This is a shot of Harbin, China during their incredible Snow and Ice Festival. This 'ice city' is constructed entirely of blocks of ice cut from a local river. Drilled into the ice are hollow cores, and fluourescent tubes are inserted so the entire city is illuminated at night. To take this picture, I climbed up three flights of ice steps in an ice building holding onto an ice railing to gain this elevated perspective. It was minus 36 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 C) when I was there. During the day, the temperature warms up to a balmy minus 2 degrees F (-19 C). Every Spring, of course, the entire city melts. I am working on setting up another photography tour to visit Harbin in January, 2023. Every year the theme of the ice buildings changes. My settings for this shot were .5 seconds, f/22, and 200 ISO. My technique for shooting in extreme cold and protecting my fingers while still maintaining dexterity to work the camera controls is to wear on my right hand a glove liner only. In my right parka pocket, I have 6 hand warmers that make the interior of the pocket hot, not just warm. Every minute or two I grab the warmers to infuse my fingers with heat, and that keeps them comfortable and flexible.
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