Photographing snow

Snow at the school yard, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

I'm slowly getting used to photographing snow with the LX3. I set up the camera a bit differently and experimented with settings. I'm using + 2/3 EV exposure compensation as standard, decreasing it if needed. Also, I changed the max ISO to 400 - perhaps there is more noise, but it is better than not getting a photo at all.

Today we spend a lot of time out while it was still snowing. There is about a half meter of snow at the moment - great for kids and perhaps also for adults. I had to visit a school, and while waiting there I took a couple of photos of the school yard where the falling snow was caught by the lights. Also, there is a portrait of the photographer (at least the hands) reflected from the window.

A slightly surprising feeling in the photo, I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps it is the differently colored lamps out there on the yard. Also, the falling snowflakes did not produce continuous "tails", thanks to fluorescent lamps which switch on and off in rapid succession. You can find out the exposure duration from the photo by counting the "light pearls" and remembering that we are using 50 Hz electricity here in Finland.