Photographing in winter can be a very enjoyable and rewarding endeavor. The winter season offers some of the most colorful light of the year. The reflection of light off of snow and ice combined with the long light rays creates a visual delight that cannot be found any other time of the year.
As with most aspects of photography the digital revolution offers the photographer challenges and advantages. There are three primary concerns regarding equipment for the winter photographer; battery power, battery power, battery power. Sweden Cold sucks the life out of batteries very quickly. The colder the weather the quicker your camera battery will go dead. When I go out to photograph in the winter I always carry several extra camera batteries with me. I try to carry these extra batteries someplace close to my body where they will stay warm. One way to help conserve battery power is to shut off the automatic image preview on the back of your camera. The LCD screen requires a lot of battery power to generate that image. Needless to say if your camera has a “live view” feature I would turn that off as well. Only preview or postview your images when you absolutely must. Better yet wait until you get back to the warmth of your home and computer lab to view your images. Consult your camera manual to turn off the image preview feature.
Keeping your camera batteries warm is only part of the battle. Keeping your fingers and toes warm is the other half of the battle. The new polypropylene and “Smart Wool” winter clothes are the way to go. Never wear cotton next to your skin if you want to stay warm. Cotton has no insulating ability once it gets wet unlike polypropylene or wool. The “Smart Wool” clothes combine the best of both wool and poly without the itch.
For your feet I recommend either a good pair of Mukluks like the
