I photographed the ice festival in Harbin, China a couple of years ago, and at night the temperature got down to minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit (-37 Celsius). This is serious cold, and it was essential to protect one's fingers from pain and frost bite and still be able to work the camera. My technique for doing that is to wear only a thin glove liner on my right hand (this is the hand I use to work the camera), but in the right-hand pocket of my parka I keep five hand warmers. In combination these chemical packets keep the pocket hot, not just warm, and when my hand gets too cold (which is every minute or so) I thrust it into my hot pocket, grab the heat packets, and hold them until I'm warm again. This is the best technique for a photographer who wants to shoot in extreme cold and still have the dexterity to work the camera's controls.
4 Comments
Dec 22, 2015, 10:29:31 AM
Jean P - Jim,
Thank you once again for great advice. I live in northwestern Montana and am often out in very cold weather. I will use your technique!
I really appreciate your daily photos and your generosity in sharing all of the info needed to take good photos.
Merry Christmas!!
Dec 22, 2015, 6:44:45 AM
Jim - Thanks, Jan. Yes, artists often have to suffer for their art. At least I haven't cut off my ear like Van Gogh did!
Dec 22, 2015, 4:36:06 AM
Jan - I love all of your practical tips! Thanks for sharing this one. I love this series of pictures - - what a magical place. But yowza! Minus 35? What a reminder that beautiful photographs often come at the risk of great personal discomfort! :-)
Dec 21, 2015, 7:33:35 PM
Jim - Hi Jean, You're very welcome. I'm glad you find my posts useful. The tip for protecting cold fingers is the only way I have ever been able to not have painfully cold fingers when doing winter photography. When I buy the hand warmers, I buy them in bulk (like boxes of 20 to 40 packets) because I use so many. As I'm sure you know, though, when your fingers hurt because of the cold, it doesn't matter how much money you have to spend -- it's worth it.