moose or no moose: the great Snow Ghost hunt

The great Snow Ghost hunt

Or so it seems as I slowly walked off the lift & strolled over to an area away from what seemed to be about 50 to 100 skiers & snowboarders.
it was about 10:00a.m. on a Tuesday-January of 2013 & the skies were just a tad
painted with high clouds as the sun was hanging low on the horizon just a smidgen from due east and not yet at due south but the view was amazing as the sun lit up not just the valley floor but Glacier National park to my left-all of Columbia falls & Kalispell &Whitefish yet a low level fog was lit up by the filtered sun light.

From a photographers point of view-this was going to be a sweet day for hunting Snow Ghosts.
Before I get into the actual hunt & what it takes to capture a shot of such wonder & awe-let me start with the basics:
As a pro photographer I check my equipment & then check it several times hours before the photo shoot & the morn of the shoot I double check everything from Batteries to cards (including grey scale cards as they will be needed to check the exposures being we will be shooting snow).
I check the camera & lenses & take only the gear I will need to get the job done.
On this trip I will condense my main photo bag to 2 lenses-a 18mm-55 mm wide angle lens & a 70mm-200mm lens ,a Nd filter ,both lenses have polarizers & uv filters.

A Manfrotto tripod for eliminating camera shake & support is a must for this journey & I will bring a hi-def camera for added footage for dvds later.
I also make sure I have the essentials in my bag & on my person before I start the hunt-hand & feet warmers in place.
Snow shoes to get around in deep deep snow which are a must as well if your planning on hiking through snow of any depth.
I always travel with a gps just in case & carry garbage bags to lay down on the snow in case (and I will)I have to lay on the snow & without these you might as well get ready to freeze as the bags keep the snow off of your gear & cloths.(which will melt onto your clothes).
(make sure you read the basics from the winter photo woes blog as far as what to carry in your backpack).

So the journey begins several hours before as I plan my mornings events-what to expect with weather conditions,possible dangers & possible issues with camera gear,weather,health,lenses & snow shoes.

Big Mountain or Whitefish Mountain(as it is know now) is home to one of northwest premier ski resorts.
Resting high above Whitefish lake & the lil town of Whitefish where there is always something going on.(We do torchlight photography here as well as 4th of July fireworks on the lake-it is a must see if in the area.)

The air very cold as I think we are hovering around 11 degrees.With temps this cold it will surely be a drain on your cameras batteries & on the lenses.I put hand warmers in my pockets to keep extra batteries warm & also to keep my legs warm as well as these temps will run the chill through you several times over if your not wearing proper protection & can wreak havoc on your camera gear if they also are not protected from the elements.Use caution in everything you do when shooting in extreme conditions-check everything over and over again.Getting it right will make for a safe but fun photo experience.

The Snow Ghosts could be seen from the lift going up to the summit which added to the excitement of photographing the mammoth structures of ice,snow & somewhere hidden inside was the tree that just a few months back stood tall in the sun lite.

Snow shoeing whether in shallow snow or deep snow is a must as you just never know what the conditions are-one minute you may be walking through snow that is a foot deep and then you find that your having problems in snow that is 3 feet or deeper.Play it safe & use equipment that gets you to your destination safely-know your limits.

Glacier National park & surrounding areas were beaming with beauty as the sun hit the peaks just right & cast a light that made the scene seem so surreal

but the gentle breeze froze everything in a second.

My fight today would not be the severe temps that kept this area so cold but the bone chilling sting of the breeze on my cheeks made for a rather tough go of it.

I brought with me a scarf to wrap around my face but somehow the winds were able to untie the piece of cloth about every 60 seconds or so leaving this photographer rather peeved as I had to put down some camera gear or set the tripod aside for a moment to retie the scarf.

At one point early on in the photo shoot I found that a runny nose & a loose scarf wasn't a bad thing but worked out good to my favor but after reaching into my jacket pocket for a kleenex I found out that even a second of cold air was murder on the hands.

As a Photographer -whether it be how you frame a shot or how you apply a filter to how you approach a subject-I tend to remove the right glove when shooting photos for one:I am right handed and for 2 I need to feel the cameras buttons and you just can't do that when wearing gloves.

On my cameras each slight push of a button means something so you have to be able to apply certain parameters to the shot while shooting of the subject so with that said? I tend to let my right hand take the brunt of the cold but at least the glove that will eventually cover my hand is equipped with a hand warmer.

I stop over on the corner or ledge if you will and observe my first Snow Ghost of the season towering over some lesser ghosts sitting off to it's right and below it.

The sun hits the beast as it curls to the right as if enjoying the cold-the backdrop is of snow capped mountains & the valley floor where you can see for miles and miles-hey thats a song!!

It is amazing how the Ghosts seem to have a life of their own almost like a slow moving creature.
The colors swirl all around as light bounces off the mountains,the valley floor & colors of light dance all around...surely this is real.
I can see Snow Ghosts everywhere I look as winter is truly their wonderland.
Taking the photos are the easy part as I dabble with several shots of different exposures after checking with a grey scale card to see what the proper exposure would be considering the light reflected up here is so bright.
Several filters are used esp a polarizer to bring out colors and to remove glare.
Without a polarizer one may have to settle for shabby photos.
A neutral density filter is used periodically when shooting into sunlight as your shots will be blown out if you don't consider the light source-the sun will drown out everything.
I make my way down a slope and tackle a few more shots of various Snow Ghosts of different sizes trying to capture not just the beauty but how the light hits the mammoths and what kind of shadows the present.
The Sun is carrying a halo this morn as it will add to the overall appearance and hi-lights of the shots making for a great added compliment.
My journey takes me farther down the hill towards the west which overlooks Whitefish lake but getting to a family of Snow ghosts proves a bit tricky as the snow starts to push one way or the other under my snow shoes.
I adjust my footing & get back on a more solid trail & in the distance I can see a lone Snow Ghost soaking up the rays of the sun.
All by her lonesome she sits as if calling out to other Snow beings out there.
The Sun has shifted a bit to the west as I drop to one knee & survey the lighting effects off of the surrounding snow & the giant Ghost in front of me.
Behind me & to the left are several giant Snow mammoths with curious looking structures connected-it only gets better & better for the photo shoot as all of the elements are coming together-light,wind speed,color & texture to the snow.

Gods beauty is everywhere & as a photographer you just want to stand up & high five the creator-awesome-simply awesome.

After about 2 hours of wandering up & down the mountain side looking for Snow Ghosts-changing filters & lenses,fighting with my kleenex & battling the wind/scarf combo I decide that I need to head out but this is where it gets tricky.

Extreme cold or extreme weather conditions can wreak havoc on cameras and camera gear including Lenses.
Follow the manufactures directions for your brand of Camera and in case your not sure-here are a few important things to consider:
taking a camera,lens or any electronic item into severe cold can cause condensation to build up on terminals & components.
Batteries becomes non working after a short amount of time if not handled right.
I use hand warmers in my pants pockets to keep batteries fresh.A lot of pro photographers will wear a vest with pockets & keep hand warmers in the vest pockets so they can store their batteries in the vest pockets along with filters.

Once you bring a camera,lens or electronic item out of the cold without protection & into a heated area:car,home,ect ect-condensation will build up on your camera sensors & components which will destroy your gear....so?
Zip lock bags come in handy when bringing frozen camera gear in from the cold-before you put your gear away place your camera(cameras)& lenses(separately)into a zip lock bag and seal the bag.
The air around the bag will build up condensation and not the camera or lens.
Once the condensation is gone & and the camera/lens is at room temperature then you can remove the gear from the bag.

It has been said to keep your camera warm by putting it under your coat when out shooting in frigid temps but your body creates heat & this may not be a good thing to do when out shooting.

The Snow Ghosts were amazing as Each family I visited seemed not to mined at all that I was photographing them.

They all have their own qualities about them & the experience is truly a awesome one at that whether your a photographer looking for work or just an admirer longing to see these giants of tree,snow & ice.