Cold Weather Shooting

[Boomer]

Any advice on winter photography? I'm heading up to Wisconsin Saturday (the HIGH is 6) for a week and am hoping for some different shooting opportunities. I'm using a Canon 20D and have the grip so my battery life will be a little longer, but I know the cold will eat them up. Any other tips other than lots of hot toddies? Thanks.

[PeteQ]

One of the things to keep in mind is condensation. When bringing cold soaked items into warms areas moisture can form and obviously this isn't good for camera's and their electronics. I was up in South Dakaota with similar temperatures recently and took some simple precautions similar to those that I have used for years with all kinds of sensitive items. Try to keep the item in a bag or wrapped in something when making the temperture transitions. Example, when you go to bring it inside from having it out all day, keep it in your camera bag that you have had outside also. Leave it closed so it can come to room temperature slowly. Same going the other way.... Simple but effective.

[JohnRushing]

1

[CypressPhotog]

Well, to me it's very difficult to shoot with gloves on. So, I don't wear gloves...hands freeze. Buy pocket hand warmers. They come in all sizes (at sporting goods stores..Academy, Gander Mtn, Bass Pro Shop, REI). You open them up and they stay warm for 7 hours. Shoot until you can't feel the buttons any longer, stick your hands in your pockets. They warm up almost instantly....much faster than sticking them back in your gloves. Get the biggest ones you can. Also, wrap your tripod legs with foam or pipe insulation. Next, post pics of the cold on TPF so we can see what snow looks like. :)

[dminton]

Only shoot one battery at a time, and keep the other in a warm pocket. Cold weather is gonna eat the batteries alive. If your outside shooting for any significant amount of time, get some of the little chemical hand warmers mentioned above and tape em to the battery grip to keep the batteries warm while shooting. Alpine mountain climbing shooters and snowboarding shooters do this alot. Oh yeah, they work for the hands too.

[Boomer]

Thanks, all, for your expertise. All good ideas that will definately help me.