التصوير في المناطق الثلجية معضلات ،محاذير وظروف خاصة ،مجلة فن التصوير اللبنانية _ ع١٩

Filming in snowy areas: dilemmas, caveats and special circumstances

Photography in snowy areas requires a basic knowledge of the nature of life in these areas, especially the polar ones. In addition, we must know the dilemmas that we will face in these locations before heading to any of them, otherwise we will come back without reasonable pictures and sometimes with a completely damaged camera.

The cold is considered the most severe life constraint, especially the regions far from the equator such as the North and South poles, where low temperatures dominate the environment and according to this atmosphere all the living elements there adapt to the possibilities of extreme conditions, so preserving heat becomes the main task that occupies most of the inhabitants of these polar regions North and South - . Arctic animals are characterized by special organic functions. Air pockets in the fur or feathers are common forms of insulation, as is the case with soft layers of skin and internal insulation at the bottom, given that the temperature does not vary between summer and winter. We often find seasonal adaptations, as many animals in the Arctic in particular go through two different physical stages, and sometimes three stages in a year, and according to the fluctuating weather conditions.
And snow, which is the apparent feature of low temperatures. It brings with it another danger to animals, as it makes them exposed to predators, and from here we find that nature is working to address this matter, as it creates a winter physical layer that works to camouflage many animals. So with the onset of winter, we find the Arctic fox, along with many other organisms, and it has stopped secreting a substance . Melanin, dark in color to reach a white winter appearance completely contrasting with the summer appearance of these animals. We point out here that these changes provide an exciting and interesting field for photography.

Hibernation and migration

These adaptation processes do not stop at animals, but also include plants, especially plants. The things. Polar, which is closer to the moss than to the common plant. The advantage of this type of polar algae is that it wraps itself in the winter process. hibernation When frost is no longer possible, and so it lives in a rigid life until the appropriate weather conditions come for its return to normal life, and there are many polar animals that are exposed to this same state of winter hibernation. The beginning of this transformation differs from one organism to another, but once it is reached, everyone goes into a long hibernation, even the hero of spring.

The second solution to bypass the frost phase of other organisms is by moving to an orbit with better weather conditions... At the end of summer, a mass migration begins towards the sun and towards warmer latitudes. And depending on the form of these mass migrations, it is possible to obtain the most interesting subjects, but before that it is necessary to realize the great dilemmas that prevent us from obtaining exciting photographic subjects in the snowy areas.

Photographic dilemmas

The greatest effect of snow on photography is represented by light on the one hand, and in securing a suitable hideout on the other hand.
On the first level, what is known is that snow and ice are distinguished by very bright and reflective surfaces, which increases the amount of illumination resulting from the sun, by stopping one aperture at most. Too much, just because it measures a white surface rather than one with moderate color contrasts. More often than not, the result is an image that has not received enough exposure, and with automatic cameras we will certainly suffer from this dilemma.

But bypassing this is not a complicated matter, as it is sufficient to pre-determine the shape we want for the levels of color contrast to appear in the image. If we use the camera meter through the lens or in a direct reading of another kind, we have to increase the exposure in a way that is consistent with the luster that we want to show with the snow. A pause or two for a snowy area will show the snow shining as it should be...even in shaded or low-lit snow locations.
We'll need to add an extra pause on the lowest adjustment. These probabilities of exposure readings in snow can be taken as sufficient models for many common conditions. Direct measurement of exposure in a moderate scene under bright sunlight will give us a moderate reading as a typical example of 1/125th of a second at f/11 with 64 aza film.
under similar light conditions. And with a movie of the same speed, the snow could be overwhelming

Giving a comprehensive luster of four times.
Here the light meter indicates: 1/125 of a second at F / 22 and produces moderate color contrasts that show snow as unimaginably gray.
In order for the snow to appear shiny and its natural white color in the image, we have to give it a greater exposure than what is indicated by the direct reading of the exposure. It may require three stops.. The range of color contrast in the scene must be taken into account, before adopting the required pause.
One of the alternative methods for measuring light exposure in general, in a way that is not affected by the reflective features of snow and ice, is to equip the light meters with a semi-transparent plastic dome, and the meter becomes equipped with it to give an accurate reading.

Animal hunt

The snow chase confronts the photographer with the dilemmas faced by wild animals in their search for animals that have been camouflaged by the snowy nature. The greatest difficulty is the photographer's ability to hide himself in generally exposed snow locations. It is known that white clothes are the best camouflage methods for the photographer himself, but this camouflage may lose its effectiveness if the snowy site includes rocky or vegetated areas. Often the best coverage is crawling or lying on the stomach as a main measure during pursuit, especially in the field of close-up photography. There is a trick adopted by the inhabitants of the Eskimos, and it is based on the use of a white cloth screen stretched within a frame that the photographer can push in front of him while crawling, and it is equipped with a hole in the middle that allows the camera lens to work through it.

Hardware and film care

Low temperatures can significantly affect the mechanical work of the cameras, because regular lubricants may freeze and hinder the work of moving devices, or even disable them. Even this problem is easy to solve with the use of modern silica lubricants. The refrigerator or refrigerator, and within a temperature equal to the temperature in which we will work, to make sure after that that everything is normal, especially the work of the shutter, which should maintain its accuracy.

In a previous field, we have talked about the problem of condensation that occurs on the camera as a result of moving it from cold weather conditions to hot or warm ones... This condensation resulting from moisture that has seeped into the body of the camera is enough to expose it to damage, and the solution is always to adopt tight nylon bags. Closure It is advisable to put the devices inside the bag with another small bag of silica paste, which works to absorb moisture and thus condensation occurs on the surfaces of this nylon instead of the camera. The same measure is necessary during the camera test in the refrigerator.
As for when leaving warm locations to cold locations, the wind-blown snow will work on you
The surface of the camera will quickly melt, depending on the temperature of the camera. Then it seeps through the cavities into the interior and leads to the same previous defects... The solution here has been discussed previously, and it requires protecting the cracks with special adhesive tape for cameras.

Protecting batteries is also necessary, and we have previously talked about several ways to protect them. The film remains, which in turn suffers from various possibilities, the most dangerous of which is that it becomes susceptible to brittleness with the drop in temperature, as the fast winding movement can identify it. Here it becomes necessary to gently move the film presentation grip while placing the camera near the ear to make sure that the winding process does not lead to rupture of the holes that enter the gear wheel - this is when working with 35 mm film - there is another kind of damage that may occur to the film, and it is a result of what is called unloading. This is because the movement of the film on the edges of the cassette or camera slot causes the emergence of an electric charge, which often discharges itself in the form of a small spark. This spark will expose the photosensitive layer, and here, too, the solution is to roll the film slowly and very gently. The film may also suffer from condensation, as is the case with the camera. The solution is always similar to the aforementioned treatments for the problem of condensation with regard to the camera itself, in terms of protecting it with nylon bags. Or through an adhesive tape to prevent condensation from reaching the sensitive layer of the film -