Ah, another weekend, another day of sub-zero temperatures. As someone who has lived in the Midwest for my entire life, bitter cold winters are par for the course. But last weekend\u2019s double-digit negative temperatures \u2013 down to -17\u00b0 Fahrenheit (that’s -27\u00b0C) \u2013 are a little much, even for a lifelong Michigander.<\/p>\n
No, I didn\u2019t go out and take photos when forecasters issued extreme cold warnings (Minnesota photojournalists, you are my heroes right now). But, as both a professional photographer and someone who uses photo walks for a mental health boost, staying inside all winter isn\u2019t an option.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Over the years, I\u2019ve learned a few tricks to making winter photo treks somewhat enjoyable.<\/p>\n Layers (and more layers)<\/p>\n Putting on a coat and walking out the door isn\u2019t enough when working in freezing temperatures \u2013 what I wear underneath that coat makes a dramatic difference. I have a waterproof down-filled winter coat, but I\u2019m the most comfortable when I wear either a wool sweater or a fleece zip-up underneath that.<\/p>\n Wind can cut through a pair of jeans quickly, so base layers are key here as well. Merino wool works well, but I also have a pair of Carhart base layers that I also love \u2013 and that were a bit more wallet-friendly. In the coldest temps, or when I need to kneel in the snow, I\u2019ll wear a pair of insulated bibs or waterproof snow pants over that.<\/p>\n I hate having cold feet, so I pair some well-insulated snow boots with wool socks.<\/p>\n Pack extra batteries \u2013 and keep them warm<\/p>\n One of the biggest challenges to shooting in the cold is that Li-ion batteries suffer almost just as much as us humans do in the cold. Taking photos in cold weather will drastically decrease a camera’s battery life.<\/p>\n The easiest solution? Plan ahead and pack more camera batteries<\/a> than you think you need. And because those batteries drain fast in the cold, store the extras in an interior pocket on your coat, rather than in the cold camera bag.<\/p>\n In the same way, when I’m walking and don’t need my camera just yet, I also zip it inside my coat.<\/p>\n Photography gloves<\/p>\n Cold is one thing \u2013 cold while handling metal is in a league of its own. The problem is that gloves make adjusting settings and actually accessing the camera\u2019s buttons and dials clumsy at best, and impossible at worst.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why if I\u2019m going to splurge on winter gear, it\u2019s usually on the gloves. Gloves made specifically for photographers enable you to free the tip of your index finger and thumb from the layers of fabric.<\/p>\n The best photography gloves<\/a> can be expensive, though \u2013 and I\u2019ve dropped gloves somewhere along a miles-long hike on more than one occasion.<\/p>\n On a budget, my favorite non-photography gloves that still work with cameras are to pick up a pair of wool two-in-one mittens, where the top flap comes off when you need full dexterity. Sometimes I will even slip a pair of thin gloves under those!<\/p>\n Camera protection against the snow<\/p>\n I have a weather-sealed camera and a handful of weather-sealed lenses. But in particularly heavy snowfall \u2013 or when I need to keep my flash out of the snow \u2013 I\u2019ll grab my camera poncho – a low-cost camera rain cover<\/a>. It\u2019s probably the most affordable photo accessory that I ever bought, and it\u2019s lasted me a few years.<\/p>\n A weather-resistant camera bag<\/p>\n Weather-sealed lenses aren\u2019t sealed when they\u2019re unmounted and sitting in a camera bag. My favorite camera backpack<\/a> has weather-resistant fabric on the exterior. The Wandrd Prvke can\u2019t take a dousing, but it can keep snow off my gear, even when it melts a bit on the bag.<\/p>\n You may also like\u2026<\/p>\n Browse the best cameras for landscape photography<\/a> or the best camera bags<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ah, another weekend, another day of sub-zero temperatures. As someone who has lived in the Midwest for my…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403734,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-403733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}