But cold is rather an ennemy for our photo gear (and for photographers). So, here are a few of the tips and tricks I collected from photographers really used to this situation and who accepted to share them with me (and you).

Gear

Normal operating temperature of most cameras is between 0°C and 35°C. Most of them would probably keep working under 0°C, but they would be more exposed to the risk of locking down. Pro cameras have a much wider range (their cost is also much larger) but even they need to be taken care of.

Acclimatization

Avoid going directly from a hot car to the low external temperature (or worse, bringing back to heat a camera which just spent fifteen minutes at -30°C) without a very smooth transition. Keep your gear in a bag during long minutes (usually half an hour is enough) in a bag which will slow down the transition as much as possible.
Some products are designed specifically for that purpose (to protect and to allow easy manipulation during those transition phases):

• Lenscoat BodyGuard Compact CB
• Protective neoprene pouches – Lens pouches

You want to avoid condensation as much as possible (short-circuits can easily damage the best electronics) or frost (which will glue mechanisms). Beware of flash lights which are more sensitive because of high voltages used inside their electronics.

When temperatures are really low or for ease of use, you can leave all your gear (except batteries) in the permanent cold. Just be sure to avoid humidity and, if you are in more “civilized” areas, to keep it out of sight.

If condensation happens, don’t wait: Remove the battery, remove the lens and let it all breathe and dry, avoiding humid places. Limit all mechanical handling (don’t play with this lens rings) and keep the batteries out until the last trace of humidity is gone for sure. With no electricity, there are very very few risks of permanent damage.

Rain or snow

From all that precedes, you have understood that you don’t want to expose your gear to rain or snow or sleet, when it’s cold. Anything protective will be good. Even a plastic bag attached with gaffer scotch tape will protect your camera and lens.

Battery

Now, go buy some more spare batteries. In cold weather, their autonomy drops down to ridiculous levels. You will need to switch them often. So, you need a stock.

But the best to keep them working is keep them warm: Inside your own clothes (not inthe external pockets, of course). Just draw it out when needed. Even if you need to do that quite often.

(and don’t forget to have enough chargers -or enough charging time- to bring three times more batteries than ususal; Keep charging).

Lenses

To avoid humidity, just avoid swithing lenses. All the more, if you are outside and it is snowing…

Photography

The photographer must stay warm

OK! Maybe not warm, but not too cold. And confortable enough not to shiver (this would blur the shots ). You will do nothing good if you are frozen. Start by getting advice from people from the region, follwo their advice. And start with:

• For Winter clothes, several layers are better than one.
• Since you may have to move from one temperature to another, you must be ready to adapt quickly (add or remove layers).
• Don’t go too far: Avoid sweating; It would only reduce the efficiency of the best technical clothes.

But remember two important factors:

• Most photographers move very little; Most sports-oriented recommendations must be adapted (less phyiscal exertion means less heat produced by the body).
• In case of wind, if you can’t find a proper shelter (e.g. when stalking an animal), the effects of cold are amplified quickly and you need added protection.

Gloves

Try and handle little buttons either with frozen fingers or with mittens… My recommendation:

• A first layer of silk mini-gloves (very thin, very confortable and quite isolating)
• On top of them, you’ll put the thickest gloves you can buy if you find them practical to handle the camera. Don’t be shy! Bring your camera to the clothes store. Or use the gloves to handle the buttons on the side of your smartphone. You’ll be a good judge of what is OK or not.
• Possibly, buy very thick gloves but cut the forefinger to allow the finger out. Not elegant, but efficient. And, there comes the advantage of a silk glove inside.

Silk gloves tend to tear down easily, but they cost near to nothing. So, find a bargain sale and buy several pairs.

Bag

More than ever, you want a bag that is easy to open and close (even with mittens) and easy to handle (even over thick clothes).

Plan ahead

You will have less opportunities to fail or miss. So, plan ahead. Prepare for all. Think about the photos you want to shoot and choose your gear for that. Choose your focal length. Choose sensitivity. Choose your clothes.

Before you leave.

Experiment

In Winter, most subjects are slower. It’s time to experiment. Change speed and aperture. change sensitivity. Change your frame.

Expose

Light can be tricky, so, if you think you can handle it, go RAW to have more correction possibilities for an imperfect exposure.

On snow, you may have to over-expose to keep a white surface despite the camera computer trying to make it look dull and grey. 1 stop. Sometimes 2. Check the histogram if your camera can display it. Or use exposure bracketing (e.g. 3 or 5 shots with 1/2 stop spaces).

Since it may be very difficult to correctly judge images on a small LCD, never delete an image in the field. This is better done in front of your computer screen.

Correct

Back on the computer, you will choose the best exposed shot (where there is no burnt white lights, no black shadows) and you may correct it slightly to your taste.

If your pictures appear quite dull, think about pushing the blacks a little. Sometimes a little added contrast may do wonders, but remember that Winter is made of low contrasts on white surfaces.

Watch

Look for your subject, but don’t forget your footsteps in the snow. Maybe, you need to plan where you’ll be walking? Again, plan ahead.

Remove snow

A few snow flakes may be photo-bombing your best shot. Remember that you always can use a slow speed and a tripod to hide a few of them.

And some personal pleasure!

Don’t forget a little comfort: Bring a vacuum bottle filled with a hot drink. There’s nothing better to improve poor morale when it’s cold or when the light does not want to be right.

« 2011, Neiges et Glaces du Monde » (2011, Snows and ices of the world) is a project of Marion Jonchères, French mountaineer, sportswoman, adventurer to the end of the world. During a full year, this frail young woman will face cold and altitude while climbing icy summits all over the world, on all continents.

But Marion is also a photographer ; This is why we asked her to share her tips and tricks with us for a better photography in (high) altitude. They will be applicable under 6000m too, of course.

You can follow her 2011 adventure on her blog at ice-altitude.com.

When Yves asks me about the peculiarities of mountain photography, I ask back: What mountain photography? The pictures of the admiring tourist using his photo camera from an outdoor café facing the snowy peaks? Maybe not… Or the pictures of an assiduous practitioner, whose camera is a part of the mountaineering gear? Of course, this goes with some constrains… Here are the lessons I draw from my modest amateur experience.

• • Focus on a camera body as compact and lightweight as possibleDon’t forget that you must carry the photo gear and that it must not limit your progression. The photo hardware is stored in the backpack or carried, inside the clothes or on a shoulder strap. Forget about sensitive equipment!
    If you leave for a trekking or a long expedition, remember the spare batteries or solar battery chargers. The most farsighted mountaineer will have several memory cards, just as insurance against losing all the pictures in case of the long fall of the camera into a crevice or a river…
  • Use a UV filterUltra-violet (UV) light density will increase with altitude. Snow has a blinding effect. The UV filter (Skylight 1A or 1B) helps moderate these effects. Moreover, it will protect the lens if, like I do to speed up operation, you never cover the lens between shots.
  • Favor a wide-angle lens and leave the telephoto homeA wide-angle lens (up to 18 mm) will allow to step back from the somewhat imposing mountains and will better capture your feeling in front of a mountain range… Sometimes, one would wish being equipped for panorama photography!To capture pictures of your climbing partner in action, forget the telephoto lens except if you intend to check on his ice spikes or his climbing helmet. However, a slightly longer focal length (135 mm) is useful to isolate an individual while keeping some image depth.

    And if you want to track the progress of your partners on a mountain side or define an itinerary, you’d better have binoculars ; It’s less heavy and more powerful.

  • Of the difficulty to capture the actual inclination of a rock / snow / ice slopeThe rock wall is vertical and snow slope is inclined to more than 60 degrees, and your leader, above you, still seems to be crawling on all fours? This is the main difficulty for a picture or the progress of your leader. You’d better try to shoot pictures of a person roughly on the same level as you (be sure to catch his best profile!), the sky or other mountains being a background to highlight the position of your model and the slope he/she’s working on. Some low angle shots may be successful too if you keep composition lines or a focal point (an ice tongue or a moraine…).

• Forget about back-lightingExcept if you want to draw the different planes of ranges up to the horizon, mountain is usually quite ugly when back-lit, crushed in light, rock will become black, without any of the contrasts brought by a more favorable lighting.
• Which is the nicest light?Very personal question… If the sunsets can give you magnificent colors, most notably in rosy tints, still prefer the colors of sunrise. The morning orange will be warmer than in the evening and the atmosphere will be clearer. Also notice with interest the pastel lights so peculiar in a Winter afternoon, drawing into apricot or peach: Quite a treat (figuratively speaking)!
• To dazzle your friendsYou just climbed a snow couloir still somewhat unimpressive? So, climb down quickly and shoot the couloir while facing it from a little distance: Your friends may feel that it is now near vertical!
• Despite all your talent and the quality of all your gear… be ready for frustration!Stopping to get your camera out of your jacket will quickly become annoying when you also have to concentrate on your progress. How many times did I feel I had shot 100 pictures to discover only 30 in the camera when the climb is done and most of them uninterested or not spectacular enough or not worth taking… It is somewhat hard to simultaneously climb, admire and shoot! Choose your partner cautiously: On top of his mountaineering qualities, he must be patient to stop whenever you want and whenever the safety conditions are met (certainly not under a serac or in the middle of a snow bridge…)