Photography in Snowy Mountains?

[Prospero]

Next week I will go on a wintersports trip to Austria. Of course I'll take my Nikon D-50 with me. However, I am not certain if I'll also take it with me on the ski-pistes. Would my camera survive, when it's in my camera backpack and I would fall on my back? I am a decent skiier and last year I fell only once and that was on my side (so that wouldn't have hurt the camera), but you never know...

Also, when shooting in snowy mountains at high altitudes (1300 to 2900 meters) are any filters necessary? Last year I shot many pictures with my Olympus point ans shoot, and many of my photos didn't look to good. The sky looked almost black on some of my pictures. Would a polarising filter reduce this phenomenon (by blocking some of the reflected light in the snow and thereby redusing the contrast between sky and snow)? And is a UV-filter necesary when shooting in these conditions?

Your advise would be appreciated.

[TenD]

I have skied off and on with an SLR for years. I have carried my camera in a fanny pack, backpack, and slung over my shoulder under my jacket. A camera body is pretty tough, the weak link being the body/lens interface, the lens has a bit of leverage due to it's length. That being said I have fallen a couple of times with my equipment and haven't had a problem with it, I was actually more worried about the equipment hurting me. A friend of mine sky dives with his equipment and although damage has been done, it's never been catastrophic. Just don't drop into terrain that's over your ability, stay well within your ability and you'll reduce your chances of falling and lessen problems there.
A polarizing filter will produce that nearly black or super blue sky at high altitudes, some like this effect some don't, experiment with it. In order to render all of that snow as white, you have to use EC to compensate for your meter's reading a gray scale. So +1/3 to 2/3 stop or more will be needed to render the snow white and not grey, this will also reduce the darkness of the sky. A UV/Haze filter will help cut through the haze producing a clearer photo. Take at least 2 batteries, placing one in a pocket close to your skin(to keep it warm)while using the other. Swap batteries when one gets low and put the used one close to your skin again(it will warm and recover quite a bit). When you are back in the lodge, resist the urge to immediately review your shots, let the camera warm slowly inside your bag. A rapid change in temperature and humidity will cause condensation to form and it will form on all surfaces, including inside lenses and the body.

[Coltess]

To avoid the condensation, put your camera in a zip lock bag (or any other airtight bag or box) before going inside. That way the water vapor in the air cannot get to the camera = no condensation. Just leave the camera in the bag until it warms up.

Also you might consider getting a camera bag you can strap to your chest as it would be easier to get to the camera. I don't ski, so I don't know how impractical this would be.

[Prospero]

Thanks for the good advise, Tend and Coltess.

I'll keep on the ski pistes at all times when I ski with my dSLR, so that should keep my chances of falling low. Anyway, I have never skied off-piste, so I will not miss that.

So far I have only one battery for my D-50. I'll definetly try to get another one this week. I think I will shoot in raw, so that I can do the exposure compensation afterwards during post processing with Nikon Capture.

I'll experiment a bit with my polarizer to see if I like the effect. I don't think so, though, because last year I thought the sky in many of my pictures was looking way too dark.

I don't think I'll get a bag you can strap to your chest. I don't think it will be very practical when skiing. Skiing with a backpack I have done quite a lot last year, and I'm somewhat used to it. Also, I carry one practically every day I go to school..

Thanks for your advise on avoiding condensation. I'll keep that in mind.

[TenD]

Trying to do exposure compensation in post processing never yields the results that having proper exposure in your camera will. There is only so much you can do to manipulate the data after it is captured RAW or not, like all data, garbage in=garbage out, so getting the best capture you can is paramount. Keep good track of your histogram for exposure and get your snow as far to the right as possible without clipping the highlights. With proper exposure compensation a polarizer will give you quite dramatic skies, with your P&S I am sure your meter was fooled by all of the white snow and underexposed everything giving you that very dark sky.

[Prospero]

Thanks Tend. I was mistaken at the function of exposure compensation. I thought it was just some kind of in-camera post processing option and that it could be done later just as easily. I think that mistake results from experiences my old camera, where using the exposure compensation seemed to be a guarantee for bad results. But now that I look into it I see that when using this option the aperture and shutter speeds change, so that the image really is different and not just a lighter or a darker version of the original.