Leon S Loc: Minnesota

Since you're from CA your idea of cold is not mine here in Minnesota. I would have to believe that you will bug out from the cold faster than the camera. Cold batteries are mainly what causes problems for me when it gets cold. When it really gets cold here smart photographers go to the Mall of America or Como Park and spend their time there. If you actually do go out when the temperature is 30 -50 below Zero F, you might as well shot out of your car window, if you can get it started. I've done a lot of skiing in my life and being outside when its cold is not too bad if the sun is out and bright. I've even taught down hill at temperatures of 20 below, but not when the winds are up. Photos just aren't worth frost bit or worse.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

The biggest challenges relate to battery life and exposures of snowy scenes.

Take plenty of extra, fully-charged batteries.

Clean white snow tends to fool ALL reflected light meters such as those in cameras. Use an ExpoDisc or a Delta-1 gray card to make manual exposures and to set custom white balance, if you want accurate JPEGs or raw files with a "normal" starting point when post-processing.

ralfstinson Loc: SF Bay Area

Lots of good points above. Aurora Photography is usually farther north and much colder. Look that up on the internet and you will also get tips on cold weather photography. I was up in Fairbanks last March and at night it was -30F! No problems with Nikon D300s & D600, but on my friend's D90 had minor monitor display issues but no damage.

Big issues: Cold Batteries (warm up, and some energy will come back), return to warm inside condensation, shooting with gloves on (practice before). Also, plastic parts on tripods can break, bring some gaffer's tape. Aim lens down when on a tripod and not shooting(frost on the lens). And watch when you exhale for night flash photography!

Meives Loc: FORT LAUDERDALE

[quote=Michael652] Sounds like a great trip. Set your camera at +1 EV. The camera tries to make bright white snow dirty grey. By increasing exposure it makes it better. Some times the white balance needs to correct to get rid of some of the blue. David

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Bollocks!!!
--Bob

Jwshelton Loc: Denver,CO

This year a week was spent in Yellowstone on a photo tour. Although we were advised to prepare for temperatures down to -40 F, we never encountered anything below -15 F. As others have shared, battery life in the cold provides one of the greatest challenges. A fully charged batter(ies) in the camera along with at least two spares each morning is essential. Keep the batteries in the warmest place you can comfortably find.
Camera/lens moisture becomes an issue as you move between temperature extremes. Gradual warming/cooling is ideal, but often not practical. You need time for acclimation. Anti fog cloths helped, but were not an absolute. Time and attentiveness to removal of the moisture is your best bed. Enclosing your equipment in a sealed, plastic bag until temperature equalization is achieved is essential. Moisture accumulates on the inside of the bag inside of your equipment. Wipe everything clean every evening.
When it comes to cold, I am a weenie. Layer. A good base of moisture wicking thermal underwear worked. Get a couple pair. As you are out walking, especially carrying your equipment, regardless of temperature, you will probably sweat. Three or four layers: underwear, shirt/pants, vest or sweater, waterproof pants and tops that acts as a windbreak and provides moisture protection. A hat with ear flaps (ala Elmer Fudd) and some type of face covering are necessary. GOOD, warm boots. I look on line at REI and bought the previous year's model at a good discount. Socks - moisture wicking and multiple (2/3) pairs.
For gloves I used a pair of thin glove liners under a heavier pair of ski gloves worked well. When ready to shoot I took off the ski glove and had no issues. Take two pairs of liners. One pair can get wet or snagged so you need a back up. In the past I have tried the fingerless gloves, but liked this arrangement better.
If you are not going until March, absolutely get out in the cold and work on your technique.
If you have other questions, do not hesitate to PM me and I will help.
You will have a great experience!

imagesintime Loc: small town, mid-America

Send this message as a PM to MTShooter. Yellowstone is his playground.

CEJ Loc: Cresson,Pa

Keep spare batters in your coat close to your body to keep them warm, before you reenter the indoors place camera in a ziplock bag and let it come to room temp.
this will help cut down on condesation from rapid temp chang. Have fun , Charles

ralfstinson Loc: SF Bay Area

Everyone loves to give advice for cold weather by telling the person to use layers! If you are active in cold weather, this is extremely important so you can match your bodies heat output with the temperature so you don't sweat! But if you are sitting by a camera waiting for the Aurora, ice fishing, etc, the word is not layers, but bulk! Look at both, your planned activities (or inactive) and the predicted wx, then dress accordingly. The goal is no sweat and no hypothermia. You hopefully know your body. How is your circulation? Do you need extra insulation on your extremities? What about using warmer pads in your gloves and/or boots? Lots of blood vessels near the surface in the neck. What is your plan for that? Put on the clothing and practice camera/tripod setup and breakdown. The old Nikon remote release cable was difficult without gloves in a warm room to put on the camera. No way I can put it on in the cold! Learn stuff like this before you go.

Kuzano

Armpit holsters for batteries. Remember when Polaroid used to use the aluminum plates to control the speed of the chemical reaction and the instruction was to place the film between the two curved aluminum plates and place them in your armpit for 60 seconds????

It worked, and it works for me for batteries... Armpit Holster!!!

:thumbup:

Leon S Loc: Minnesota

And after you have put on all these tight extra cloths, you will quickly discover that you forgot one thing. Now its time to go to the bathroom. Never fails.

Kuzano

[quote=Meives]

Correctomundo, and depending on how much snow in the scene, I alter the exposure compensation from +1 to +2. If the scene is 80 to 100% snow I will shoot two, one +1.5 and one at +2 over.

Snow exposed at meter reading and not compensated will, as mentioned, come out dirty gray!!!

:thumbdown:

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

All good advice.

Regarding condensation... Yes, to avoid issues inside your gear double bag it (plastic trash can bags work well) and seal it up when going from warm inside to cold outside or vice versa, allowing half an hour to an hour for it to warm up or cool off.

It also can help to keep some moisture absorbing silica desiccant in your camera bag. I prefer to use the permanent, rechargeable type such as this... http://www.amazon.com/Dry-Packs-Indicating-Aluminum-Dehumidifying-Canister/dp/B0025OO8DO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1444413817&sr=8-5. These are dust free and once their saturated, can be dried out in a low-temp oven and reused over and over.

Regarding cold temps...

Keep some extra batteries in an inside pocket. What will happen in the cold is batteries will not give nearly as long service, will appear to have run out of charge. But once warmed back up a bit, should again have power available to use. So simply have some more on hand and swap them out as needed.

Memory cards are generally of no concern... just don't drop one in the snow!

A camera's mechanisms (shutter, etc.) may run slow in really cold weather, because of lubricants thickening. In the past, with largely mechanical cameras, it was standard practice to re-lubricate cameras that were going to be used out in the cold a lot with lighter than usual oils and greases. However, that means having to re-lubricate them again to use them in warmer temps. And most modern cameras use synthetic lubricants that are less prone to temperature related problems. So I wouldn't worry about it.

LCDs may show some blackening, slowed response or other display issues in cold weather, but that's usually temporary and will clear up once the camera warms back up. Again, not much you can do about it, so I wouldn't worry.

Regarding moisture intrusion...

Yes, you need to be a little careful. Fine, blowing snow can get into unsealed mechanisms. Snow is only about 10% water... but even a little in the wrong place can spell bad news for electronic gear. There are "rain sleeves" and such available to buy, but a plastic bag or even a plastic shower cap, some gaffer tape and rubber bands often will work just as well.

It sort of depends upon your particular gear. Some cameras and lenses are better sealed than others. And, yes, it can help at times to put a camera inside a jacket (depending upon it's size and how roomy your jacket it, of course). After learning some hard lessons, I also carry cheap plastic rain ponchos in my car and camera bags, to help protect both me and my gear in wet conditions.

Regarding exposure...

One stop + Exposure Compensation is about the minimum out shooting in the snow. On a sunny day you may need a lot more than that! Just remember that your camera's metering and auto exposure system is trying to make everything "18% gray"... and adjust accordingly. Best way to meter in such an extreme is with a handheld, incidence meter, which measures the light falling onto the scene or subject, rather than what's being reflected off of it. But with some practice (and frequent checks of your histogram), you can get by with the camera's internal metering system.

MarkintheHV Loc: Hudson Valley

http://www.stadiumpal.com/

This will solve the clothing layer problem

valley3photo

Do not meter on the snow. Meter on the light falling on the snow.