Frosty Photography: Layer It Up

   With the mega storms that's just rolled across the East Coast, I hope you've all grabbed tons of amazing turns and some awesome shots.   In this third installment of Frosty Photo, I'll be talking all about another idea that will keep your photos exciting, different, and most importantly - interesting.  The concept this week: layering. 

   When I'm talking about layering, what I mean is thinking about the depth of your photo.  What is in the foreground, the mid, and the background.  Critical to all this is what layer receives the focus  The same shot setup could be taken in different ways, only changing which layer receives the focus.
   Because I'm not the virtuoso of all the advanced photography lingo out there, I'll just try and show you some shots that attempt to explain what I'm talking about.  Because of the nature of this idea, I won't be able to show you the same shot twice like I've tried in the other two pieces, but I think the notion will still come across.
   First up, check out this photo taken on a gorgeous day after some fresh snow at Sugarbush.  

What does this have to do with layering?  First up there is a foreground - the pair of snowy trees - a mid-ground (ha, I'm not sure if that's a real term) the pine tree almost dead center - and finally, a background showing the sick landscape and horizon.  The focus on this is on the foreground - those two trees right up front.  From there, everything farther out doesn't get blurry, but certainly isn't as sharp as the foreground.  By utilizing these layers, the picture conveys depth and distance.  It isn't a flat landscape.  Without being there you understand where things are.  It also has the bonus of adding scale and creating some sense of proportion.

  When I'm on the lift, I wind up snapping away with the camera because I just can't sit still for those excruciatingly slow minutes.  The lift provides you with a playground of time and opportunities to think about layering.  

Take this example: From a chair at Bolton Valley, I took what would have been a standard landscape shot that we've all done a million times (and will continue to) and jazzed it up a bit.  Getting the dude's skis next to me in the shot, focused in the foreground, adds both depth and creates something that is more interesting.  You still get those awesome frosted trees, but the vibrance of the red skis and the angle that they are crossing the background helps everything pop.

  Something I find that can really make ski shots boring after a while is the monochromatic nature of them.  Think about it:  Most of the time it's a gray sky with white covered trees, a white snowy ground, and the occasional dark green or dark gray popping through.   The addition of a gorgeous sky on those blue bird days only increases the color palette by one or two new shades.  When you start thinking about layering, think about color.  If your background is on the standard skier gray scale, think about pairing it with some vibrant color (or any non-standard background color) in the foreground and use that as a focus.  Conversely, it might be the snowy whiteness of a mogul that you want as your foreground, and your buddy blasting down a few bumps higher up as the backing layer.  I'm a big fan of bright gear - whether skis/jackets/pants etc often because they will stand out so well in photos.  Those contrasts are the key to using layering to enhance your photography.

Putting all this in action, here's another one from the same chair:  

  I'm using that tree/snow wintry white/grey backdrop to make the colors up front jump out that much more.  Here you really get some depth with my three cohorts on the chair and the way things are lined up.  You'll also notice the clarity of Kath - you might remember her from my last piece.  Because she is so close the auto focus does a great job of getting amazing detail and richness in color.  The middle of the photo has two more of my buddies slightly out of focus, with the background more out of focus.


   On my recent ski safari all over New England I was blown away by the sheer size of Sugarloaf.  While Maine might not have delivered while I was there in terms of fresh powder, it more than made up in amazing vistas and incredible steeps.  While I was getting myself together in the lot, I snapped a few shots of the gear in the rack on top of my trusty Subaru, with the Loaf as a background.  

   What makes this look so neat - in my opinion of course - is two things.  First, it's those dings, cracks, and gnarly edges on the skis that remind me of so many great trips.  Those close-up details mixed with the epic peak of Sugarloaf make everything come together and really fill out the photograph.
   This is another example where the auto focus did a really good job of highlighting the details where I wanted it, and blurring the background just right.  Of course, this didn't work out just right on the first try.  Back to my number one rule of digital photography - take multiple shots of everything.  The first time the focus didn't work at all right, the second time the skis were way too dark so all those details didn't get picked up, and on another try the angle just wasn't quite right.  It's that persistence (and really it was 30 seconds total) that can land you a far superior photo you'll be psyched to upload to skitheeast.net.  

   Alright, and one more to highlight the idea and raise the percentage of lift photos in this article just a bit more.  I think this is an interesting shot because the auto focus actually went a little wonky here.  You'll notice the goggle reflection isn't focused, whereas the mid-to-background is.  I think the colors in here are amazing, and the mix between the goggles and the peaks of Snowbird, UT really add something neat.

  So there you go.  The key things to remember when you're trying to utilize layers is: the foreground, background, color, and the focus.  And like I keep emphasizing, you don't have to always decide.  Just take the photo a few different ways.  I've been surprised countless times by those happy accidents that I wish I could take credit for.  So till next time, keep shooting, and keep slaying the powder wherever the roads may take you.



For parts 1 and 2 of Shaun's Frosty Photography series, click here and here.