gloves for winter outdoor photography / photojournalism

What gloves do people like for winter outdoor photography?

 

More specifically, I need something that lets me keep a good grip on my gear,

operate the controls, and not slow down my "draw" too much.

 

Shooting an outdoor protest in Boston in January for example, I might have to be

outside for an hour or more, take hundreds of shots, and be ready for sudden action.

 

The seemingly closest gloves I've found are from Lowepro (once the branding has

been subdued with black Sharpie):

 

http://lowepro.com/Products/Accessories/add_ons_upgrades/Photo_Gloves.aspx

 

The Kinco Pro Series Handler Gloves also look like they might work:

 

http://www.gemplers.com/a/shop/product.asp?T1=134131-2X

 

Suggestions from photojournalists?

Always a tuff one. I have a pair of winter golf gloves. Mine are black and made of thick synthetic leather - but still very dexterous. I took a razor knife and cut all of the advertising logos off - there were lots and they work pretty well. I also have a pair of large mittens I keep clipped to my belt and I stuff "hot-hands" in those so I can quickly warm up without having to take one pair off. I just shove the gloved hands in the mits and Ahhhh. Winter shooting in my wife's home country of Poland is very different than here in AL. My most challenging frustration is my eyes water in the cold weather, its like I am crying and that makes focusing a challenge.

 

Good luck.

Neil:

 

I like these police gloves for general use when it isn't too cold: http://www.galls.com/style.html?assort=general_catalog&style=GL001

 

Galls also carries very thin leather gloves with no lining that are very good.

 

Hope that helps.

Fingerless gloves, in fleece or wool. When the tips of my fingers get cold, I put them in my pockets. For sustained, colder conditions, try:

 

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=24731556&memberId=12500226&storeId=226&catalogId=40000000226&langId=-1

Glomitts are the thing you need. They're mittens with a fold-back top that reveal a set of fingerless gloves. Good ones have rubberised non-slip palms and are made of Gore windstopper thermal fleece. These are superb. If you wear a pair of neoprene palm/wrist warmers designed for arthritic/reynauds sufferers underneath them you'll have a great keep-warm outfit that wont impede your dexterity. Speaking from experience!

This works for me:

 

Outer - Horsehide, sheepskin lined mittens. Right hand has "flap" allowing

trigger finger to exit mitten and activate whatever.

 

Middle - Woolen five-fingered gloves. I replaced the pair the army gave me

with medium weight merino wool. I think mine are Filson, but any merino

wool would be ok.

 

Inner - Silk.

 

The big&bulky mittens are of course for the 99.7% of the time you are not

shooting. This setup will keep your hands warm enough when the temp

dips to 35 degrees below freezing. These mittens are tied to the parka

or whatever outerclothing you wear.

 

The bulky mitts come off when tripod setting-up or camera work is called

for. The silk and the wool with airspace in-between will keep you going

for some number of minutes in severe cold before you arrive at a state of

"medical emergency".

 

The silk will allow you to make the finest of fine adjustments to whatever

it is you may be adjusting and provide a crucial metal/flesh barrier.

 

In temps around freezing, the silk alone is often enough. Can't get much

lighter than those.

 

I got my setup for free. You can get yours in an army-navy suplus

shop for very little money.

 

Good luck.

A couple of years ago, my wife bought me a pair of Lowepro photo gloves. Generally they served their purpose of permitting me to manipulate the camera and keep reasonably warm. Grass and stickers do penetrate and get stuck in the fabric, but they are the best I've found. You don't have to have a sharpie to blot out the LowePro name either. that would be like covering the name Canon or Nikon with a bit of tape so no one would know what you were using. As I recall they cost about $22 and serve quite well.

Lowepro gloves are available from B&H in three sizes (medium, large, and extra large) for $19.50. I'm sure there are other sources, too.

The Lowepro is fine for temps around 32 deg F or higher. If it gets down to the 20's, you'd need another pair of gloves to keep your hands warm.

 

Any pair of gloves with rubber grips should be fine for control, for temps in the 30's. It's when you get down to the 20's and lower than I would recommend having seprate shooting gloves and winter gloves.

 

I went to school in Boston; I miss everything about it except winter. I now live in SoCal, where it's currently 76 deg F :-P

 

Stay warm!

 

KL

I like those fingerless gloves with those extra-heavy snowmobile gloves over them.

I have a pair of gloves I got years ago for flyfishing. Very light, and the index and thumb are

exposed (for flytying). They work very well for photography. Might be worth a look at Orvis

or REI.

I wear 2 pairs sometimes! Gets below zero up in areas of California hills. Then 2 hours later after leaving the rugged area it's sunny and time for a beer!

I wear 2 pairs sometimes! Gets below zero up in areas of California hills. Then 2 hours later after leaving the rugged area it's sunny and time for a beer! Also 75 degrees!

Back in the frigid winter of 1977 I was a student at Boston University. That winter the temperature got down to just about 0 F for several weeks and the wind chill was -50F! I decided to walk on the Charles River and take some pictures. I had the Herman's Survivor boots, the long underwear, two hats and a down coat with a warm hood. My camera at the time was a Konica Autoreflex T3. I had to keep it inside my coat between shots so the shutter wouldn't freeze up. I wore silk glove liners, wool gloves with leather on the fingers and palms and hunting mittens over them. The hunting mittens have a flap which opens for four of your fingers. This worked well and I was as warm as I could be in -50 wind chill weather.

 

I managed to walk about one third of the way to the harbor on the middle of the river. Through a telephoto lens I could see ships moving in the distance so I decided to return to the shore. I got some nice photos but I don't think I would try that again today.

I have some thin leather gloves that are lined with cashmere. Wonderfully warm. Much warmer than the thinsulate ones. And since they're thin, I still have flexibility in moving my fingers. If I'm out for a long time in subzero F weather, I'll use glove liners, too. They're great because they're just like a second skin. And if I need more flexibility, I can take my gloves off, and they still protect my skin from the wind.

 

 

Eric

We used and you can buy <i>Trigger finger mittens</i>. Made for the US and Geman Armies, the mittens have a full mitten section for cold weather protection with a special trigger finger section you can simply stick outside the mitten when you need to shoot and withdraw the shooting finger for warmth. <p>Inexpensive if you buy Army surplus, moderately priced if you buy new commerical grade fabric. Leather is better looking but far more expensive.

 

Google ``Trigger finger mittens```

<p>I got some great pig skin gloves at the hardware store for $13. They are insulated, and have velcro around the wrist to make them easy to get on and off. Very warm, but easy to work with, I was even able to use the controls on my camera with them on. <br /> <br /> Since then they have been used while bending wrenches on my '69 Bronco, and are a little nasty now. I'll probably need another pair for snapping photos. I'll post up a brand name once I get a chance to look at em.</p>

<p>check out a glove brand call freehands it work out very nice for me</p>

<p>I've recently been looking at some gloves and I find that climbing gloves generally have good reviews off people who bought them for photography. A lot of them are also thin enough to be used as liners in another glove which is good for very harsh conditions. I'm intending on getting this pair<br>

http://www.tahoemountainsports.com/product/blackdiamond-pilot</p>