Okay, it's getting cold. What do you LF photographers do in winter?

[vick_ko]

Okay, it's getting cold outside.

 

What do you LF photographers do in winter?

 

Where does one go for indoor (i.e. warm) shooting?

 

....Vick

[BrianS1664879711]

The cold doesn't stop me. Rain or high wind slows me down, but not cold or snow or ice. Of course, I don't see much snow or ice in Southern California, but when I travel to locations that have "real winter" I shoot outdoors just the same. To stay warm I wear warm clothes and if I don't wear enough, I just shiver. I prefer taking pictuers oudoors and don't shoot LF indoors except on rare occasion.

[pico_digoliardi]

Perhaps I am fortunate to live in the boondocks where cold is a matter of fact, and isolation means I can leave the Super Technika outdoors in the shed so it's not susceptible to fogging, precipitation. (The very cold is also very dry).

 

Now that said, I believe that making a photograph that shows true cold is difficult. Snow forms at what we consider here shorts weather, sometimes even swimming weather. Another very hard thing to show is altitude effects.

 

Anyway, so quit whining already. Go out there and live life.

[mark f]

Hard to beat photographing snow and ice (really). Neoprene gloves under mittens makes all the difference. The neoprene gloves are warm enough for short periods and allow your fingers to move well enough to do almost anything you need to do with the camera. I even bought a pair of snow shoes a couple of years ago. Here are some medium format shooting I did a few years ago at a workshop:

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/presentation.tcl?presentation_id=241096

 

Of course there are always greenhouses (:

[brian_ellis16]

Great lighthouse photograph Mark.

[rcoda]

Move to Arizona!

[steve_clark5]

"What do you LF photographers do in winter?"

Put a hat on, and try to remember not to breath on the ground glass!

[Monophoto]

Interesting question.

 

I find that there are two phenomena that accompany the onset of winter. One is a reluctance to go outside, and this tends to cause me to think in terms of indoor and still life work. The other is that I almost always have a stack of negatives that I have made over the summer that I have not gotten around to printing, so I spend more time in the darkroom.

 

But as the winter wears on (and one, and on), I become more acclimated to colder weather, and by mid-February cabin fever starts to set in. As a result, I do tend to venture out to work with winter scenes.

[w_t1]

Pay more attention to the wife. I can't complain about the winters here in the Pacific NW though.

[capocheny]

First time in a long time that I've given any thoughts to shooting out in the winter weather.

But, over the course of the last 3 or 4 days, we've gotten over 50 cm of the white stuff on

the ground and it's a nasty -15 degrees. However, with the humidity levels we get, it feels

even colder!

 

Winter boots are a definite must... as with heavy coat, hat, and gloves. Another accessory

that might come in handy are hand warmers.

 

Lastly, I wouldn't think it would be a good idea to let the film freeze either. And, if it's dry

but cold, static electricity might be something you'll have to deal with.

 

Cheers

[big toys are better]

My 2 cents worth for freezing weather after shooting winter skiing and scenics for many years--

 

Nice warn neoprene booties under my snowpacs, but thin polypropylene liner gloves under thicker gloves used only when needed. the booties keep the insultation of the boots dry and my feet in a sauna, while the thin polyprop gloves work as my primary gloves in most weather.

 

Plastic and wooden cameras actually make a lot of sense in cold weather. I have also found that many of the modern electronic cameras do amazingly well in the cold, but my old mechanical Canon F-1s were my primary workhorses in blowing snow and bitterly cold clear weather when shooting ski races. Each had a Winder F attached with centalized remotes hooked up when necessary, and I also had one or more of those plastic cameras around my neck for closer panning shots at the gates, jumps, etc.

 

For sheet film, I find the wooden stalworths most useful although I have also used my metal monorails in winter. Changing lenses is the most trouble, especially if the wind is blowing snow around, but ice-cold metal and sweaty gloves are a bad mix (and why I usually keep just my thin PolyProp liners on). Fogging of the focus screen is always a risk, so hold your breath! Sticky leaf shutters can also be a problem in winter, so a little exercise is always a good idea.

 

Unfortuately, the best shooting weather is not necessarily the best comfort weather, but you'll get used to it.

[vick_ko]

Thanks all for your answers.

 

Just the thought of it makes me think of keeping the LF camera at home and only bringing the MF or 35mm camera out, instead of fiddling with tripod, dark cloth, etc.

 

But thanks for the encouragement and suggestions.

 

Vick

[pete_andrews10]

Use a furlined focusing-cloth!

[john_wire]

My Speed Graphic's FP shutter "keeps on ticking" after a "cold soak", the rangefinder doesn't normally "fog-up", the leather covering handles nicely in the cold and wooden film holders seldom fail. But then, a Speed Graphic is just a big rangefinder, not a purists true LF camera. Regards.

[jim_galli4]

Couple of thoughts:

 

<p><a href="http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/Devil/Devil.html">paper negs in the studio with an old petzval</a><br><p>

 

<a href="http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/4InchGundlachPetzval4X5Pics.html">really close really soft pics with an old projector lens</a><br><p>

 

<a href="http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com">http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com</a>

[pvp]

This week, we had the first November snow in many years in western Oregon. Yesterday, I went to Silver Falls and enjoyed the snow and (mostly) solitude.

 

I opened up the camera bag on the living room floor overnight to dissipate any moisture that got in with the snow that was falling while I took one photo...

 

When it's rainy and windy I always have plenty of post-camera work to do.

[sumo_kun]

Stay in during Winter!? Are you joking!? I love the Winter for shooting because it is so refreshing! The beautiful white snow, clean air, solitude... And NO mosquitoes or other annoying insects! It really takes effor to get out of bed early in the morning on a freezing cold day but just do it, get some warm clothes on and go take a stroll with the camera. I guess it all depends on how cold your Winters are though. Mine are not too cold. I'm in Japan. We get snow but not buckets of it though it depends where in Japan you are.

Shooting with LF in windy snow is probably not a good idea. In fact I hate the wind unless its a breeze. Snow itself is no problem and I welcome it.

I suppose the only advice I can give is to make sure you are warm and waterproofed and take things easy! Going to a remote place where no-one is around in the Winter is one of my favorite things to do! Then after you finish you can come back and relax and warm up and everything feels so much better after being out in the cold for a while.

[big toys are better]

Ah! I see Mr. Galli has come in from the high desert cold. For those of you not familiar with his work and his eBay sales, he has been a great source for the interesting and the wonderful, including the famous Schneider G-Claron lenses that every large format hiker ought to be considering for his own camera.

 

I highly suggest clicking on his Tonopah link and enjoying the offerings....

[robert_mccann]

Last january I rented an empty grain elevator here to work in- talk about cold! even when

it warmed up to 10F outside it was still -10F inside. Dress warm, keep a thermos in the car

and don't lick the metal parts of the camera.

[ole_tjugen]

Winters where I live aren't all that cold, just dark, wet and miserable. Perfect for catching up on darkroom work.

 

It's either that or hibernation...

[w_byrn]

I like the nice side light around the winter solstice with the low sun transit.If it is really cold I try and shoot later in the afternoon and I stay on the south side of the mountains where the sun can warm things up.It is my favorite time to make exposures in Zion Park and the Utah red rock country.I dress in layers and make sure I don't cut my circulation of by wearing tight cloths.My first layer is silk.If I get sweaty from hiking it wicks the moisture away from my skin to the next layer.

For inside work I shoot portraits and botanicals,using windows on the south side for nice direct lighting. walt