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How to Capture Steepness?

KingGrump

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Disclaimer" I don't take photos. Mamie does. I just get assigned the tasks of dump, archive and edit.

Over the years, I noticed the side way shots that captured the slope against the sky show the true angle of the slope best.

This is Mineral Basin in spring.
1636000732854.jpeg


The horizon is off and in need of adjustment.

After adjustment. The slope looks bit steeper.
1636000934248.jpeg


Pointing the camera up or down slope usually makes the slope appeared to be less steep.
Here is an example of pointing down slope slightly. Some feeling of the actual steepness is lost. The trees also detracts from the feeling of steep.

1636001152015.jpeg


This one is from W/B at the bottom of West Bowl where it flattened out a bit.
The slope against the sky look very clean.
1636001397957.jpeg


Panning downward definitely lose the real sense of how steep a slope actually is.
This is about half way down Diamond bowl at W/B. Looks like a walk in the park. It is actually much steeper than Mineral Basin in the pics above.
1636001797224.jpeg


Same with this shot of the slope exiting from Door #3 at Snowbird.
1636002028540.jpeg


Sometimes, the suggestion is more impressive than reality.
Dropping into Mineral Basin off the tram at Snowbird.
Photo credit: Someone from Epic Ski.

1636002202437.jpeg
 
Last edited:
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Tony S

Tony S

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Thanks @KingGrump .


Panning downward definitely lose the real sense of how steep a slope actually is.
This is about half way down Diamond bowl at W/B. Looks like a walk in the park. It is actually much steeper than Mineral Basin in the pics above.
This shot may not show the steepness perfectly, but I love the pic anyway. It shows the grandeur of the spot and creates anticipation for dropping into that chute, whose entrance is another instance of "suggestion."


Sometimes, the suggestion is more impressive than reality.
Dropping into Mineral Basin off the tram at Snowbird.
Photo credit: Someone from Epic Ski.
Totally. BTW, I was there at that moment. Those are JohnL's red and white boots. It was like the first 10 meters of the first run of the first day of the Utah gathering, and you were like, "Let's start here!" :rolleyes:
 

James

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Disclaimer" I don't take photos. Mamie does. I just get assigned the tasks of dump, archive and edit.

Over the years, I noticed the side way shots that captured the slope against the sky show the true angle of the slope best.

This is Mineral Basin in spring.
View attachment 147358

The horizon is off and in need of adjustment.

After adjustment. The slope looks bit steeper.
View attachment 147359

Pointing the camera up or down slope usually makes the slope appeared to be less steep.
Here is an example of pointing down slope slightly. Some feeling of the actual steepness is lost. The trees also detracts from the feeling of steep.

View attachment 147360

This one is from W/B at the bottom of West Bowl where it flattened out a bit.
The slope against the sky look very clean.
View attachment 147361

Panning downward definitely lose the real sense of how steep a slope actually is.
This is about half way down Diamond bowl at W/B. Looks like a walk in the park. It is actually much steeper than Mineral Basin in the pics above.
View attachment 147362

Same with this shot of the slope exiting from Door #3 at Snowbird.
View attachment 147363

Sometimes, the suggestion is more impressive than reality.
Dropping into Mineral Basin off the tram at Snowbird.
Photo credit: Someone from Epic Ski.

View attachment 147364

87FA2979-B4DE-4FEB-815F-B38DABDE68BF.jpeg

I think this one gives steepness by the skier. There’s a good bit of vertical separation between downhill and uphill feet and they’re not far apart.

0C90025D-476B-45A6-9636-81613FB2D60F.jpeg

This one I think you underestimate. It gives steepness by the overall distance to the bottom, clouds, and plunging rock line.
I guess you’re on a flatter spot? There’s not huge vertical distance between feet standing there.
It the foreground was cropped some it might enhance steepness perception.
 

KingGrump

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Nice photo! I missed that run. Was that the year of The W-B Gathering? @Lady_Salina covered a lot of terrain during that event!

That was the year of the gathering (2017). The gathering was in March. That pic was taken in January.

I think this one gives steepness by the skier. There’s a good bit of vertical separation between downhill and uphill feet and they’re not far apart.

No, she is just short.

I guess you’re on a flatter spot?

Of course we are on a flatter spot. We are no as dumb as we looked.
 
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Tony S

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0C90025D-476B-45A6-9636-81613FB2D60F.jpeg

This one I think you underestimate. It gives steepness by the overall distance to the bottom, clouds, and plunging rock line.
I guess you’re on a flatter spot? There’s not huge vertical distance between feet standing there.
It the foreground was cropped some it might enhance steepness perception.

Of course we are on a flatter spot. We are no as dumb as we looked.

Lisa didn't look dumb. In fact she looks more like, "Can we please get this show on the road? Men. It's always another tea party with them. Sheesh."
 

James

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Here’s the opening shot in that Markus Eder film posted.
1DDC792F-A511-4369-96DF-F6A6CD9FC87D.png

Get the protractor out. Looks 45+ degrees. Doesn’t have the dangerous feel that it would being there.

DE4FCC23-1760-4084-9E8D-EB40928D93D3.jpeg

Heavily cropping the above image so he’s coming down the snow field filling frame might help.

Some Candide “One of those Days” vibes on this one.

 
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dbostedo

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Looks 45+ degrees.

Taking this crop of the steepest part, and looking at the pixel counts give us a run and rise (for the angle of the photo) of 223 pixels across and 174 pixels up, or a ratio of 0.78 (rise / run) - a percent grade of 78%. That converts to a slope angle of 38 degrees.

1636056604842.png


It could be steeper than that is the edge of the snow against the sky is not actually the fall-line. If the fall-line is actually coming more at the camera, it could be significantly steeper. Hard to tell.
 

1chris5

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@James, I'm not sure where that was. This is Mont Fort, it was pretty steep but not crazy. About 40°? I think the photo is fairly accurate. View attachment 146146

Deep Temerity Aspen Highlands

View attachment 146147

Or just go to Taos ...

View attachment 146148 View attachment 146149


View attachment 146151 View attachment 146152

View attachment 146150
Its funny, most shots don’t look that steep ( although I’m sure they are) but that first Taos shot and the snowboare pic - is steep! That first one sends shivers up my spine. All the pictures are great in this post.
 

Ken_R

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Generally it is much much easier to capture steepness with normal to telephoto lenses and from the side or above with good points of reference at different distances. With wide angle lenses, forget about it.
 
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Tony S

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Hey! I stumbled across this pic of @mdf at Taos in - I think - Hunziker Main. I don't think I took it. I think it might have been taken by @MattSmith . I especially like the ominous lurking almost-buried rock in the immediate foreground.

HunzikerMainMike-01.jpg
 

James

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I especially like the ominous lurking almost-buried rock in the immediate foreground.
Almost buried, huh?
You guys really went after those rum-candies out there. (“Alice!..” - Ralph Kramden)
I used an almost-highlighter. Hopefully it’s visible.
7FCB0343-FDBE-4EC2-9820-3C85162A1AE3.jpeg

See, that’s where if he had Amphibio, he’d be wondering if he had the skis on the right feet. Meanwhile, those below are wondering if this is the time the 30yr old boots come apart.
 

mdf

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Hey! I stumbled across this pic of @mdf at Taos in - I think - Hunziker Main. I don't think I took it. I think it might have been taken by @MattSmith . I especially like the ominous lurking almost-buried rock in the immediate foreground.

View attachment 147932
Yeah, that was hairy. I was supposed to come out of the woods on the near side of those rocks. I was frozen at the crux for quite awhile before I went for it. But I made it.

Now that I think of it, that was one of the rare times I did not say "that was easier than it looked" afterwards.

Almost buried, huh?
You guys really went after those rum-candies out there. (“Alice!..” - Ralph Kramden)
I used an almost-highlighter. Hopefully it’s visible
Ehh, it's runout by the time you get to that rock.

Now that was a Bad Idea but the Ministry didn't have a quorum!
 

KingGrump

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Meanwhile, those below are wondering if this is the time the 30yr old boots come apart.

Didn't on that run.
We'll give it another try this season.
 
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Tony S

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Almost buried, huh?
You guys really went after those rum-candies out there. (“Alice!..” - Ralph Kramden)
I used an almost-highlighter. Hopefully it’s visible.
View attachment 147934
See, that’s where if he had Amphibio, he’d be wondering if he had the skis on the right feet. Meanwhile, those below are wondering if this is the time the 30yr old boots come apart.
HunzikerMainMike-01~2.jpg
 

Jerez

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I'm not sure which spot the original photo is, and I've not skied Turbinator. But I have skied Meatball a couple of times and it can't be all that bad (given that I skied it ogwink). The entry looks scary in part because it's steep and has a tree in it and you can't see past it really, but it mellows out in a couple of turns and seemed to have get less skied than other chutes off the ridge. (That was before they opened up the Wild West Glades though. So perhaps it gets more skied off now. I'm too old and lazy to hike that far these days.)
 

clong83

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I'm not sure which spot the original photo is, and I've not skied Turbinator. But I have skied Meatball a couple of times and it can't be all that bad (given that I skied it ogwink). The entry looks scary in part because it's steep and has a tree in it and you can't see past it really, but it mellows out in a couple of turns and seemed to have get less skied than other chutes off the ridge. (That was before they opened up the Wild West Glades though. So perhaps it gets more skied off now. I'm too old and lazy to hike that far these days.)
I seem to remember more than one tree and it being really tight and steep and rocky for the first 100 ft or so, but there are also a couple of spots you can drop in to bypass the worst of it, so it may not be the best example. Also I could be putting it in the blender and confusing it with a different run as I haven't done that one specifically in a couple of years.

So I'll withdraw that example and substitute "The Schuetz", which has a nice 4-6 foot sheer drop with no runout into a one-man steep chute between rock faces as an entrance. :)

And actually, I think with the opening and popularity of Wild West, everything off the ridge from Meatball onward is less skied now, if anything. When it is open, the Muse Bowl is turning into one of my favorite powder stashes for leftovers a few days after a storm. As long as it is cold enough that it doesn't crust over, it's a great spot, if a tad short.
 

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