So cold! Winter photography in Indiana

[alavergh]

So I just went out to photograph for the first time in a while. I decided to go back into a wooded area behind my old elementary school.

I think it was around 20 degrees (F) and a slight breeze. The snow was also 6"-12" deep. I turned back and came home to watch the Olympics. I didn't immediately see anything I wanted to photograph.

What do you do during the cold winter to get those snow shots? How do you prepare?

[gleaf]

It would be hard to find some contrast to go with light capturing. Perhaps cold sucks the contrast out of the view? 5 - 7 inches just south of the Ohio. Same situation.

[jp]

http://www.largeformatphotography.in...highlight=snow

I spent the whole afternoon outdoors in 20 degree weather today and loved every millisecond of it. You dress for the weather, and that includes boots and/or legwear they keeps the snow out. Snow keeps out unnecessary details you normally find in the outdoors and makes photography composition easier.

This is from last month...


http://www.flickr.com/photos/13759696@N02/

I don't go out to photograph objects in the snow. I go out to photograph winter and light and shapes and the feeling of being in the snow.

[Jim Becia]

About ten days ago I was up on Lake Superior trying to photograph the ice caves. It was 12 below zero and twenty mile an hour winds. Spent the next two days photographing in other lake areas with the same temps. Trying to work the 8x10 was a chore, but was doable. Haven't seen the film yet, so don't know if I succeeded. I was dressed warmly. It was the hands and feet that eventually wanted warmer temps. My Mountain Hardware mittens were more than capable of keeping my hands warm, and the my liners were the only thing keeping my fingers protected. They were good for a few minutes, so I tried to work fairly fast and then get my hands back into the mittens. The only other caveat was not breathing on the ground glass and fortunately I did not.

[h2oman]

Go to Home Depot or similar and buy about 2-3 feet of 1/2" or slightly larger plastic tubing, for a breathing tube when under the dark cloth. It is slightly curled from having been on a roll. Tape it to a leg of your tripod in just the right place so the end of it will be where your mouth is when looking at the ground glass. This works for 4x5 where you don't need to move around much> I haven't tried it at 20 below - the plastic might crack there!

[AtlantaTerry]

Back in the late '60s when I was a photojournalist working for the Lorain, Ohio newspaper, "The Morning Journal", the editors were always asking us for weather art. We had to head out into the cold then come up with something interesting. It's a good thing I was in my early 20s.

The best one that I can remember was created by our Senior Photographer, the late Norm Bergsma during a severe Ohio blizzard. Norm went out to a rural area and found some kids coming home from school. The wind and snow were blowing so hard the kids were in a line bowed head down each reaching out to touch the one ahead as they forged their way into the storm. A strong, dramatic "weather shot". A real winner for above the fold. UPI distributed it all over the world.

[Struan Gray]

Once the temperature is safely below about -5°C, where you can stay dry with little effort, photography becomes largely a question of good clothing. The technical and artistic standard practice are well established.

I find the temperature range around freezing far more challenging. Both in terms of how to stay physically comfortable (and capable), and how to operate the camera. Wet sleet is far more challenging than even gale force blizzards. Also, there are almost no canonical examples of 'good' photographs taken in such conditions, so on top of everything else, you have to think for yourself too. The reward is in the pure, but desaturated colours.

.

[Jody_S]

In cold, cold weather, my biggest challenge is keeping my beer from freezing. That, and warm boots. And gloves. And a hat that allows me to keep it on under the dark cloth. And not fogging up the ground glass. And trying to take a picture of something that is all white, and not just get a uniformly dark grey negative. So, it's a barrel of laughs, really.

[Steve M Hostetter]

I have worked out in the elements 8-10 hours a day since 1978 as a carpenter.From extreme heat to freezing cold and wind. I can't handle loose nails and hand tools with gloves on so my hands have become used to it but the best way I deal with cold is to try to keep moving sticking bare hands in pockets off and on. I try to do the same thing while shooting but this isn't always gonna happen. You do need to dress for the cold and always wear a warm hat and water proof boots. Try to keep out of the direct wind and when you can't keep it to your back. I often find wind to be the deciding factor whether I shoot LF or something smaller which is partly why I made a P&S 4x5 but this limits me to wide angle photography which is ok to

[Jac@stafford.net]

Once the temperature is safely below about -5°C, where you can stay dry with little effort, photography becomes largely a question of good clothing.

Or in our Minnesota winterland, very little clothing. Our co-eds going for a swim in the lake last week.