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Author Topic: Cold Weather Tips?  (Read 5178 times)

Mousecop

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Cold Weather Tips?
« on: December 16, 2016, 04:43:03 pm »

So, I'm not really a newb, but I don't usually do a lot of hiking or landscape work during the winter. I'm planning to do a bit more this year. In terms of both hiking and camera gear, I should be mostly set. Except for snow shoes, and a balaclava that won't fog up my glasses.  ;)

Any particular tips for solo landscape work in cold weather? In particular, it seems like I'll be moving slower or stopping altogether, which will make for colder hiking than usual.

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Christopher Sanderson

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Re: Cold Weather Tips?
« Reply #1 on: December 16, 2016, 10:30:08 pm »

You may be interested in Luminous Landscape Video Journal #10

davidgp

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Cold Weather Tips?
« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2016, 05:58:11 am »

Hi,

Your batteries will dry sooner than later... Keep them in an inside pocket of your clothes so they are warn that will give you a bit more minutes of shooting... Basically, batteries do not like cold weather.

If after a shooting session you are going to enter in a hot building or car... Do not open your camera bag (unless it is wet by rain and you need to dry it)... Being the camera and lenses cold with respect the room temperature... All the water in the air is going to condense in your equipment... Leave it for several hour so your equipment has time to rise its temperature.

If, when you enter in that house or car, you are planning to charge batteries or memory cards, take them from your camera or camera bag before entering the house or car... So you don't need to open the bag.

Also, I tend to wear two layers of gloves... thin ones to use the camera and a big warmer ones for when I'm not shooting...

Many of this comments I got it from the video that Chris mentions...

Regards,

David


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TonyVentourisPhotography

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Re: Cold Weather Tips?
« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2016, 06:31:40 pm »

Not completely my area of expertise, but use the same common sense and outdoor knowledge for hiking and trekking, etc... Let someone know where you are going.  Also keep an extra layer or some dry socks and gloves in the car.  You never know!
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jeffh

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Re: Cold Weather Tips?
« Reply #4 on: January 26, 2017, 01:01:11 pm »

I shoot while backcountry skiing among other activities, and it's a challenge no doubt. To add to the above suggestions:

-When you raise your ice cold camera to your eye, all it takes is one hot exhale of breath to fog your eyepiece for the next 10 minutes and ruin your shooting. If your camera manufacturer makes accessory eye pieces, see if they make a double-pane one (ex. Nikon's DK-17A Anti-Fog Eyepiece).
-Get used to shooting in live mode from the rear display so you don't have to rely on your eyepiece.
-The addition of thick gloves makes it hard to use everything, including lens caps and zippers. I like to use Peak Design Capture clips to keep my camera on one shoulder and a lens on the other. I also try to stick to lens hoods for protection and leave the lens caps in a pocket.
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Torbjörn Tapani

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Re: Cold Weather Tips?
« Reply #5 on: January 26, 2017, 01:05:57 pm »

-Get used to shooting with viewfinder as liveview will drain your batteries in no time. Check focus but then disable liveview whenever possible.
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BobShaw

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Re: Cold Weather Tips?
« Reply #6 on: January 26, 2017, 05:02:04 pm »

Any particular tips for solo landscape work in cold weather?
Get a Spot 3 or similar emergency beacon. In Australia at least if I break a leg in the middle of no where and have water I can probably last a few days. In cold country you will be dead that night.
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hogloff

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Re: Cold Weather Tips?
« Reply #7 on: February 24, 2017, 03:09:15 pm »

Not completely my area of expertise, but use the same common sense and outdoor knowledge for hiking and trekking, etc... Let someone know where you are going.  Also keep an extra layer or some dry socks and gloves in the car.  You never know!

Having the extra layer and dry socks and hat in the car does you no good when you break your leg and need to shelter in the cold. Always pack dry clothes as well as basic safety / medical supplies including things like a candle and matches. You never know when you cannot make it back to your car.
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hogloff

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Re: Cold Weather Tips?
« Reply #8 on: February 24, 2017, 03:11:29 pm »

Get a Spot 3 or similar emergency beacon. In Australia at least if I break a leg in the middle of no where and have water I can probably last a few days. In cold country you will be dead that night.

You might be dead if you don't prepare ahead of time. Extra clothes and a way to make some heat ( candle ) goes a long way to keeping alive.
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SZRitter

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Re: Cold Weather Tips?
« Reply #9 on: February 24, 2017, 05:18:55 pm »

Dress in layers. If you are carrying a good pack, you can add/shed layers as you go and conditions change.
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pcgpcg

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Re: Cold Weather Tips?
« Reply #10 on: February 24, 2017, 09:31:05 pm »

Like others have indicated, this opens a whole new topic - how to travel outdoors safely in cold weather, which is probably best left to a dedicated thread on an outdoor-related forum. Here are several things I do that are specifically related to photographing in the cold.

1)While traveling (bc skiing, snowshoeing, or hiking) I am adding/removing layers as conditions dictate. If it is really cold (winter, not spring), then when I stop to photograph something, the first thing I do is remove my pack and put on a down parka and down mittens. The mittens are expensive expedition style down mittens ($!). I put a Costco handwarmer in each one and secure them to my arms so that when I remove them they hang free. I can do most things I need to do with the camera with the mittens on, but inevitably one will need to come off. Depending on the temperature and how much wind there is, they can stay off for up to a minute before I need to get my hand back in. Sometimes if it's windy then ten seconds is about all I'm willing to expose my fingers. This works well for me. It is easy to tempt frostbite when you are excited about getting a shot.

2) I leash my lens cap as well as my mittens. A simple task like removing a lens cap and putting it in a coat pocket (which needs to be unzipped then zipped back up) is far more difficult when it's cold and you have gloves on. Ever drop a lens cap in deep powder snow?

3) When I get back to my truck I seal my camera and lens in a large Ziploc style plastic bag. The odor-proof plastic bear bags from REI are perfect for this. Then, if I am moving to a new location, I put the bag on my dashboard where the defroster can blast it. If I am staying put I put the bag in front of the furnace in my camper. Obviously I don't open the bag until the contents are warm, to avoid condensation.

4) Usually when it is snowing, everything is cold enough that the snow is not a problem because it just falls off the camera like feathers. If it is wet snow or rain, then I use a StormJacket. If I'm using a tripod then a great setup (if it's not windy) is to throw a poncho over the whole affair and get under it without poking your head through the head hole - that's where the lens goes.

5) Lastly, if you are really new to this and just venturing out...
Skis are much faster and far more efficient to travel on, but require more skill than showshoes and are harder to deal with while photographing. First of all you now have ski poles to deal with, in addition to a tripod, camera, etc. Also, it is more tiring to stay balanced on skis for long periods of time and lastly, skis love to collide with tripod legs when you need to move around. Bottom line, a pair of technical snowshoes (MSR Lightning Ascent) are far easier to deal with than skis. They are smaller and lighter than standard snowshoes and will grip on icy slopes as well. They are so convenient that I have tied them on my pack for an all-day or multi-day trip. Then when I get to the area where I want to work, I ditch the skis and poles and put on the snowshoes. I see a lot of people snowshoeing with ski poles, but if you are reasonably athletic you can easily do without. Eliminate the clutter.


« Last Edit: February 24, 2017, 09:38:29 pm by pcgpcg »
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BobShaw

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Re: Cold Weather Tips?
« Reply #11 on: February 25, 2017, 06:59:59 pm »

You might be dead if you don't prepare ahead of time. Extra clothes and a way to make some heat ( candle ) goes a long way to keeping alive.
Clothes do not heat the body. The body makes its own heat provided it can burn food. The clothes just insulate the body to stop the heat being lost. Take a chocolate bar.
You would need to put the candle inside the body (or else use it to start a proper fire)
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brianrybolt

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Re: Cold Weather Tips?
« Reply #12 on: February 27, 2017, 09:46:20 am »

You may be interested in Luminous Landscape Video Journal #10

Thanks for mentioning Video Journal 10.  Haven't looked at it for ages and learned a lot for doing so.
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