About 1.5 million of us across the Baltimore region have already snapped at least a dozen pictures of this historic snowstorm. The trouble is, most of us are also a little frustrated about the quality of the pictures we’re taking, especially if they have people or objects in them.

Chances are, your camera allows you to adjust the settings to get a better shot.

As a default, most digital point and shoots (and even some of the digital SLRs) are programmed to underexpose your pictures. That means that the shutter is clicking a little faster than it should be, and less light is getting in to create your image. As a result, your pictures are slightly darker, and there is less definition in areas with shadows (including details on individuals). This is not usually an issue, as most pictures have a balanced variation of light contributing to the overall picture.

The problem with shooting pictures in the snow is that most of the light coming into the camera is bright white from the snow, and it tells your camera’s shutter speed to go even faster, letting even less light in for a balanced picture.

This can be easily corrected by manually changing the exposure settings. First, two examples:

The picture below was shot without any exposure compensation. The shutter speed was 1/2000 of a second.

A little dark, but overall not a bad picture.

When we increase the exposure time by one full stop (1/1000 of a second), the shutter is open for twice the time, allowing more of the details in Madelyn’s face to appear.

There are three easy ways to do this manually.

First, most cameras will tell you what the shutter speed is going to be when you are in auto mode and you depress the shutter release button halfway. This information may be displayed through the viewfinder when you look through the eyepiece, or it may appear on the back of your camera on the LCD panel. Whatever that reading is for the shutter speed (let’s say it’s 1/500), switch to manual mode and increase its length by one step (change it to 1/250) and take the picture.

The second way to change this setting is if your camera has an Exposure Compensation (EC) mode. Most digital SLRs allow you to adjust your exposure in 1/3 increments. Simply find the setting on your camera and increase by as many increments as you wish for a better exposure. Most of these cameras also allow you to “bracket” your photos by taking 3, 5, 7, or even 9 photos in succession, each at a different increment (some cameras also allow you to change your increments from 1/3 of a step to a full step). You can then look at the different exposures and determine which might be best for that specific photo. Generally, though, if you are taking pictures of the snow, it’s best to increase your shutter exposure time by at least 1/2 step.

The third way is to get close to the subject you want to shoot and depress the shutter release button halfway to get an exposure reading. Then, when you recompose the shot, make sure you change your shutter setting to that original reading. That way, the exposure will be correct for the subject, while the rest of the picture will be slightly overexposed.

What makes all of this tricky is that the terminology seems contradicting. We increase our shutter exposure time, but the actual number seems as if it decreases (1/500 to 1/250). Underexposed means that some parts of the photo are too dark, while overexposed means that some are too light. Also, adding a full step means that you are slowing down the shutter.  It’s all very confusing.

The bottom line is this: In snow pictures with subjects, slow your shutter speed down. Take a few practice shots at different settings and see which ones you like. It just takes a moment to adjust your settings to get a better picture, and it opens up endless possibilities as you begin to experiment with the settings, making the pictures unique and artistic!

It’s 8:23 p.m., and I’ve just returned from taking some friends to their parents’ home in Lutherville. Their power has been out since 5 this morning, and the temperature was hovering around 50 degrees before I picked them up. BGE has no idea when their power will return. They couldn’t take the chance–not with two kids and a dog. Now, the family is safe and warm. Thank goodness for the Jeep, which navigated brilliantly through both trips.

The condition of the roads is grossly inconsistent, sometimes between stretches of just a few hundred feet. It makes little sense to me how two-lane roads are in better shape than major thoroughfares. They are, though, and some even have dry pavement. The worst road is, ironically enough, my own. Every other road I was on has been plowed at least once.

Not that this makes me think we’ll have school on Monday, or even Tuesday, for that matter. I noticed that some of the side streets that I passed were untouched–not even a pedestrian had strolled along the street; the space between the quiet houses seemed more like a common pasture, smoothed with the expertise of a master pastry chef putting the final touches on a classy, yet simple sheet cake.

Cars parked along roads are buried, and the snow that’s been plowed from the streets has been pushed against (and often over) the cars, making them virtually invisible. It will be days before these cars are unburied and able to move along the streets.

Even Governor O’Malley stated this evening that motorists should stay off the roads “for the next few days.” With temperatures dipping to 10-15 degrees each of the next few nights, I wonder how successful snow plows will be in shaving the ice off the side streets before our next storm hits on Tuesday and into Wednesday. A wintry mix is predicted Tuesday, with all snow anticipated for the evening and into Wednesday with driving winds.

With this additional mid-week storm, It’s my belief that we’ll be out of school until next Tuesday, and that’s assuming that yet another storm predicted for next weekend doesn’t materialize. If if does, though, we could be looking at an additional 2-3 days off of school, racking up a total of 12-13 days off of school.

The last thing any school system wants is a second winter break. The only silver lining is that, as long as the state of emergency exists across Maryland, school systems have the right to apply for a waiver and have those missed days excused from the required 180 days of classroom instruction.

We’ll see what happens. For now, let’s keep helping our neighbors in our community. Check in on those who might need prescription refills, or who might just need a call to let them know someone’s concerned about them.

Until tomorow: stay safe…and warm!

10:13 a.m. Good morning.

This is the view of our front yard/street at 8:30 a.m. (This would be a great I-Spy picture: can you find a car by a tree?). We’ve already measured 24+ inches of heavy, heavy snow, and it’s not supposed to end for another 8 hours. The sustained winds are blowing at 20-35 miles per hour. This storm is on track to be the worst snowstorm in Baltimore’s history. The greatest unofficial storm happened in January 1772, when George Washington and Thomas Jefferson recorded in their journals, separately, that 36 inches of snow fell in both Baltimore and Washington.

We are fortunate to still have our power. Between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m., we lost power on three separate, brief occasions. What made it flicker, and how it came back on, we do not know. No need to question the gift of electricity, though. Our friends have been without power since 3 a.m., and they were without power for nearly 24 hours during the last storm. They are just one family comprising the ever-growing statistic of 126,000 power outages in the Baltimore region. It is possible that, in the next 24 hours, that number will double, if not triple. Temperatures are in the mid-20s and will continue to fall to 14 degrees or lower in the evening. Sustained winds of 15-24 miles per hour will create a wind-chill index near zero degrees.

We’ll head out in about an hour and begin the long and arduous process of digging out. I don’t foresee taking the Jeep for a ride before 4 p.m., if it will even be possible then.

I will post pictures of the dig-out, and if we’re fortunate to get the Jeep on the road before sunset, I’ll do my best to get photos of how the rest of Baltimore looks.

Until then, we are grateful for the comfort and safety of our home, and our thoughts and prayers to those around us who are doing their best to stay warm without electricity. Feel free to post updates from your area in the comments section of this post.