Winter photography is challenging in many ways. The biggest concern is of course, the cold! It not only affects us, but our equipment as well. Let's first discuss equipment.

The single biggest problem you will have with equipment concerns the effects of cold on camera batteries. For example, one camera manual we checked states that at 20 degrees C, you can expect 50 rolls of film per set of alkaline batteries. At -10 C, the same set only gives 9 rolls! If you are using flash, expect a similar reduction in capacity. One strategy is to put a new set of batteries in the camera and carry a spare set in a warm pocket. Once you notice a significant slowdown in camera or flash function, insert the warm set and put the cold ones back into the warm pocket. It is also helpful to keep your camera close to your body by unzipping an outer shell. Therefore dressing in layers is useful. You simply pull the camera out from under your outer layer when you expect to take a photo. If you are using a tripod, a quick release plate on the camera/lens will make things a lot easier to set up.

At low temperatures, the film will become more brittle. If you have a camera with manual advance, advance slower than you normally would. For those with automatic advance, shoot in single frame advance instead of multiple frames per second. Advancing slower than normal has another benefit. At low temperatures, static electricity can be a problem due to cold air's inability to hold much moisture. By advancing your film one frame at a time you will minimize the possibility of an electrical discharge occurring as the film is advanced and affecting the film.

If it is snowing, avoid the use of on-camera flash. If you are using flash, use a cord and get the flash at least a few feet away from the camera. If you don't, the picture will look like driving with your high beams on in a snowstorm! Another concern during snowfall, is the effect of moisture on the camera and lens. Since we are trying to keep them warm, the snow will melt on the camera. You can use commercially available waterproof devices, or you can simply grab a plastic bag and drape over the camera and lens. Make sure you have a lens cleaning kit available to clean the droplets off.

Condensation is yet another problem. Taking a warm object (a.k.a. camera) into the cold outdoors doesn't present a problem. Taking the same cold camera from the outdoors back inside will however, cause condensation to form. The best way to deal with this is to put your camera into your camera bag and cover with a towel or coat as soon as you get indoors. This way the camera will warm up slowly and moisture will not form on to it and potentially cause problems. Some sources suggest that simply putting the cold camera into a sealed plastic bag while outside, and then taking it indoors is sufficient precautions.

While it is great if the camera is warm, what about ourselves? If you expect to be stationary, dress much warmer than you would think necessary. There are also heat packets for gloves or boots. Operating camera controls with bulky gloves is difficult at best. A solution is to use gloves or mittens that have a flap which folds back to reveal our fingers (check hunting/outdoor stores). This allows the dexterity necessary to manipulate controls.

Our final tip concerns the camera's ability to expose the picture properly in snow conditions. Exposure will be discussed in greater detail in a future article. For now it is important to realize that whenever a scene has a lot of white (snow), it will trick most camera's exposure meter. Exposure meters are designed around the principle that the average scene reflects 18 % of the light that strikes it. Your exposure meter bases it metering (i.e. f-stop and shutter speed) upon this principle. The problem with snow is that its reflectance is around 90%. Because your meter is based upon average reflectance, it will reduce the exposure to render the scene as average. The end result is that the film is underexposed, your subject is much darker than normal, and the snow ends up looking grey. To prevent this from happening, whenever you have a significant amount of snow in the viewfinder you may have to ADD more light (the camera may indicate that you are overexposing). Until you are familiar with your meter, bracketing is helpful to get the proper exposure. This means you will have to dial in plus 1 to 2 stops more light. To do this, use your exposure compensation function or decrease your shutter speed by 1 to 2 stops or open your aperture by 1 to 2 f-stops (i.e. a smaller number).

Winter photography, although challenging in many ways can be rewarding with proper planning. Next month we will discuss Bird Feeder Photography.

( Scott Fairbairn and John Reaume)