LOL!!
If you haven't done so already, you might want to consider submitting
this to a couple photo mags for next year's pre-Winter issues.
Of course, I'm not sure humor is allowed in some of 'em . . .
Cheers!/ScottGee1
On 10/28/05, AG Schnozz <agschnozz@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Well, it's that time of year again, the leaves are rocketing
> downward right along with the mercury. Before too long the snow
> is flying and we begin our hibernation from the elements.
>
> But wait! Just because we're cold and miserable doesn't mean
> the cameras or opportunities are as well! It's time to start
> examining our winter duds and planning accordingly.
>
> Footwear. Keeping the feet warm and dry is 1/3 the battle. If
> your feet aren't comfortable, you ain't gonna shoot long. The
> biggest problem with boots (hiking or winterwear) is the lack of
> cushioning and thermal isolation from the frozen ground. A thin
> cork layer or a "Dr Shoels" (non-gel) is a good solution for
> breaking the thermal bond between your feet and the ground.
> Also, make sure you wear socks that wick the moisture away from
> your feet. Cotton socks aren't a good solution. I use wicking
> liner socks and wool outer socks which keep my feet warm and
> dry.
>
> Hats. I'm not generally a hat person as my hair is still rather
> adequate and maintainable. But in the wintertime, I need to
> muss the doo and wear some form of lid. As long as it isn't too
> cold I'll get away with a wool field hat. It's wide brimmed to
> keep the sun out of the eyes and any precipitation off your head
> and neck. Otherwise a stocking cap is a good choice as it keeps
> the ears warm. A winter parka with an attached hood is
> excellent as it helps isolate you from the wind, but isn't good
> enough without some other kind of head protection. A baseball
> cap under the parka is somewhat ok, but serves more as an
> eye-shade thing than anything else.
>
> Gloves. Two layers is good. A thin glove that doesn't make
> your hands sweat is very important. It's vital that this thin
> glove be as wind-proof as possible. I recently found some thin
> leathery shooting gloves that will keep my hands warm as-is down
> to about 35 degrees. This glove is thin enough and plyable
> enough to change film in a camera without taking them off. An
> outer glove, like a ski glove should be a size larger than
> normal so you can slip your thin-gloved hands inside. When the
> weather is really cold, there is no substitute for large
> mittens. These mittens can be very simple leather jobbies, but
> size and wind/water proofing is most important. Just make sure
> the gauntlet portion is long. I have an old, well-worn pair
> that work so very well since the inner fluffies are all worn
> away so the gloves slide in and out much easier.
>
> Feet, head and hands. Is there anything else that's important
> to the wintertime photographer? Yes. The camera equipment.
>
> Tripods. Aluminum is an extremely efficient material for
> wicking away heat from your body. Insulating the upper leg
> sections of your aluminum tripod is very helpful. An easy way of
> insulating them is to go to the nearest Home Depot (Menards,
> Lowes, etc) and buying a couple sections of pipe insulation and
> a roll of camo or black ducttape. Your better tripods, like the
> Bogens, will allow you to dissemble the legs to be able to slip
> the pipe insulation over the legs. If not, you'll need to cut
> the insulation lengthwise (there is a crease for this purpose)
> and popping them on that way. Once the insulation is on, put
> the protective tape on over the entire ouside surface of the
> insulation. This will protect it from abuse, keep it attached to
> the tripod and improve the appearance. Hint: If you use camo
> tape, you'll probably have troubles carrying the thing anywhere
> near an airport.
>
> Carrying the camera under the parka. This is a real problem. We
> think we need to keep the camera warm. Why? Batteries? Shutter?
> Precipitation? It is best to let the camera get COLD and keep
> it cold than wearing it under the parka. The air under your
> parka is very moist and warm. Going from this warm/moist
> environment to sub-freezing temperatures repeatably will cause
> you more problems than just letting it stay cold. A
> warm/cold/warm/cold camera will suck the moisture right inside
> itself. If it's snowing, a cold camera will just let the
> snowflakes fall/blow off. If the camera is warm the snow will
> stick to the camera and lens. You will experience fewer
> problems with the camera if you just keep it outside your
> clothes unless you are shooting an OM-2S which really isn't a
> good winter camera anyway.
>
> Really, really cold, but dry mornings present another problem.
> When the temperatures are 10-30 degrees below zero the lubricant
> in the lenses will start to solidify. Lenses like the 200/4 and
> 300/4.5 can end up being unusable as you just can't focus them
> after 20 minutes. Keeping the equipment inside the camera bag as
> much as possible helps, but you can make it even better by
> placing a couple of chemical hand-warmers inside the bag too. I
> will place one of these under my OM bodies (keeping the
> batteries toasty) as well as in the compartments of my
> troublesome lenses and other battery packs. These warmers don't
> get very hot at all and the compartment space itself rarely gets
> warmer than 50 degrees (F) when it's really cold out. The
> warmers last for a couple of hours and truely make a difference.
> If the weather is dry and my camera is around my neck I may
> attach (with large rubber bands) a warmer to the base of my
> camera with it just contacting the lens.
>
> Digital Camera oddities: LCD displays do NOT work correctly in
> really cold weather. Not only do they get sluggish, but they'll
> go black or do a streaky, splotchy thing that scares the living
> daylights out of you. Don't worry, you didn't trash your
> camera. It's best to leave the camera on with sleep-mode turned
> off. Let the electronics keep the LCD limbered up as much as
> possible. Maybe this is another application for the
> hand-warmers. When run continously, the rechargable battery
> will keep itself warm enough to not really see too much of a
> battery-life degredation.
>
> Lastly, for this post, when bringing the cameras back inside
> from the cold keep them in the bag for an hour before opening it
> up. Cold cameras and lenses in a moist environment is a mess.
>
> Oh, don't blow on your lens or viewfinder and never stick your
> tongue on your tripod.
>
> AG
>
>
>
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