Armada Al Dente's and the Armada B-Dog's. They're both an incredible ski for what I love to do, which is terrain park and powder. Both skis are a wider park ski and have positive cambers (good for jibbin' rails). So I'll describe both skis to you, and hopefully you guys can comment back on which I should get!
So the first ski I've looked at was the Armada Al Dente. This ski is an amazing all mountain ski but also a great freestyle and park ski. Like I said, it's a wider ski for park, but it it still quite buttery and flexible. This ski was designed by Henrik Harlaut himself, who is known for his nose-butters and baggy clothes. To be able to pull off those steezy nose-butters, the Al Dente's are made with a front tip rocker, which makes buttering much easier and much less sketchy. The graphics have changed for the 2015 model, but all of the Al Dente models have been inspired by graffiti art. This ski has been named quite well; it's been cooked to perfection.

Armada Al Dente's: Courtesy of Armada Skis

The next ski I have been researching on is the Armada B-Dog. This ski is also a mainly freestyle ski, but it also has some width to it. It's a medium-width ski but performs very well in the park. It's pretty much got the same body of the Halo 2's. This is also a custom ski, like the Al Dente's. Phil Casabon created this ski to be very playful and buttery. The B-Dog's have twin tips and a positive camber. Also, unlike the Al Dente's, the B-Dog's have rocker on both the tip and the tail, so buttering can be done on both sides. This ski is very flexible and very playful. The graphics on this ski aren't as sweet as the Al Dente's, but they're still pretty rad. Casabon has used 12 jewels (12 principles of life) to decorate the ski. This ski is also good for all mountain as well.

Armada B-Dog's: Courtesy of Armada Skis

SO. Which skis should I invest in? Both skis are incredible and very easy to ride. The only true difference between the two is that the Al Dente's sizes aren't the greatest for me. They come in 168 cm and higher, so for park, that would be a little tall for me. On the other hand, the B-Dog's come in 164's, which would suit me much better in the park. Also, the B-Dog's have a tail rocker which could help with tail butters. Other than that, the skis are almost exactly the same. So this decision is up to my readers: which ski should I buy? To relate it to photog, both skis would give me some sickkk powder shots and some nice park photos, but I'm still not set on which one to ask for.

Some powder shots captured with my GoPro Hero 3

Help me please!!