Antarctic temperatures and mechanical LF parts: who wins?

[PhotographicBlack]

...um... Yea, so I've belonged to this art community for 4 years now and they are awesome. I had my first show there and everything, sold good number of prints too. One of the women there writes EXCELLENT grants. Well, I was researching my favorite continent, Antarctica, the other day and noticed they had grants to go to Antarctica and do artsy fartsy things, and it came to me: I'd love to photograph the antarctic night!

I know, I know, some of you guys are probably thinking: "he doesn't even know if it's possible to go out and take pictures in 100 degrees below zero and stand around for 4 hours, but he wants to do it anyway!"

What does anyone know about extreme temperatures and LF photography?

-R

[Ole Tjugen]

Big knobs on everything, so it can be handled with mitts on. Avoid metal parts, and avoid touching any metal.

Remove all lubrication from everything including shutter and tripod. Oil will get very sluggish and shutter will fail to operate if there is any trace of oil left.

Forget about focusing on the ground glass: Put your head under a dark cloth, and the GG will be covered in frost.

I would suggest the Antarctic spring instead of the night - just as cold, but at least there's some light.

And read up on Frank Hurley:
"MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON"

[Scott Knowles]

Something like this (http://www.laytoncamera.com/ewtest.html)?

[Ted Harris]

What Ole said and .... make sure you have tried your gear with heavy mittens before you attempt to use it in the cold. More importantly, test your self and make sure that spending time in really extreme weather conditions is for you and that you are prepared for the conditions.

[cyrus]

A friend who wanted to talke a medium format camera up on Mt Demavand near Tehran in the middle of winter (heavy cold snow) tested his camera by simply placing it in the freezer overnight. Next day, he tried it out. Shutter was a bit sluggish. He solved the problem by warming up the camera shutter before using it, using an improvised field hairdryer.

[jnantz]

this sounds like a fun trip :)

instead of modern lf equipment, maybe something like a box camera. there is no focusing involved, simple lens, and they can take 4x5 film. i have one and use it from time to time ...

good luck!

[paulr]

What Ole said and .... make sure you have tried your gear with heavy mittens before you attempt to use it in the cold. More importantly, test your self and make sure that spending time in really extreme weather conditions is for you and that you are prepared for the conditions.


well, you're not going to be able to do anything with heavy mittens on. the way climbers deal with this is to have heavy mittens on a string (usually a long cord that goes up one sleeve and down the other, to the other mitten) so you can take them off and let them dangle. then you have much lighter liner gloves underneath. you can have on nothing but the liners for several minutes, and handle metal parts to your heart's content at 40 below zero. This is assuming the rest of you is warm. When you're done fussing with equipment, you put the big boxing gloves back on.

your biggest concerns will be all the surprises with condensation and static. some of these have been mentioned. you'll also probably need to give the camera and film time to cool off in its case whenever you take it out, and then time to warm up in its case whenever you bring it in. sudden changes in temperature are the enemy. both will lead to massive condensation, frost, and all kinds of related problems--including rusted shutters and dripping wet film.

and you may need to practice removing/replacing the darkslide reeeeeeeeeallly slowly. the static charges that build up in that superdry air can be unreal.

i think you'll do best by planning for temps between 40 degrees and minus 40. if it gets to minus 100, you're probably not going to be photographing. luckily, the temperature in the sun can be warm when you're surrounded by snow and glacial ice.

[Ron Marshall]

If you don't have experience with low temperatures you should do some reading.

I was winter camping in northern Canada when the screen temperature was minus 50. That was fine, we were dressed for it. But one of the days there was a stiff wind and that was brutally cold. The worst part was bathroom breaks.

You can keep the lens and lightmeter inside your coat, but should put it in a plastic bag.

Should be quite an adventure. Make sure you get very good health insurance.

[Struan Gray]

All the Antarctic hands I have talked to say the wind is far more disruptive of delicate instruments than the cold. You can make a shutter work at liquid helium temperatures without too much effort, but using an LF camera in a steady 100 mph wind is a whole world of pain.

It can be done. Gerry Johansson, a Swedish photographer best known for Friedlander-like urban scenes, spent time as artist in residence with an 8x10 at the Swedish bases in Queen Maud's Land. You can see some of the images at www.xpo.se, or on his website, www.gerryjohansson.com (go to exhibitions and choose the 2003 one at Moderna Museet).

[PhotographicBlack]

And read up on Frank Hurley:
"MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON"

LOL, Yea, I saw the documentary. BUT, they all came back alive, so it's all cool, maybe a bit too cool, but cool none the less.

If your wondering, I love the night. In fact I work a grave yard shift and when I'm off, I photograph in the city. The antarctic just seems like a wonderful place to photograph and the grant I was reading about said that if I'm simply here to add to the stock pile of things they'd already seen, you can forget about it. I thought I might give them the Randall touch: the night. Hey, they might eat it all up because I'm a younger guy willing to risk it all for a great photograph!

-R

[Ole Tjugen]

One possible boon with the Antarctic night is that it won't matter at all if the shutter freezes. After all, there won't be any light for several months... ;)

[PhotographicBlack]

One possible boon with the Antarctic night is that it won't matter at all if the shutter freezes. After all, there won't be any light for several months... ;)

lol
Well hell, maybe I should just forget the shutter altogether and just use the dark slide. It might be just as well during the night...

[Carsten Wolff]

I tested all my gear in a local walk-in freezer at minus 20C before I went. Had some interesting moments. i.e. forget alkaline batteries (not that they're a big issue with LF)
Ice and water is not really an issue down there. Too cold. Wind is. If it's not windy you can work ok even without gloves for a few minutes, but be careful, frostbite is serious stuff and can happen without obvious warning. The other most dramatic issue is the dryness of the air and resulting static charge of almost anything. Especially in a heated building, watch out for charged dust particles attaching. Also, the change from a cold environment into a warm enclosed space will fog all your gear for a good time.

[Carsten Wolff]

Ahh, Yes, before I forget. Apart from wind issues, your biggest problem might actually be your breath fogging and then icing up your ground glass....
May be, dare I say it, as you might not need movements much for SKY.... go for a Hassy or similar say with a 55 or a P&S 4x5 with a nice old 90mm Angulon. I had absoulutely no dramas with an SWC down there apart from a light leak issue with one of the mags....

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

What does anyone know about extreme temperatures and LF photography?

In a book (in French) I have a report on photography in Greenland, mostly 4"x5", made by J.J Languepin during one of the first post-WW-II French polar expeditions.

« Groenland 1948-1949 » by J.J. Languepin, M. Ichac, J. Masson et P.E. Victor (Arthaud, 1951)
At the end of the book , there is one page of advice to photographers in arctic conditions.
This was a summer Greenland expedition so my understanding that the conditions are probably less extreme than they can be in Antartica. The equipement used in 1948-49 resisted down to -35C = -31F wich could be considered as mild by some central antartica standards (and even by some winter Minnesota standards ;-)

What J.J. Languepin says
- no problem with film, it is known that rollfilm becomes britle and is at risk to break in film magazines like for hasselblads, no such problem with sheet film. No problem with film sensitivity.
- no problem with selenium exposure meters that were in use at the time ; for modern battery-operated exposure meters putting the battery under the photographer's clothes and connected by a cord does make sense.
- apparently no problem with mechanical leaf shutters of the time, probably compurs, J.J. Languepin also used a Rolleiflex without trouble.

A major problem reported by JJ Languepin occurs between -10C = 14F and freezing point 0C = 32F is ice & frost on viewfinders. Eye-level viewfinders like fer 35mm cameras tending to freeze simply being held close to the heat generated by the photographer's face. Breathing to the ground glass is probably another source of freezing problem.

Another reference to LF photography in an arctic expedition is the Andrée Swedish expedition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salomon_August_Andr%C3%A9e
but since this is a sad story, I'll stop here ; simply know that exposed and un-developed silver-halide plates can stay for decades and be found and successfully processed by another expedition 30+ years later ;-);-)

[Carsten Wolff]

I tore 1 film down there (unsing a (wait for it....Horizon 202 )) at -40 deg.

[scott_6029]

Why don't you ask Jody forrster? He has some fantastic images from the Antarctic.

[bobc]

Some good info here from others...

I worked in Antarctica during the last Austral spring/summer season and brought my 4x5 with me. In all honesty, it was brutal to take photos with it...

Here's some info about photography in Antarctica: Most of the photos you see on the 'net are from folks that have gone during the summer season and on trips going down along the Antarctic Peninsula. The temps stay balmy (in the teens and 20's) along the peninsula all year round. It's fairly easy to take images and that's why we see so many great shots of penguins, icebergs, etc. When one goes inland, the temps are much, much colder. Inland, in the dead of winter, it's friggin' cold. Right now, it's the end of winter/beginning of spring and temps are at their coldest. When I was there at this time last year (third time down), it was all I could do to take the time to make images with an slr (digital). I found it really hard to pull the 4x5 out. I had a lot of clothes on, big clunky gloves, was cold and found that it I was like a bull in a china shop trying to level up, turn knobs, trying to pull the gg back to slide the film holder in and then, taking 5 minutes trying to grab the dark slide to pull it out. Think of trying to work your camera with oven mitts on. There was no such thing as critical focussing because I couldn't grab my glasses to put them on. Besides, the metal frame would have frostbitten my face. Everything takes 3-4 times as long to do. And, you're cold the whole while.

Sorry I sound negative but I'm just pragmatic. I had gone down this time with high hopes but I just got too beat up by the cold and the fine tuning required that I took relatively few photos with my 4x5 until warmer weather arrived. And just so you know, my position was as a surveyor so I was outside 9 hours a day, every day, using surveying instruments. So I was acclimatized to the weather and working with small knobs and finicky instruments.

On the plus side, the Artist in Residence program is a wonderful thing. I hope to apply and be accepted some day. The competition is really stiff, though. Since it is your favorite continent (mine, too), apply! FYI, your chances of getting there are much better if you apply for a job down there instead of Artist Program. While the latter program is great because you can do photography 24/7, you will still find time to do photography even if you're working (and making money!).

Winter is absolutely beautiful: 24 hours of darkness. I've only been there at the end of it and the auroras are just magical. Right now, I think is the absolute best. The days are short: Just a few hours long. And the sweet light of sunrise and sunsets lasts for hours and hours.

If you do go, to be outside for extended periods and not be shivering, invest in the top of the line down coats. Choose from only these 3 companies: Marmot (8000meter jacket), Feathered Friends or Western Mountaineering. You'll be issued a big, red coat to keep you warm but it's only good if you're active when you're outside. Other absolute necessities are a hat gloves and neck gaitor made with WindStopper material. If your head and torso are warm enough, you can use fairly light gloves (with liners in them) for tens of minutes before needing to warm them up.

As for the wind. Yeah, if it's really blowing, you're pretty much in survival mode and you're just trying to stay warm. You won't want to even pull out any camera because your fingers are going to get immediately cold and turn to claws. Much of the time, there's only a slight breeze, not enough to be bothersome to the camera but it makes you cold very, very quick. That's the main issue with the wind. I had no mechanical issues with my camera (Tachi) due to the cold other than the tripod legs were tough to deploy (Gitzo 1228) because of the thickening of the grease.

While taken with an SLR, here's a photo of the light this time of the year. It's just an amazing, amazing site. The other photo was of a friend who also brought her 4x5 down. This photo of her was at the height of summer when it was very warm.

Check out this person's work: Alan has been down 3 or 4 times in the Artist in Residence program. I admire him immensely but I'm also pissed off that this painter, with rudimentatry knowledge of photography, takes better photos than any I have ever done...

http://www.alancambellstudios.com or more specifically, http://www.lightfromtheice.com/

Cheers,
-bob

[Eric James]

Nice post Bob - it makes me appreciate the Frank Hurley Endurance photos even more!!! And I don't think he had a Marmot 8K parka - just a wet reindeer fur anorak.

[JW Dewdney]

What does anyone know about extreme temperatures and LF photography?

Well - all I can really offer you from personal experience is LF stuff I did outdoors from my youth in Canada - I've been out in minus 30 with a 4x5 plenty of times. Bellows ripping would be my biggest concern - I'm sure the 'parts' of the camera would be fine. but your biggest problems are going to be condensation and deterioration of parts from temperature change (might do well to keep the camera outdoors).

Find a suitable bellows material that will be optimized for cold weather -and bring extras with you. Use cold-weather lubricants in your shutter, and other lubricated parts. A good repair tech will be able to do this for you. Try to get a lube with a freezing point around -100F or beyond, if possible. Perhaps without lube might be best if you can't find something good.

I'd imagine static discharge is going to be an issue when loading film. Try to use a metal film holder and use a grounding wrist strap attached to the holder when loading film

[Donald Brewster]

Great post Bob! Thanks. Makes me surmise the best course is a box camera with a barrel lens. As for me, I think I'll stay indoors . . . .

[alec4444]

Frank Hurley managed the Arctic with glass plate negatives in one of the more dire 20th Century expeditions (disasters). I think you'll do fine with sheet film and a modern camera.... :)

--A

[bobc]

I'm not going to bash Hurley for obvious reasons. I will add that his party was floating around in the Weddell Sea off of the Peninsula.
They never made it to the continent. As such, never had to deal with the full-on cold weather and katabatic winds.

If you look at his photos, you can see that the crew were dressed in relatively lightweight gear. Compare these to photos of other expeditions that were on the continent proper.

[Eric James]

I'm not going to bash Hurley for obvious reasons. I will add that his party was floating around in the Weddell Sea off of the Peninsula.
They never made it to the continent. As such, never had to deal with the full-on cold weather and katabatic winds.

If you look at his photos, you can see that the crew were dressed in relatively lightweight gear. Compare these to photos of other expeditions that were on the continent proper.

If I remember correctly, he did dive into the water-filled hull of the sinking Endurance to rescue plates that The Boss had requested he abandon - but that was only 32F or warmer:) I believe that they were trapped in the pack for almost a year, including a full winter - but you are right, they never saw the cold of the Antarctic Continent. I doubt that I would have survived those "mild" conditions, or managed as many keepers on a 35mm rig.

[Emmanuel BIGLER]

Looking for a Kodak technical publication on filters that I did not found :(, I found an interesting note about arctic conditions for photography :

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/c9/c9.jhtml

BTW a list of non arctic-related but otherwise interesting technical notes :
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/technical/tib.jhtml

[Don Wallace]

I have used my 4x5 in -40C and it is not a situation that inspires creativity. In my opinion, the main problem is not the equipment but the fact that with LF you are required to stand in one position for a long time. You really dont move very much and therefore, in order to survive the cold, you obviously have to dress appropriately, which makes adjusting the camera and viewing the glass extremely difficult, if not impossible. At the temperatures you cite, you cannot, simply cannot, remove your huge mitts or your very substantial head covering. I highly recommend that you try this at the balmy temperature of -40C before you head for the Antarctic.

I think a view camera is the wrong tool for the job. If you are seriously contemplating taking photographs in temperatures like minus 50C or lower in windy conditions, then you are making the task unnecessarily arduous by choosing that kind of camera. In my opinion, it would be like using a view camera underwater. Wrong tool. There are "point and shoot" LF cameras - the Hobo 8x10 comes to mind but I don't know if they are still manufactured. A friend of mine made a point and shoot 5x7 with a 90mm lens. Just about everything was in focus and it was very easy to handle. I think this would present much more of a creative opportunity in the Antarctic. A field camera will simply hinder you.

One thing: use a selenium meter, if in fact you even need a meter. Electronics are often not happy with extreme cold. Also, if you are photographing at night, you won't need a shutter. Lens cap will do.

I really hope you go and bring back some awesome photographs. Just make sure the point is taking photographs, and not proving some other point.

[tim atherton]

Arctic rather than Antarctic, but I've photographed many times down around -40c to -45c (at times with a windchill taking it well below that) with everything from a 35mm Leica through MF to 4x5 and 8x10.

Biggest problem imo is not usually the equipment but the operator. When you start to get cold - with this kind of cold - your concentration goes, along with your abilities to actually do anything creative. So staying warm while you stand around is a #1 priority.

My cold weather gear is rather add hock - but consists of caribou skin kamiks (mukluks), usually worn with the light canvas outer from a pair of Canadian army winter boots (which, with their normal double felt inners are probably the next best thing on their own), padded/insulated chest high winter pants, and a top quality down parka. (underneath, depending on the cold, various layers and pile fibre jackets, pants etc). And if it's windy, a light canvas/nylon pull over the head wind cover that goes right over the parka. Add Wolverine fur to the hood - which is almost essential. Traps warmer air around your face, but never freezes from exhaled moisture. In addition, a huge pair of arctic wolf mitts on idiot strings with a lighter inner pair - you just drop your hands out of the mitts, adjusts something and slide your hands back in as they hang there.

Now, of course if you start moving around too energetically, then the moisture you produce will eventually make the down useless - so watch out for that (and don't grow a beard - it will freeze up and give your face frostbite...). Best cold weather gear I ever used was actually a full caribou skin outfit - parka/pants/boots. Lightweight, flexible and incredibly warm - far better than down or synthetics. But it also takes about as much maintenance as a two year old.... (The Canadian Army did tests a while back with their standard cold weather gear, the best down and synthetic gear and a caribou skin outfit (Inuit Canadian Rangers are part of the military) - with the wearers being immobile and stuck in a huge freezer, sometimes with wind etc - kinda like a LF photographer. Over time, most of the test subjects gradually got colder. The person in the caribou outfit got warmer)

As for camera equipment - most of the LF cameras have stood up just fine (mainly, in the cold, an old Toyo 45A and a Phillips 8x10, as well as an old Dorff). Tripods tend to get stiff - Gitzos have worked well - the leg crew lock stiffens up though. Bogen/Manfroto are useless - all the plastic bits break - just snap off. Wooden surveyor types also work very well as long as the parts are wood and metal. I had a couple of lenses re-lubricated for winter use, but truth be told, I never had much of a problem with most regular lenses in copal shutters.

Fogging freezing of the ground glass is a problem - just try not to breath while you focus. (meters etc with batteries I just keep in an inside pocket and generally, once you've metered, the light - what there is - isn't going to change much).

Biggest single problem i ever had was film shattering. The bigger the sheet, the bigger the problem. If the film is still slightly warm from being in a bag or vehicle, then you put the holder in the camera and expose, first, the temperature difference can cause it to warp slightly, then it very quickly becomes cold and brittle, you push the darkslide back in, it catches the film and you almost hear a little tinkle as it all shatters. Even if the film is fully acclimatized before you put it in, this can still happen - not all the time, but it's happened enough times over the years.

Really, the gear has stood up fine most of the time (and I find LF less fiddly than 35mm to use in the cold). It's mainly the effect of the cold on the user.

Feel free to ask me if you have any particular questions.