Snow Season

When is the last time you planned a day to spend outdoors capturing some new photographic or video content during the wintertime and you realized either part of the way through the day, or maybe even before leaving the house that you weren’t prepared? I have definitely been there before and the reason for this month’s blog is to hopefully bring some advice to the table that may help you prepare beforehand, give you some wisdom in purchasing necessary gear, and maybe help you gain some more confidence for the next time you step out the door into the winter landscape.

Over the years, I have found that some of the most rewarding times to be a landscape and travel photographer have come during the winter season. The snow brings an ethereal element to the woodlands and mountainscapes, the white foreground within portraits brings some unique illumination opportunities, and the cold, brisk air can actually be captured with cinematic ambience. It is a time of year where it feels as though the world changes overnight. With all of these amazing places and scenes to explore and capture, it can often come with excitement, but also the harsh reality at times that unless you come prepared, the winter weather and elements can send you home early without proper preparation. So on that note, I’ll cover three main sections within this blog:

  • Proper Clothing

  • Camera Gear

  • Outdoor Gear

Probably the most important thing that I have neglected to think about at times and see other photographers do as well is proper clothing. I cannot overstate enough the importance of making sure you are outfitted to withstand the colder temperatures, potential wind, and even storms if the weather “goes south.” The last thing you want to have happen either on a solo day of shooting, or a project with a client, is to not be outfitted properly to stay on location long enough to get the shots that you need. I currently reside in upstate New York where lake effect storms and inclement winter weather are the norm from typically late November to early April. During these months, if I am planning to go out for a day near a major body of water or head up to the mountains, I will wear a base layer initially (wicks sweat off the skin), a mid-layer (protection and insulation from the cold to retain body heat) if there is no rain, snow, or hail in the immediate forecast, and an outer layer (a protective shell from rain, wind, and hail, etc.) will either be worn, or readily accessible within my bag. In order for these to all work effectively and to their maximum potential in providing you warmth, you will want to make sure to choose a fabric that you know your body fares well with. The main goal with outdoor activity during this time of the year, no matter how strenuous or easy, is to moderate how much you sweat to the best of your ability; we’ll call this moisture management. The more you can keep sweating to a minimum, the better off you will be. One very important tip, leave the cotton at home. Cotton kills is a common phrase around this part of the country this time of the year, and for good reason. So if you are shopping at your local outdoor recreation store or sifting through your current wardrobe, make sure to check the product details to see what kind of fabric material is in those layers. I spent all of my time in the Army stationed at cold weather duty stations in Fort Wainwright, Alaska and Fort Drum, New York so the lessons I learned there I continue to bring with me into this line of work as well. One crucial lesson that has been reinforced when it comes to preparation and packing out the bag for the day is that it is always wise to bring all the pieces to your clothing system, even if you don’t think you will use them all. You can always take layers off, but you can’t always add so be mindful of that when you are prepping and when you may be trying to trim down the packing list for weight purposes.

A real quick note on gloves. This is often one of the trickier elements for us as photographers when we are out trying to capture some moments that often come quickly, and leave quickly, due to potentially windy and erratic weather patterns. In the past, I have missed capturing some really brief dramatic sun beams breaking through clouds, as well as beautiful moments of alpenglow because my fingers weren’t readily accessible. One of the ways to help give you a better chance to be ready in those moments is to purchase a pair of photography gloves. There are quite a few options out there, with some of the more renowned brands being The Heat Company, Vallerret, and RucPac. There are options for normal gloves as well as mittens. These may come in handy if you are looking to get access to those digits when finer motor skills are needed for quick lens swapping and camera body manipulation. The other option is to wear a liner and shell. Some liners are now made with sensor technology manufactured into the index finger tip or other digits to allow you to operate touch screens on your phone and back displays on your camera with the liners still on.

Moving on to the next major category, the other thing that I often see neglected although not as often as clothing is appropriate camera gear. When the temperature plummets, the result is that technology often bears the burden. Batteries for your camera run out quicker, equipment can get lost easier if you are scrambling to grab something quickly, and the wet and sometimes windy conditions can cause your lenses to suffer from moisture buildup on the glass. Unfortunately, freezing temperatures are not something that most camera bodies, lenses, and accessories are optimized for. So with that in mind, try to avoid quick temperature transitions with your camera. For instance if you are doing a drive-through from spot to spot along a drive, your camera will be in the warm car, and then back outside in the cold within a short period of time. These transitions will cause the lens to get some condensation, and fog up. One of the ways to keep this from happening is to either place your camera back in an air-tight bag (preferrable) or your camera bag to help mitigate these effects. This will also keep your gear safe from all the other elements that could harm them. Another valuable piece of gear is a lens blower. This will enable you to gently use air pressure to blast away snow from the surface without smearing and potentially dragging water across a larger surface area of the lens. A practice that is best to implement into your workflow (one that may sound redundant but neglected often) is to cap your lens. I cannot count how many stories I have heard of photographers accidentally dropping their camera and breaking the glass on their lens because they didn’t have the cap on. It will save you in the long run if you make a habit of taking a few seconds to do it in between your times of photo taking. A lens hood is also invaluable during this time of the year to not only keep falling snow off the surface of your lens, but to also block the sun if it is trying to flood your shots. And the last one I‘ll note to bring along is to bring a UV Protector, circular polarizer, or neutral density filter. These all offer a variety of different uses which I will explore in a later blog, but potentially the greatest use for the winter is added protection to the surface of the glass for your lens. All of these things I covered would be great to add to your arsenal for winter photography.

The last major category that I would like to cover is vital to consider depending on where you are planning to go, and that is outdoor gear. The more often that you find yourself in the wilderness areas and rugged terrain of the outdoors with your camera, the more you will realize just how important it is to be prepared and to bring the right gear and equipment to your photography projects, especially during the winter. I won’t be able to cover everything in detail in this blog but I will hit on a few majors. Adequate hydration is one of the most neglected pieces of outdoor gear this time of year due to the lower temperatures. It can be deceiving to think you won’t need much, but it is even more important to come prepared with enough water to last you through your day as well as hydrating a couple days ahead of your trip. Your body ends up burning a lot of energy as well as requiring even more water during this season so make sure you come ready. Emergency gear is something that I believe to be paramount in bringing with you, to include: fire starters, a shelter, beacon, and first aid kit just to name a few. Most of the time you may never use them, but there may be that one time that you wish you had them. Even if you never end up using them, it may help someone else. Hand warmers can fall into this category of gear as well and will definitely serve you well on those chilly days when your camera will need those fingers to function well! The last piece of outdoor gear I will touch on is your camera bag or backpack. There are countless bags to choose from and it can feel overwhelming to try and narrow down a good fit especially during the winter where your packing list is lengthier (and bulkier). Taking away the camera gear out of the equation real quick, it is generally wise to bring a 35-60L bag during the winter, so if you see that you can pack all your essentials within a 40L bag, maybe consider getting a 45 or 50L bag to make room for whatever camera gear you may want to bring as well. I use a F-Stop bag during the warmer seasons which comes with an insert to help organize camera gear effectively and can also fit in larger bags of other brand bags for the winter as well. I haven’t been able to find the perfect fit with all my gear yet, but I would rather have a little more room in my bag than not enough, so that is typically how I plan and prepare. Do some research of your own, maybe get some insight and advice from others, and if you ever need help, feel free to contact me anytime through my contact page and I would be happy to help you out!

With all of this in mind, I have created a non-exhaustive list that you may want to consider bringing with you when heading out to some of your favorite locales during the winter:

Clothing

  • Wool Socks (x2)

  • Insulated winter hiking boots

  • Gaiters

  • Soft-shell winter pants

  • Base Layer

    • Top and bottom with extra pair

  • Mid Layer

    • Down/Synthetic puffy jacket

    • Fleece/Mid-weight jacket

  • Outer Layer

    • Gore-Tex/Waterproof Jacket Shell

  • Gloves (Waterproof liners and shell)

  • Balaclava/Neck Gaiter

  • Winter Hat/Beenie

Camera Gear

  • Waterproof Camera Bag

  • Dry bag

  • Extra camera body

  • Wide-Angle Lens

  • Telephoto Zoom Lens

  • Tripod foot spikes

  • Remote Shutter

  • Lens blower/Micro-fiber cloths

  • Extra batteries

  • Extra SD card

  • Rain/Waterproof cover for camera

  • Lens hood

  • Circular Polarizer/Neutral Density Filter

Outdoor Gear (Location/Terrain Dependent)

  • 2 - 3 wide mouth Nalgene/Hydro-Flask water bottles

  • Insulated water bottle carries / Wool sock to put over each bottle (Store upside down)

  • Navigation (Map and compass / GPS)

  • Watch

  • Charge pack

  • Headlamp (with extra batteries)

  • Sleeping Bag (Rated for appropriate temperatures)

  • Emergency beacon (Spot Locator)

  • Emergency shelter

  • Emergency Fire Starter Kit

  • First Aid Kit

  • Pocket Knife

  • Jetboil

  • Food (Lots of it)

  • 35-60L backpack

  • Microspikes or snowshoes (Check local laws for requirements for snowshoes)

  • Trekking Poles

  • Mountaineering Axe

  • Ski goggles (For alpine/exposed summits)

  • Compression Sacks (for organization)

Miscellaneous

  • Sunglasses

  • Chapstick/Lotion

  • Sunscreen

  • Hand warmers/Heat packs

  • Hydro-Flask/Thermos of boiling water

  • Zip-ties

I hope that this blog has been informative and helpful in planning ahead for your next winter outing on your photography journey. If you have any questions about anything that I talked about or maybe about something that I didn’t cover, feel free to visit the contact page here on the website and drop me a line, I would be more than happy to be of assistance to you anyway I can. Safe travels and happy snapping!

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