Brace yourselves, winter is coming

[exemplaria]

Please share your cold weather photography tips here. I'm curious about everything - how to stay warm, gear issues, but also how to photograph hugely bright scenes with a ton of snow.

 

[480sparky39 38]

Be very careful about the temperature swings with your gear. Condensation can not only ruin a shot when there's moisture on the lens, it can really mess up your gear if it forms inside.

 

[KmH]

Condensation forms when gear is moved from a cool and dry environment to a warm and humid environment. Leaving your gear in your gear bag until the temperature of the gear has equalized substantially mitigates condensation.

Consequently condensation is generally more of an image making issue when going outside in the summer than going inside in the winter.

However, other gear concerns are mainly about keeping batteries warm so they deliver full power.

As far as personal protection the main issues are protecting yourself from low temperatures and wind. Wind adds a wind chill factor and can rapidly sap body heat.

Your profile doesn't indicate where on the planet you are.

January 5, 2009 - Central Iowa, temperature with wind chill, -15° (47°below freezing), gripped Nikon D90 with 2 Nikon batteries on a tripod. I was wearing layers head to toe.

 

[exemplaria]

Minnesota, had flurries this weekend. I'm pretty good at keeping myself warm, but other stuff not so much. Also in traditional Minnesota style my method for keeping myself warm is "an abundance of bluky layers", which is often not conducive to working with small buttons on electronic equipment.

 

[manaheim]

On a more serious note, I highly recommend those mittens where you can fold back the end and expose fingers. Very useful for harsh weather photography.

 

[480sparky39 38]

..........However, other gear concerns are mainly about keeping batteries warm so they deliver full power...........

Back in my film days, I built a custom battery kit that allowed my batteries to ride in my shirt pocket. A cord ran from them to my camera battery chamber. With today's DSLRs that have AC adapters, it would be much easier to build such a Rube Goldberg contraption.

 

[imtravy]

Minnesota, had flurries this weekend. I'm pretty good at keeping myself warm, but other stuff not so much. Also in traditional Minnesota style my method for keeping myself warm is "an abundance of bluky layers", which is often not conducive to working with small buttons on electronic equipment.

Where in Minnesota are you from? I'm from Duluth

 

[exemplaria]

Twin Cities, although sparky and kmh may be pleased to know I'm originally from Iowa City.

 

[KmH]

which is often not conducive to working with small buttons on electronic equipment.

Rag wool fingerless gloves worn inside rag wool mittens works well.

Get wool gloves and mittens that have been shrunk to size. They are virtually windproof and very water resistant.

 

[poker_jake]

Minnesota here also. For the early morning winter shots, I dress warm layers and mainly worry about fingers. I wear the thin, cheap fingered wool gloves and keep choppers in my coat pockets and once all set up put my remote shutter in them(when using tripod) and then hands in the choppers. Then only need to remove for recomposition and setting changes.

Otherwise keep the camera around the neck and when needing to shoot pull the hands out of the choppers

 

[austriker]

fantastic shots of MN, reminds me of home (grew up there).. Love splitrock

 

[richardcrives]

That sunset is really good. That's about the time the temperatures drop a few degrees and you really feel it. Your camera feels it too.

 

[richardcrives]

This is an awesome photo with the snow on the rocks with the lighthouse way in the background. You have excellent composition. Where is this taken by the way? Great job!
Richard does photography

 

[deeky]

This is an awesome photo with the snow on the rocks with the lighthouse way in the background. You have excellent composition. Where is this taken by the way? Great job!
Richard does photography

It is Splitrock Lighthouse, Splitrock State Park along the North Shore of Lake Superior. It is northeast of Duluth, about an hour or so if I recall. Love the North Shore!