Photos

Cold Weather Photography Tips

Prepared by Nelson Liu for Baffin Safari

Clothings

⦁ It doesn’t matter how warm your body is. If your feet are cold, you won’t last very long

in the field. Use a good pair of well-insulated and waterproof boots, as well as warm

socks.

⦁ You may not be able to feel the camera buttons when wearing winter gloves. Using a

base layer gloves with add-on mittens keeps you warm and gives you the flexibility to

take off one mitten to change camera settings if needed.

⦁ Avoid sweating at all costs. Dress in layers and have a base layer that is "moisture

wicking".

⦁ In the early season, skiing goggle and face cover would make travelling on qamutiik

through the sea ice more comfortable.

⦁ 24 hour sunlight in the high arctic means sunglasses and sun screen are essential.

Camera Equipment

⦁ Waterproof camera backpack can keep your gear clean and protected from the

elements.

⦁ If you have a backup camera body, consider going out with two cameras so you can

shoot at different focal lengths without having to switch lenses. Changing lenses can be

a real challenge in cold, wintery conditions. When you change lenses, you also risk

exposing your camera sensor to moisture.

⦁ Camera battery life can be severely affected by cold weather. This is especially true for

small size point-and-shoot type of cameras.

1. Bring many batteries and carry them close to your body to keep them warm.

2. Alternatively, use hand warmer to keep the batteries relatively warm.

3. Some folks use a rubber band to attach a hand warmer to their camera to keep the

battery compartment warm.

4. Put the depleted battery in a different pocket than the full batteries so you don’t

get confused.

5. Newer camera models support charging with portable USB battery. That can be an

alternate power source when all camera batteries are drained.

Operational Considerations

⦁ Be familiar with your camera before this tour. Bone-chilling temperatures are not ideal

for figuring out how to bring up your histogram, changing aperture or operating your

tripod especially when prime wildlife photography opportunity is in front of us. It’s all

about efficiency out there, and it really helps if you are familiar with your gear and can

operate it with gloves on.

⦁ When taking a shot, take care not to exhale near the lens, eye-piece or LCD screen.

Look away from the camera, or take a step back, before exhaling. Otherwise,

condensation will freeze to the surface of your lens instantly.

⦁ Since the snow can act as a giant reflector, there is a greater chance of stray light

reaching your lens and causing unwanted lens flare. Use a lens hood to prevent this.

⦁ Condensation problem:

1. When going between indoor and outdoor, the sudden temperature change can

cause condensation on the outside and inside of lenses and camera bodies. The key

is to keep your equipment covered and let it warm up or cool down slowly to

prevent moisture build up.

2. Here are some ways to keep your equipment covered:

i. Put them in a dry bag;

ii. Put them in a large ziplok bag and then in your backpack;

iii. Put them in your backpack and then put the backpack in a large trash bag;

iv. Put them in a camera backpack that has good insulation;

⦁ Bring one or more fully charged portable USB battery (10,000mAh recommended) so

that you will always be able to recharge your camera battery at anytime. Note that

while power generator is available to provide electricity, it won't be running while we

are on the go or during night time due to its noise.

⦁ Consider having a backup solution for your precise photos in case of memory card

failure/loss. Backup can be done using a small laptop with enough harddrive space or

with removable harddrive/SSD attached.

⦁ Bring an extra charging cable in case one snaps due to extreme cold weather.