The past snow day I had spent about three hours shooting, and I was dissatisfied with the shots to the point where I have still not reviewed them for editing.
This time around I wanted to really get some spectacular shots. I met up with Chris (@chrisrocco) to go shoot near the paramount sign. I was really trying to capture the light in a street shot. Basically, I was aiming to capture someone who was miserably walking through the snow, in contrast to the bright warm purple lights.
A few attempts went by, and I was still getting basic, sub-par shots. In the first shot that was halfway decent, the subject smiled at me, which was funny, but ruined my intended image.
As I was walking away from the sign, a man with an umbrella came in my direction. I tried to focus on his face, but the composure that I wanted came out with the focus on the umbrella.
In post I decided that I could fix the miss focus by darkening the subject, and creating a very moody image. In the end I realized that I liked the focus on the umbrella, because it was more essential to the image than the face of the man.
Then Chris and I decided that we should go on some parking garages to get shots of the snow from a little higher up.
After shooting for a while, and having our cameras soaked, we decided to call it a day.
Shooting in the snow is a challenge because everything is wet. The lens gets covered in water, and if you are shooting with any high apertures, the snow and water will show up on the image.
Furthermore, the cold makes it difficult to stay out shooting for prolonged periods of time. Such a huge amount of energy is used by walking and staying warm, that breaks are needed. However, the shots are worth the effort.