The Berthoud Photo/Conditions Thread (2007-2008)

[Deep Days]

I'd like to make a thread for photos at Berthoud that don't necessarily deserve a good write-up and thus a TR but would still be enjoyed by the masses. Also, I think knowing avy conditions and snow conditions would be helpful.

I'll start. 12.16.07, Z and I did 4 laps. It was quite fun. Excellent snow was to be had in the trees. I personally noted a tiny bit of surface instability in the trees of HHA and set off some 3-4 ft. cracks in a 3-inch deep soft slab on about a 35-degree pitch below tree line. The soft slab moved maybe 6 or 8 feet. No deep instabilities were really noted, due to the aspects we chose (HHA and Gaffney's playground area later in the day, after it warmed up). Z and Front Range Drummer had no such complaints. Stability, as noted by the Goose, was better on the sunbathed aspects on the other side of the highway.

We met up with Homi, Marshal, Vicious, iskibc, Marshal's buddy Pete, and Front Range Drummer (as already mentioned). It was like gang-raping the slope, one at a time.

Z and FRD dropped a 15-footer and noted some of the facets deep in the snowpack giving way. Z went back and sent that effer and stuck it. I'm too slow with the camera, though.

And now photos:


Homi was there


Front Range Drummer, too


And even Vicious (but without his frozen banana suit )


Pete, too

More:







Fun, fun. :thumbsup:

[soylent green]

Front range drummer can turn his head around pretty far.


Like an owl.

[Deep Days]

Front range drummer can turn his head around pretty far.


Like an owl.

[FrontRangeDrummer]

Front Range Drummer, too

Wow, that's a weird picture... its like a "Sexy Flanders" pose:




Here are a couple more from yesterday.

Homi, taking his turn in the aforementioned gang-rape


A lame shot of Z prior to take off


Deep Days shredding the leftovers


A really fun day.

[Phill]

.......

What is overexposure?

[Deep Days]

Edit: I'm an idiot and will take this to heart: when shooting fast skiers in sequence mode, always shoot Av, not manual. What exposure compensation do you use on bluebird days like this, Phill?

[Phill]

I think I was at about +1 but wasn't paying all that much attention. Shooting manual, not AV. Vicious shouldn't have been compensated for so much with what he was wearing, so my b...

What do you other photogs recommend on bluebird days? 2/3 stop? less?

What is metering and not being a photo-jong?

[GWB]

I'd like to make a thread for photos at Berthoud that don't necessarily deserve a good write-up and thus a TR but would still be enjoyed by the masses. Also, I think knowing avy conditions and snow conditions would be helpful.

I'll start. 12.16.07, Z and I did 4 laps. It was quite fun. Excellent snow was to be had in the trees. I personally noted a tiny bit of surface instability in the trees of HHA and set off some 3-4 ft. cracks in a 3-inch deep soft slab on about a 35-degree pitch below tree line. The soft slab moved maybe 6 or 8 feet. No deep instabilities were really noted, due to the aspects we chose (HHA and Gaffney's playground area later in the day, after it warmed up). Z and Front Range Drummer had no such complaints. Stability, as noted by the Goose, was better on the sunbathed aspects on the other side of the highway.

We met up with Homi, Marshal, Vicious, iskibc, Marshal's buddy Pete, and Front Range Drummer (as already mentioned). It was like gang-raping the slope, one at a time.

Z and FRD dropped a 15-footer and noted some of the facets deep in the snowpack giving way. Z went back and sent that effer and stuck it. I'm too slow with the camera, though.

THAT'S RIGHT FOR THE DAILY DOUBLE!!!!

Overexposure. n. Photography. A tactic advocated by photographer friends to expose the subject and not the snow.



Summit has suggested 1 2/3 stops, at least on storm days. I think I was at about +1 but wasn't paying all that much attention. Shooting manual, not AV. Vicious shouldn't have been compensated for so much with what he was wearing, so my b...

What do you other photogs recommend on bluebird days? 2/3 stop? less?

Anyhoo, good call, young one.

Wow, it sound like your avalanche skills are sort of like your photo skills, not that good.

[Kevo]

^ I know you are an alias, but for good measure

Stop the Internet Quarter Backing of Decisions in Avi Terrain

Gosey- Looks like a good time up there and it appears to be filling in nicely. Any rocks/core shots?

Anyone interested in a BP/LLP/VP tour on this Thursday. I've been conned into skiing in bounds for the next two days....

[Deep Days]

^ I know you are an alias, but for good measure

Stop the Internet Quarter Backing of Decisions in Avi Terrain

Gosey- Looks like a good time up there and it appears to be filling in nicely. Any rocks/core shots?

Anyone interested in a BP/LLP/VP tour on this Thursday. I've been conned into skiing in bounds for the next two days....

Kevo: amen to the armchairing comment. Ongoing assessment of the snowpack wasn't enough to scare us, so we proceeded.

I MIGHT be down for a tour Thursday morning, depending how messed up I get in celebration Wednesday night and if anybody's with me in the morning. Definitely gonna head inbounds somewheres afterwards if I go, so I wouldn't do more than maybe 2 laps.

As for rocks: be careful around HHA/North Chutes. Z "found" a nice little 5-ft. wide granite slab lurking 6" under the surface. It was thiiiiin in the chute and almost as thin around it. The other side of the highway wasn't as bad, but the top section skier's right of Gaffney's was indeed dicey...

Bring your rock skis. It ain't midwinter yet.

[squirrelmurphy]

A lame shot of Z prior to take off

that one belongs in the "Its GOOOOOOOOD!!!" thread

[Rontele]

max,

you should post your observations in the snowpack discussion thread in the avy forum.

[Powder to the People]

Wow, it sound like your avalanche skills are sort of like your photo skills, not that good.

So, how are the avy conditions in DC anyway BRA? Speak only when spoken to. Nice Pics, looks great.

[Name Redacted]

The easiest way to fix your overexposure prob is to dial up your ISO setting on your meter to trick your camera into under-exposing the pics.
With snow it will always be trying to get 18% grey but the contrast from the bright snow will throw your exposure setting off balance. Try a few practice shots and dial the ISO until you get the desired results then you don't have to adjust a stop in your head for every shot. Hope this helps.

Bert looks nice, might head up there this week..

[Deep Days]

The easiest way to fix your overexposure prob is to dial up your ISO setting on your meter to trick your camera into under-exposing the pics.
With snow it will always be trying to get 18% grey but the contrast from the bright snow will throw your exposure setting off balance. Try a few practice shots and dial the ISO until you get the desired results then you don't have to adjust a stop in your head for every shot. Hope this helps.

Bert looks nice, might head up there this week..

Interesting tip, but I really hate shooting at anything more than 100. 200 just looks terribly noisy, particularly with monochromatic backgrounds like snow. Really wish I had the money for a camera with a better sensor (instead of shooting with my Canon S series P&S).

So is the rule of thumb to compensate less at higher ISO settings? I've never heard of that being done before... Or maybe I'm misunderstanding. Sounds kinda like telling the camera to compensate and overexpose a full stop in Av mode, if not what I've described.

Anyway, thanks for the insight.

[hev]

nice. looking fairly hammered up there. is that lower lift gully?

[Vicious]

nice. looking fairly hammered up there. is that lower lift gully?

yes

sidenote: let's go ski sometime sucka!

[hev]

hell yeah. i got you in my phone. this weekend is steamboat, but I should be up at the pass a bunch after that.

[FigureEleven]

But you will be wishing that you were here...

hell yeah. i got you in my phone. this weekend is steamboat, but I should be up at the pass a bunch after that.

[coloskier]

Even without much recent snow, BP was still pretty sweet yesterday.
[IMG][/IMG]

[hev]

But you will be wishing that you were here...

true- dat. Last Sunday was an eye opener to some new options.

[stupendous man]

a few from saturday.

conditions were bluebird with a lot of wind buff pow. It is still early season. The ditch is barely 1/3 full, hit bottom in floral, and there was a slide in hells half acre on a rock band that generally stays low coverage all year. but northwest aspects were filled in with heavier wind loaded pow.

taking off:



impact:



kenny with the steezy point:



it was good!

[stupendous man]

bump.


anyone been there the last few days?

[Particle]

I like to throw cats out windows.

[coloskier]

Me enjoying a couple pillows yesterday at Berthoud
[IMG][/IMG]
Mike aka Cofree finding some air
[IMG][/IMG]
Skinning back to the car
[IMG][/IMG]