[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-posts":3,"blog-search-sections":2562},[4,410,680,1014,1359,1629,2223,2510],{"id":5,"title":6,"body":7,"buttonText":394,"date":395,"description":396,"extension":397,"image":398,"meta":399,"navigation":400,"path":401,"seo":402,"smugmugAlbum":403,"stem":404,"tags":405,"__hash__":409},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold.md","Winter Photography: Dressing for the Cold",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":382},"minimark",[10,14,23,32,37,40,43,69,76,93,110,113,119,131,134,137,143,147,150,159,165,168,177,180,184,199,215,221,230,234,237,247,250,257,273,276,279,286,295,299,313,320,323,327,330,334,345,349,352,359,362,365,368,371,378],[11,12,13],"p",{},"It’s that time of year again: it’s barely 10 days into “autumn” and the third day of October, and yet Calgary had a whopping 32cm of snow yesterday. That means it’s time to get geared up for photography in cold temperatures once again.",[11,15,16,17,22],{},"I’ve previously discussed ",[18,19,21],"a",{"href":20},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter\u002F","how to safely use your camera gear in winter",", so if you want to know how to extend your camera’s battery life or how to ensure that its internals do not get damaged by extreme cold, please head over to that post. Below, I discuss something equally important: what gear you need to bring along to ensure that you don’t experience any long-term effects from exposure to the cold. No photo is ever worth not being able to feel your big toes for three months afterwards…",[24,25,29],"blog-image",{"alt":26,"src":27,"display-width":28},"A Halo for the Trees","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FBanff-National-Park\u002Fi-25FXR7P\u002F1\u002Fb5958178\u002FL\u002FA%20Halo%20for%20the%20Trees-L.jpg","50%",[11,30,31],{},"A photo taken on the night where I lost feeling in my big toe (for the next three months).",[33,34,36],"h2",{"id":35},"always-dress-in-layers","Always Dress in Layers",[11,38,39],{},"Regardless of what you’re doing in cold weather, it’s always important to dress in layers. Multiple layers will always be warmer than a single layer of the same thickness, and they also give you flexibility to be able to remove some, but not all, of your insulation. This is very helpful when you’re hiking up to a lookout; removing a layer early will stop you from sweating, which will make your clothes damp and cause you to get cold and then stay cold.",[11,41,42],{},"Usually, with photography, the concern is actually the reverse: that you won’t be warm enough. Remember, you’ll be standing still compared to when you’re doing athletic activities such as skiing or snowshoeing, so the cold will really seep in. One or two extra mid-layers that you can quickly throw on under your jacket will make a much bigger difference than an even bigger, puffier down jacket would have.",[11,44,45,46],{},"So what layers should you have? Start with a base layer made of a comfortable, wicking material. What you want here is something that will stay dry and keep moisture away from your skin so you don’t feel cold and clammy. I always wear Icebreaker base layers because merino wool is great for temperature regulation (it helps keep you cool when it’s warm and warm when it’s cool). For those that are allergic to wool, polypropylene thermals are a good option. ",[47,48,49,50,56,57,62,63,68],"em",{},"What I wear: the Icebreaker ",[18,51,55],{"href":52,"rel":53},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2NjDyyt",[54],"nofollow","Oasis V top"," and either the ",[18,58,61],{"href":59,"rel":60},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2yfFQZQ",[54],"200gsm"," or ",[18,64,67],{"href":65,"rel":66},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2Nlwame",[54],"260gsm"," leggings",[24,70,73],{"alt":71,"src":72},"Onwards and Downwards","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FKananaskis\u002Fi-t2V8rch\u002F0\u002Fd0efceab\u002FL\u002FOnwards%20and%20Downwards-L.jpg",[11,74,75],{},"A wicking base layer is a must when you’re snowshoeing (or walking) through landscapes like these.",[11,77,78,79],{},"On top of your base layer, add a mid-layer or two (and pack at least another one spare). I tend to wear either wool or fleece for this layer because they are lightweight but still insulate (the whole goal of this layer). The same is true for the legs; I often opt for a pair of fleece lounge pants. ",[47,80,81,82,87,88],{},"What I wear: ",[18,83,86],{"href":84,"rel":85},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2DUri8j",[54],"Icebreaker Cascade Long Sleeve Zip"," or the ",[18,89,92],{"href":90,"rel":91},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2ID2lwO",[54],"North Face Arcata",[11,94,95,96],{},"As an outer layer, you’ll want a jacket that keeps wind and water out. In a dry climate such as Banff, you will only need a water-resistant jacket because the snow will often slough right off without seeping in. However, in a climate like Vancouver, Norway, or Iceland, you’ll need a jacket with a higher waterproof rating to ensure you don’t get wet. I wouldn’t be wearing a down jacket (a jacket that will often lose all of its insulating characteristics once it gets wet) in these places; I’d opt for a ski jacket or parka. ",[47,97,81,98,103,104,109],{},[18,99,102],{"href":100,"rel":101},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2ICJli0",[54],"Rab Neutrino Endurance Down Jacket"," (for dry climates) or ",[18,105,108],{"href":106,"rel":107},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2NjTGQA",[54],"Columbia Carson Pass Jacket"," (for wetter climates\u002Fdays when I am walking through thick trees)",[11,111,112],{},"It’s also worth looking for other features in your jackets as well. Hoods to help keep the wind out and inner pockets to help keep your batteries warm are both handy extras that not all jackets have.",[24,114,116],{"alt":115,"smugmug":115},"Running in Snowshoes at Johnson Lake",[11,117,118],{},"Water-resistant jackets can be useful when you are flinging snow all over yourself when trying to run in snowshoes too. Thanks to my friend Larissa Dening for the photo.",[11,120,121,122],{},"For pants, you’ll either want insulated ski pants (if you are in extreme cold) or pair of water-resistant hiking pants. You’ll need a bit of extra room around the waist in these because you’ll be wearing more underneath them than in summer. ",[47,123,124,125,130],{},"What I wear: $60 ski pants from Marshalls or ",[18,126,129],{"href":127,"rel":128},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patagonia.ca\u002Fproduct\u002Fwomens-simul-alpine-pants-for-alpine-climbing\u002F83066.html",[54],"Patagonia Simul Alpine pants"," (these are my year-round go-to)",[11,132,133],{},"None of these layers should be made of cotton or denim. Both of these materials absorb water and then stay wet, meaning they will keep you cold rather than warm as soon as you get a bit sweaty or encounter your first snowfall (or snow drift).",[11,135,136],{},"Finally, consider what I call the “Michelin man effect.” This is what happens when you put on so many layers that your movement is severely impeded (for instance, I have a pair of ski pants that are so tight in the thigh area that I cannot walk up some stairs in them). It’s worth putting on all of your layers before you pack them\u002Fhead out on a shoot just to make sure that you’ll be able to easily move your arms and legs.",[24,138,140],{"alt":139,"smugmug":139},"Our Cabin at Shadow Lake Lodge",[11,141,142],{},"I’m not suffering from the Michelin Man effect here, so I can comfortably walk up the stairs at Shadow Lake Lodge. Thanks to Larissa for this photo as well.",[33,144,146],{"id":145},"cover-all-exposed-areas","Cover all Exposed Areas",[11,148,149],{},"One thing many people have a tendency to do (including me when I first moved to Canada) is leave small patches of skin open to the elements. This includes the neck, the face, and that pesky area that can open up between your pants and top when you bend.",[11,151,152,153,158],{},"There are a few small things you can throw in your bag that will stop these areas from being a problem. Scarves can both cover your neck and mouth area; on the coldest days, I wear a fleece scarf that is so large it could double as a small blanket. ",[18,154,157],{"href":155,"rel":156},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2OwuzyN",[54],"Buffs"," take up less space and, with their tube shape, are easy to pull up over your mouth. They come in a variety of materials, including a half wool\u002Fhalf fleece version.",[24,160,162],{"alt":161,"smugmug":161},"Shooting Hoarfrost at Pyramid Lake",[11,163,164],{},"Bundling up while shooting hoarfrost at Pyramid Lake. Everything except the upper half of my face was totally covered. Thanks to my friend Michelle for this photo.",[11,166,167],{},"A word of warning to glasses wearers: breathing into a scarf will usually push the air up and into your glasses, causing them to fog (something that doesn’t go away quickly in winter). It may be worth switching to contacts for your shoot!",[11,169,170,171,176],{},"I also like to wear a floppy beanie (toque) that can be pulled down well below my ears, since they often get cold in tighter-fitting hats. The one I’m wearing above is by local Calgary craft shop ",[18,172,175],{"href":173,"rel":174},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Fwolfandwillow\u002F",[54],"Wolf and Willow",".",[11,178,179],{},"Finally, if possible, it’s worth buying longer top layers and ensuring that your base layer is tucked in so, no matter how you contort yourself to get that perfect angle, you’re not leaving it open to cold air (or equally, for snow to fall down your pants).",[33,181,183],{"id":182},"gloves","Gloves",[11,185,186,187,192,193,198],{},"There are a whole host of different options for gloves — so many that it can be overwhelming to choose at first. Do I get gloves where ",[18,188,191],{"href":189,"rel":190},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2OyM5SS",[54],"the tips fold back","? Do I get [",[18,194,197],{"href":195,"rel":196},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2DUWyUD%5D(big",[54],"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2DUWyUD](big",", fluffy Icelandic mitts)?",[11,200,201,202],{},"The answer, as usual, is likely somewhere in between. What works best for me is to wear two layers of gloves: a glove liner or thin glove, covered by a thick set of mitts. Mitts on their own are warmer than gloves due to the circulation of warm air that they allow; however, they also make it impossible to use your camera. If you’re wearing a thin layer underneath, though, you still get their benefit but when you remove the mitt to use your camera, your hands aren’t being exposed to cold air. This is important because once your hands get cold, they will stay cold. ",[47,203,81,204,209,210],{},[18,205,208],{"href":206,"rel":207},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2NmjMSS",[54],"Head running gloves"," and ",[18,211,214],{"href":212,"rel":213},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2xWGUCz",[54],"Burton gore-tex mitts",[24,216,218],{"alt":217,"smugmug":217},"Wapta Falls in Winter",[11,219,220],{},"When there’s as much spray as there was coming off this waterfall, you definitely won’t want to expose your bare hands.",[11,222,223,224,229],{},"It’s also quite handy to buy gloves that have a pocket for ",[18,225,228],{"href":226,"rel":227},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2OERmbO",[54],"handwarmers",". These little bags of warmth will often make your gloves positively toasty, and having a pocket means they won’t fall out every time you take your glove off. It’s worth carrying an extra stash of handwarmers as well, because some can be duds and never warm up.",[33,231,233],{"id":232},"footwear","Footwear",[11,235,236],{},"You will not regret buying a good pair of winter boots, because having cold feet (especially once they start going truly numb) can really ruin a shoot. You’ll be standing still on a freezing surface, and that can seep into your boots very quickly.",[11,238,239,240],{},"The temperature rating and height of a boot are both important; my current boots are rated to -40ºC (which in reality means somewhere around -20ºC before your feet start getting chilly) and are mid-calf height. You can go lower than this, but you’ll risk getting more snow in your boots (even if you wear gaiters). ",[47,241,81,242],{},[18,243,246],{"href":244,"rel":245},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2xWnFJs",[54],"North Face Chilkat 400",[11,248,249],{},"When buying your boots, it’s important to ensure they are not too tight. Extra space in your boots will mean extra space for warm air to circulate, and it will give you space to add toe warmers if needed. I usually go at least 1\u002F2 size up on my normal shoe size.",[24,251,254],{"alt":252,"src":253},"Snow-Framed Reflections","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FBanff-National-Park\u002Fi-kFgZX6B\u002F1\u002F4c6d3897\u002FL\u002FSnow-Framed%20Reflections-L.jpg",[11,255,256],{},"Picking between snow-covered rocks like these could very quickly result in a shoe full of snow if you’re not wearing winter footwear.",[11,258,259,260],{},"If you only have one piece of clothing made of wool, your socks should be it; they will keep your feet fairly dry (and as a bonus, they take a lot longer to start smelling)! In general, you should only wear one pair of socks. Multiple pairs will take up more space and could start pushing your toes into the boot outers, which will actually result in colder feet (since there is no longer a nice layer of warm air between your feet and the boot). ",[47,261,81,262,62,267,272],{},[18,263,266],{"href":264,"rel":265},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2xZ1cf3",[54],"SmartWool Hike Medium Crew",[18,268,271],{"href":269,"rel":270},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2xWRGZP",[54],"SmartWool Trekking Heavy"," for the coldest days",[11,274,275],{},"One exception to this is for those that use toe warmers extensively. In this case, if you wear a thin sock, you can place the toe warmer on top of your toes (without the risk of burning) and then put your thick socks on to hold it in place.",[11,277,278],{},"Always bring along a spare pair of socks, at least two small garbage bags, and a towel. This will save your feet if you have an accident where your boot becomes inundated (which I managed to do in Johnson Lake on a -20ºC day a few winters ago). Having this gear with me meant I could dry my foot, put on a dry sock, and then put it in a garbage bag as a layer between it and the soaked boot inner. I hiked for hours afterwards and my foot wasn’t any colder than normal.",[24,280,283],{"alt":281,"src":282,"display-width":28},"Frostbitten Sunrise","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FBanff-National-Park\u002Fi-sRVQvnQ\u002F0\u002Ff55e0ee9\u002FL\u002FFrostbitten%20Sunrise-L.jpg",[11,284,285],{},"The photo I took just before I inundated one of my boots with freezing water on a -20ºC morning. Genius.",[11,287,288,289,294],{},"Finally, ",[18,290,293],{"href":291,"rel":292},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2xX1G5o",[54],"duct tape"," (as in most cases) can be a lifesaver for boots. I had a pair of Columbia boots that decided to disintegrate on me during a snowshoe trip, which left holes in the back of the boot that snow kept forcing its way into. Duct tape kept the snow out and meant I didn’t have a potential frostnip issue to deal with (since I had no choice but to hike out).",[33,296,298],{"id":297},"microspikes","Microspikes",[11,300,301,302,307,308,312],{},"These, along with ",[18,303,306],{"href":304,"rel":305},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2NoiSW2",[54],"Yaktrax",", have to be one of the best winter inventions ever created. ",[18,309,298],{"href":310,"rel":311},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2Rk6KbQ",[54]," are a series of small spikes strung between a rubber outer, which you stretch around the sole of your boot. Yaktrax are similar but come in either a version with metal coils around bungee cords or a version with tiny metal spikes. Both will give you grip on ice where you would have none otherwise, meaning you can comfortably stride along paths while others are grabbing onto trees to pull themselves along.",[24,314,317],{"alt":315,"src":316,"display-width":28},"Bubbles from Below","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FAlberta\u002Fi-L6fWMM7\u002F1\u002F2f2bfc52\u002FL\u002FBubbles%20from%20Below-L.jpg",[11,318,319],{},"Smooth lake ice? Some people can happily glide across this in their boots, but I’d much rather have a pair of microspikes on for grip.",[11,321,322],{},"Between the two, I recommend microspikes as they provide more consistent grip. Their main downside is that they are awkward on non-icy surfaces, while Yaktrax can be used for a short period of time on normal surfaces (although I’d avoid gravel as it sticks in them). It’s best to use both solely on ice and snow as you won’t blunt them, but sometimes it’s just not worth removing them for a short stretch before you have to put them back on again.",[33,324,326],{"id":325},"sunglasses","Sunglasses",[11,328,329],{},"You may not think about these if it’s a bit dreary outside, but with all that snow, you’re going to want sunglasses. Snow blindness can happen in a short period of time, even when it’s overcast.",[33,331,333],{"id":332},"headlampflashlight","Headlamp\u002Fflashlight",[11,335,336,337],{},"It’s worth always having one of these in your bag because the short days of winter can really catch you off-guard. If you’re using them for light painting in low-light photography, I recommend having one quite dim flashlight (which you can use in-frame for a longer period of time before it blows out) and one very bright flashlight (for finding your way around in the dark and for adding light beams to photos). ",[47,338,339,340],{},"What I use: ",[18,341,344],{"href":342,"rel":343},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2O1Yr6s",[54],"Coast HP8R rechargeable flashlight",[33,346,348],{"id":347},"chapstick","Chapstick",[11,350,351],{},"Your lips will thank you, especially if it’s windy at all.",[24,353,356],{"alt":354,"src":355},"Wind-Whipped Summit","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FBanff-National-Park\u002Fi-MhVQ3w7\u002F0\u002Fd2d79474\u002FL\u002FWind-Whipped%20Summit-L.jpg",[11,357,358],{},"On a windy day like this one, you’ll want to apply chapstick regularly.",[11,360,361],{},"A final few notes about taking care of yourself: if you can avoid it, don’t shower or sauna within 2 hours of going out on your shoot. Both of these strip your skin of necessary oils it needs to help insulate so you’ll feel the cold much more quickly.",[11,363,364],{},"Also, listen to your body. If you are losing feeling in your extremities, go inside a building or vehicle, take off at least your boots and gloves, and sit in the heat until the pins and needles feeling has gone away. That photo I captioned above with a note about losing feeling in my toes? That happened because I stood still in temperatures between -10 to -20ºC for five hours and didn’t listen to my toes when they went numb. Letting them stay numb for an hour resulted in likely nerve damage that caused my big toe to lose all sensation for about three months. Not all people are so lucky.",[366,367],"hr",{},[11,369,370],{},"Winter can be a challenging time for figuring out what to wear, especially for those who haven’t grown up in those conditions; sunny and 0ºC is definitely quite a different beast to snowing and -30ºC, and standing still at a photo location for an hour is quite different to zipping down a ski hill. Being prepared for what the weather might throw at you will make the difference between rushing back to the car early in a shoot and sticking around to catch magic light sparkling on the snow. So bundle up, and happy shooting!",[11,372,373,374,176],{},"Did I not cover something you’re wondering about? ",[18,375,377],{"href":376},"\u002Fcontact","Get in contact with me here",[24,379],{"alt":6,"smugmug":380,"display-width":28,":pin":381},"Winter Photography Dressing for the Cold","true",{"title":383,"searchDepth":384,"depth":384,"links":385},"",2,[386,387,388,389,390,391,392,393],{"id":35,"depth":384,"text":36},{"id":145,"depth":384,"text":146},{"id":182,"depth":384,"text":183},{"id":232,"depth":384,"text":233},{"id":297,"depth":384,"text":298},{"id":325,"depth":384,"text":326},{"id":332,"depth":384,"text":333},{"id":347,"depth":384,"text":348},null,"2018-10-03","The winter months provide some spectacular photo opportunities, but they also provide many more challenges in terms of keeping yourself safe from the elements. What should you think about before you pile on that winter gear and head out?","md","\u002Fimg\u002Fblog\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold\u002Fwind-whipped-summit.jpg",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold",{"title":6,"description":396},"Blog-Posts\u002F2018.10.03-Photography-in-Cold-Weather---Clothes","blog\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold",[406,407,408],"travel photography","clothing","winter","pOO8U1RxwJJMw6AlWW_4B3IYf5ok0hROEJP6c3VnSro",{"id":411,"title":412,"body":413,"buttonText":394,"date":666,"description":667,"extension":397,"image":668,"meta":669,"navigation":400,"path":670,"seo":671,"smugmugAlbum":672,"stem":673,"tags":674,"__hash__":679},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fphotograph-northern-lights.md","How to Photograph the Northern Lights",{"type":8,"value":414,"toc":653},[415,418,421,428,431,435,442,445,452,455,459,462,467,486,493,496,499,503,506,513,517,520,524,535,542,546,549,552,559,562,565,569,572,579,582,604,607,611,620,627,630,637,639,642,645,647],[11,416,417],{},"The night sky is an incredibly rewarding subject for photos; the aurora is even more so, since it captures both the stars and the elusive and breathtaking phenomenon that is the northern (or southern) lights.",[11,419,420],{},"One big difference between shooting the night sky and shooting the aurora is that the northern lights are an incredibly dynamic subject. Sure, the stars move over time, and sometimes the aurora is quiet enough that you can only barely see its movement; in this case, similar settings to a standard night sky photo will get you quite a nicely exposed shot. However, if the aurora is flickering and dancing across the sky, sometimes in the matter of seconds, you’ll have to be able to adjust your settings on the fly to ensure your photo doesn’t just turn into a blob of brilliant green.",[24,422,425],{"alt":423,"src":424},"Green Lights at Gardur Lighthouse","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FIceland\u002Fi-48XtVNb\u002F1\u002Fc6415561\u002FL\u002FThe%20Green%20Lights%20of%20Gardur%20Lighthouse-L.jpg",[11,426,427],{},"Aurora photos turn out much better if there is some shape the aurora, rather than it being a shapeless green blob in the sky.",[11,429,430],{},"Hopefully these tips will help you feel a bit more confident with anything the aurora throws at you and show you how to capture images that make you feel like you’re back under the night sky, gawking at the crazy show above you.",[33,432,434],{"id":433},"preparation-choosing-your-gear","Preparation & Choosing Your Gear",[11,436,437,438,176],{},"The more preparation you do prior to heading out into the (often cold) night, the better off you will be. I’ve compiled a full list of preparations you can do — from knowing the space weather forecast, to having an up-to-date weather forecast, to choosing the compositions you’ll use — on my previous post ",[18,439,441],{"href":440},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpreparing-northern-lights-shoot\u002F","Preparing for a Northern Lights Shoot",[11,443,444],{},"As mentioned in my preparations blog post, you will want to shoot with a camera with manual mode that allows you to adjust shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. All dSLRs and mirrorless systems will have this option.",[24,446,449],{"alt":447,"src":448},"The Waterfall of the Gods","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FIceland\u002Fi-L9DkDzG\u002F0\u002F9b4da348\u002FL\u002FThe%20Waterfall%20of%20the%20Gods-L.jpg",[11,450,451],{},"An ultra-wide angle lens helped me capture the entirety of Goðafoss waterfall, even when it was so close that it coated the camera in spray.",[11,453,454],{},"In addition, you’ll want to have your widest possible lens so you can have a longer shutter speed and include as much of the sky as possible. If it’s very cold outside, you’ll want to mount it on the camera prior to the shoot so you’re not fumbling with it with gloved hands.",[33,456,458],{"id":457},"camera-settings","Camera Settings",[11,460,461],{},"Unlike you have for subjects like the Milky Way, there are no magic settings that will give you a well-exposed shot. That’s because the aurora is an amorphous subject that can be so dull that its colour can’t be seen with the naked eye or so bright that it makes the snow underneath it look like it’s radioactive.",[463,464,466],"h3",{"id":465},"aperture","Aperture",[11,468,469,470,473,474,476,477,479,480,482,483,485],{},"You should generally keep your aperture as wide open as possible — that is, one of the smallest ",[47,471,472],{},"f"," numbers — when shooting at night. For instance, if your lens is ",[47,475,472],{},"4, shoot at ",[47,478,472],{},"4. If your lens is ",[47,481,472],{},"2.8, shoot at ",[47,484,472],{},"2.8.",[24,487,490],{"alt":488,"src":489},"Pink, Green, and Gold","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FFinland\u002Fi-gKMVVFN\u002F0\u002Fa0b749da\u002FL\u002FPink%2C%20Green%2C%20and%20Gold-L.jpg",[11,491,492],{},"A solar storm in Finnish Lapland, captured using a wide open aperture (f2.8 in this case).",[11,494,495],{},"This goes against what you’re often taught about landscape photography, which is that you need to keep the aperture narrow to ensure a deep depth of field. While this is useful during the day, a wide open aperture allows your camera to gather more light at night without having to increase the ISO, which increases noise. It will also help the stars behind the aurora appear brighter.",[11,497,498],{},"Plus, you’ll often find that the shallow depth of field is not terribly noticeable since you are focusing on infinity, and most of your foreground will often be far enough away that your camera treats it as infinity as well. (On most wide angle lenses, anything beyond 3 meters away will be treated as “infinity.”).",[463,500,502],{"id":501},"shutter-speed","Shutter Speed",[11,504,505],{},"Your shutter speed will vary immensely over the course of the night; as an example, my shutter speeds have varied between around 2s during the biggest storms to 30s for the slow-moving, less colourful shows. 15-20s is a good starting point, but as we’ll discuss below, it’s important to adjust this based on what you’re seeing.",[24,507,510],{"alt":508,"src":509},"Yes, That's Green You See","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FAlberta\u002Fi-w5pFWcp\u002F0\u002F18149bdb\u002FL\u002FYes%2C%20That%27s%20Green%20You%20See-L.jpg",[11,511,512],{},"The shutter speed on this image, captured just outside Calgary, was only 6s.",[463,514,516],{"id":515},"iso","ISO",[11,518,519],{},"Your ISO will usually vary between 800-3200. Because a higher ISO will add more noise to your photo, you’ll want to use as low an ISO as you can (although sometimes the show is faint enough that dropping the ISO too far will result in a very underexposed image). 1600 (the middle of the range) is a good starting point.",[463,521,523],{"id":522},"overall","Overall",[11,525,526,527,534],{},"In short, a good starting point is ",[528,529,530,531,533],"strong",{},"around ",[47,532,472],{},"4, ISO1600, and 15s",". If this is too dark, lengthen your shutter speed or increase your ISO. If this is too bright or gets rid of the definition you can see with your eyes, decrease your shutter speed.",[24,536,539],{"alt":537,"src":538,"display-width":28},"Solar Storm Over Rovaniemi","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FFinland\u002Fi-8KzfDN5\u002F0\u002Fbf1834ea\u002FL\u002FSolar%20Storm%20Over%20Rovaniemi-L.jpg",[11,540,541],{},"I used similar ‘starter’ settings I’ve recommended here for this shot, which I frantically composed so I could get a shot and not be late for my tour pickup. Settings: 15s at f\u002F4.8, ISO800",[33,543,545],{"id":544},"thenchanging-your-settings","Then…Changing Your Settings",[11,547,548],{},"As I’ve mentioned before, the aurora is a dynamic subject that is constantly moving — and more importantly, constantly changing its brightness. While some nights may have fairly stable conditions that allow you to shoot with the exact same settings throughout the night, they will be the exception, not the rule. You’ll need to be ready to change your settings, and you’ll need to do so quickly.",[11,550,551],{},"If the lights start to move quickly (i.e. you are starting to see waves all across the sky), you should decrease your shutter speed. The reason you want to change your shutter speed and not any other setting is to do with the movement you are capturing. If the lights move too much across the sky during your exposure, you will end up with a photo with an entire sky of green that has little to no definition. While green is a nice colour, it’s much better to have textures and signs of movement in your photo, since this is what makes the northern lights as spectacular as they are.",[24,553,556],{"alt":554,"src":555},"The Best Sort of Storm","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FFinland\u002Fi-Vf3JJtc\u002F0\u002F0f301e02\u002FL\u002FThe%20Best%20Sort%20of%20Storm-L.jpg",[11,557,558],{},"This photo was captured during a particularly bright spate of lights and used a 20s shutter speed. I’m happy with how it came out and the movement it captured; had it been any longer, the colour would have washed out the whole sky.",[11,560,561],{},"If you decide you need to shorten your shutter speed to get more definition in the aurora, you will need to increase your ISO to maintain the same exposure. The reason you have to adjust the ISO rather than the aperture is because your aperture is likely already wide open, so you cannot adjust it to let in any more light.",[11,563,564],{},"Alternatively, if you are shooting a bright show that suddenly dims, you will need to choose whether you want to lengthen your shutter speed or increase your ISO to brighten your image. Lengthening the shutter speed will help you capture green in more areas of the sky as the aurora moves, but you will lose some definition. Increasing the ISO will add noise, so try to avoid going over ISO 6400 if at all possible. Noise performance has improved greatly on newer models of cameras, but beyond 6400 you’ll start to see noticeable noise regardless of your camera.",[33,566,568],{"id":567},"focus","Focus",[11,570,571],{},"Getting the scene in focus is by far the most frustrating part of shooting at night. Your camera focuses best when there is contrast at the focal point; at night, you generally don’t have any contrast around you because everything is just varying levels of black. Therefore, if you try to use autofocus, you’ll generally find that the camera will try to focus, fail, and leave you with a scene that is even more out of focus than when you started.",[24,573,576],{"alt":574,"smugmug":575},"Infinity on a Nikon 24-70mm f\u002F2.8 lens","Infinity on Nikkor Lens",[11,577,578],{},"Viewing the focal point on a Nikon 24-70mm lens. This is currently focused on infinity, but the point will vary between lenses. Also, please ignore how dusty the outside of my lens was in this shot!",[11,580,581],{},"There are three common ways to focus at night:",[583,584,585,592,598],"ol",{},[586,587,588,591],"li",{},[528,589,590],{},"Use a flashlight to light up an area enough that your camera can focus."," If you are shooting with a wide-angle lens, your camera will treat anything further away than ~3m as “infinity.” This means that focusing ~4m away is the same as focusing on the mountains in the distance or even the stars. Practically, this means that you can shine a bright flashlight on a nearby tree and focus on it rather than struggling to focus on foreground elements in the distance. Aim your camera at the tree, press the shutter down halfway, and then switch to manual focus. Just remember that if you zoom in or out (or knock your focal ring), you’ll have to do this again!",[586,593,594,597],{},[528,595,596],{},"Use live view to zoom in on details and manually focus on them."," Sometimes your focus will still seem a bit off, even when using method #1 above. That’s where live view comes in handy. While live view is not great for general use at night, it can really help with determining if you are truly in focus. To do this, turn on live view and locate the magnifying glass buttons on the back of your camera (you won’t use the zoom ring on your lens as you’re just working with digital zoom here). Magnify the scene until you find something clear enough to see (which could be a tree lit up by your flashlight as in method #1). Then, turn the focal ring on your lens until your foreground element is crisp.",[586,599,600,603],{},[528,601,602],{},"Know where infinity is on your lens and set it manually."," All lenses are different and their ‘infinity point’ may be smack on the infinity label on your lens, or it could be slightly off. I recommend testing during daylight by auto-focusing on items in the distance, then checking your lens to see the exact distance it has focused on (which you can see on a display similar to the one pictured above).",[11,605,606],{},"Once you’ve got your focus sorted using any of these methods, it’s crucial to make sure you choose manual focus on your lens. Otherwise, the next time you try to take a shot, your camera will try to autofocus and you’ll have to go through this whole rigmarole all over again.",[33,608,610],{"id":609},"things-to-avoid","Things to Avoid",[11,612,613,614,209,617,176],{},"There are two things that can cause subtle issues in your aurora photos that you may not notice until you get home: ",[528,615,616],{},"image stabilisation",[528,618,619],{},"filters",[24,621,624],{"alt":622,"src":623},"The Church of the Southern Lights","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FNew-Zealand\u002Fi-mkB3JzN\u002F0\u002F8012a223\u002FL\u002FThe%20Church%20of%20the%20Southern%20Lights-L.jpg",[11,625,626],{},"I don’t have any photos of the “things to avoid,” so here’s a photo of the southern lights instead! This aurora was very dim and barely pink to the naked eye, so I shot it at f4, 30s, and ISO 2000.",[11,628,629],{},"When you are using a tripod, you don’t need image stabilisation as your camera is already on a stable surface. The addition of image stabilisation can actually make your photo slightly blurry as the camera tries to stabilise an already steady shot.",[11,631,632,633,636],{},"As mentioned in my ",[18,634,635],{"href":440},"preparations post",", filters can cause some very interesting artefacts in aurora photos, commonly seen as a series of concentric circles created from reflections of aurora light within the filter. These are unremovable (unless you’re willing to sink hours into each photo), so it’s best to just remove all filters and leave them in your bag for the night.",[366,638],{},[11,640,641],{},"Now that you know how to plan and execute a northern lights shoot, remember to not spend the entire time looking through the viewfinder. Sometimes it’s best just to learn back and stare up at the sky in awe rather than fiddling with settings and missing what is happening above you. You won’t regret that uninterrupted time at all, even if it means you have a few less photos to show for it.",[11,643,644],{},"Finally, I can’t guarantee that, even if you follow all of these instructions to a T, that you’ll get perfect photos. Aurora photography is not that exact of a science. Hopefully this will give you a good starting point so you can adjust accordingly and get some fantastic photos to remember your time in the north seeing one of nature’s most stunning phenomenons.",[24,646],{"alt":412,"display-width":28,"smugmug":412,":pin":381},[11,648,649,650,176],{},"Is there anything I didn’t cover in this post series? Comment below or ",[18,651,652],{"href":376},"get in contact with me here",{"title":383,"searchDepth":384,"depth":384,"links":654},[655,656,663,664,665],{"id":433,"depth":384,"text":434},{"id":457,"depth":384,"text":458,"children":657},[658,660,661,662],{"id":465,"depth":659,"text":466},3,{"id":501,"depth":659,"text":502},{"id":515,"depth":659,"text":516},{"id":522,"depth":659,"text":523},{"id":544,"depth":384,"text":545},{"id":567,"depth":384,"text":568},{"id":609,"depth":384,"text":610},"2018-02-26","Seeing the aurora is an amazing experience, but capturing it on camera can be more difficult than you would expect. A few starter settings (and knowing how to adjust them) can make all the difference on the night.","\u002Fimg\u002Fbkg\u002Fgreen-lights-of-gardur.jpg",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fphotograph-northern-lights",{"title":412,"description":667},"Blog-Posts\u002F2018.02.26-How-to-Photograph-the-Northern-Lights","blog\u002Fphotograph-northern-lights",[675,676,677,678],"northern lights","landscape photography","astrophotography","camera gear","kO0yzdG7ZrK2icsQEfiLa31SQtomoOMOILV8lEX6xAw",{"id":681,"title":682,"body":683,"buttonText":394,"date":1004,"description":1005,"extension":397,"image":1006,"meta":1007,"navigation":400,"path":1008,"seo":1009,"smugmugAlbum":1010,"stem":1011,"tags":1012,"__hash__":1013},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter.md","How to Safely Use Your Camera Gear in Winter",{"type":8,"value":684,"toc":987},[685,693,700,707,715,719,722,729,732,736,739,742,749,752,766,773,782,786,789,796,805,814,818,821,828,837,840,844,847,854,857,860,864,867,870,877,880,884,887,891,900,906,915,919,922,929,932,935,942,945,949,952,956,959,966,969,973,976,978,985],[11,686,687,688,692],{},"For a photographer, winter is far from an excuse to sit inside waiting until spring arrives. As much as I enjoy a cup of hot chocolate in front of a fire, I still enjoy capturing the world as a winter wonderland more. And who can forget the fact that this time of year is perfect for heading even further north to ",[18,689,691],{"href":690},"\u002Fpreparing-northern-lights-shoot\u002F","chase the northern lights","?",[24,694,697],{"alt":695,"smugmug":696},"Lying in the snow, Highway 562 between Calgary and Dorothy","Lying in the Snow",[11,698,699],{},"A workshop participant embracing the cold & snow during a photography workshop on Alberta’s prairies in November.",[11,701,702,703,706],{},"With that endless sparkling snow comes a number of concerns though, namely, how do I keep my equipment safe in extreme cold? Even more importantly, how do I keep ",[47,704,705],{},"myself"," safe in extreme cold?",[11,708,709,710,714],{},"Those are definitely concerns that I had when I headed north, having lived my whole life in warm climates. I’ve learned quite a lot from my last few years of shooting in winter in both the Rockies and in Scandinavia’s Arctic north, and the missteps I’ve made have taught me what I need to do to keep my gear functional and myself safe in extreme cold. I’ve written about ",[18,711,713],{"href":712},"\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold\u002F","how to dress for the cold in another post","; for now I’ll cover…",[33,716,718],{"id":717},"keeping-your-gear-functional","Keeping Your Gear Functional",[11,720,721],{},"Your camera is not designed to work in temperatures below zero. Canon and Nikon only rate their cameras down to that temperature; other manufacturers may have a slightly lower threshold, but not by much. You shouldn’t take this to mean that you can’t use your camera in these temperatures — I use mine constantly in temperatures hovering around -30ºC in winter with only a few small issues — but you may notice some sluggishness that isn’t usually there.",[24,723,726],{"alt":724,"src":725},"Ice Spiral Sunrise on Lake Edith, Jasper National Park","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FJasper-National-Park\u002Fi-V7SbdmM\u002F1\u002F57704022\u002FL\u002FIce%20Spiral%20Sunrise-L.jpg",[11,727,728],{},"My camera worked just fine on this -24ºC morning in Jasper, but I noticed that settings changes occasionally took longer than usual to register.",[11,730,731],{},"You’ll also notice that it seems to only take a fraction of the number of shots it usually takes before dying, which leads us to…",[463,733,735],{"id":734},"batteries","Batteries",[11,737,738],{},"Your batteries will not hold their charge in cold temperatures (sometimes only firing 20-30 shots before the battery claims to be dead), and the last thing you want is to get outside under a fantastic northern lights show only to find your camera is dead.",[11,740,741],{},"Notice that I said the battery “claims to be dead.” That’s because it hasn’t actually used up all its power; it has just been sapped by the cold temperatures. If you warm it back up, you’ll be able to get extra power out of it…and warming is actually easier than it seems. Simply put the battery into an inner pocket of your jacket (or one of your inner layers), and in 20 minutes or so, the battery will have more life available in it simply from the warmth of your body.",[24,743,746],{"alt":744,"smugmug":745},"Sunrise at Bow Lake, Banff National Park","Sunrise at Bow Lake",[11,747,748],{},"It would be pretty depressing to wait until the sun lit up the steam rising off the lake only to find that your only battery had died from the cold!",[11,750,751],{},"It’s best to start with all your spare batteries in an inner pocket to ensure none of them are starting from a cold state. Then, you can keep dying batteries in one pocket and fresh batteries in another (or, if you only have one pocket, write numbers on them in sharpie so you know which is which).\nYou should make sure you take a number of spare batteries with you. I currently carry four spares; this may seem excessive, but if I’m outside for an extended period of time, I’ll go through 2-3 of them.",[11,753,754,755,209,760,765],{},"You don’t necessarily have to make the investment to buy brand-name batteries either; I have three of the ",[18,756,759],{"href":757,"rel":758},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2BdI6Ek",[54],"Nikon-brand EN-EL15 battery",[18,761,764],{"href":762,"rel":763},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2H0qDPZ",[54],"two off-brand batteries"," purchased for less than half the brand-name battery price. They show very little difference in performance; the only difference is that the Nikon brand battery will still show you the number of photos you have left when the camera is off; when the off-brand battery dies, the display goes completely blank.",[24,767,770],{"alt":768,"src":769},"The Castle of the Rockies - Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff National Park","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FBanff-National-Park\u002Fi-JWZs8wc\u002F0\u002F94a79504\u002FL\u002FThe%20Castle%20of%20the%20Rockies-L.jpg",[11,771,772],{},"I captured this view of the Fairmont Banff Springs on a day of time-lapse shooting around the park. Had I not had multiple spare batteries, I wouldn’t have been able to shoot for the full day like I did.",[11,774,775,776,781],{},"Finally, if you are driving to your shooting location and have an always-on power outlet in that car, you can use a car charger to keep your batteries going. I use the ",[18,777,780],{"href":778,"rel":779},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2GYZ1uH",[54],"Hahnel cube",", which charges two batteries at a time and can charge batteries for both of my Nikon cameras.",[463,783,785],{"id":784},"phone-batteries","Phone Batteries",[11,787,788],{},"Not only is your phone an incredibly handy tool for planning photo shoots, but it is also your lifeline to the outside world in case you need to call for help. So, it’s good to keep in mind that its battery can die just as quickly as your camera battery, and it often won’t give you much notice.\nWhen I was using an iPhone, my battery regularly would tell me 80-90% battery one minute and be completely dead the next. What was very annoying was that, even when warmed up, it wouldn’t turn on until I plugged it into a power source; at that point, it would boot up and tell me again that it was around 80% battery.",[24,790,793],{"alt":791,"smugmug":792},"Fortress Mountain, Kananaskis","Fortress Mountain",[11,794,795],{},"Plus, if your phone has battery power, it can help you capture some pretty nice photos too (like this one taken during an avalanche training day on Fortress Mountain.",[11,797,798,799,804],{},"Luckily, my new ",[18,800,803],{"href":801,"rel":802},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2C5l6Ed",[54],"Pixel 2"," is a bit smarter than that; not only is it weather-sealed so it keeps the cold at bay a bit longer, but if it does shut down and is then re-warmed, it will turn on again without a connection to power.",[11,806,807,808,813],{},"If you’re worried about your phone’s performance in the cold, it’s worth bringing along a spare battery that can give it a quick boost. I use an ",[18,809,812],{"href":810,"rel":811},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2nO90Lz",[54],"Anker PowerCore"," that can charge my phone fully 5-6 times before needing a recharge.",[463,815,817],{"id":816},"protecting-from-the-elements","Protecting from the Elements",[11,819,820],{},"It’s always a good idea to carry your gear in a bag while out on cold days. Not only will it keep it slightly warmer, but it will also keep snow from getting into little nooks and crannies (like your hotshoe) while you carry it on your shoulder.",[24,822,825],{"alt":823,"smugmug":824},"The Vanguard Havana backpack at Bow Lake.","Vanguard Havana Backpack",[11,826,827],{},"The Vanguard Havana backpack (and Bow Lake).",[11,829,830,831,836],{},"I recommend a backpack designed to carry cameras that has extra cushioning around them as well. That means that your camera will be much more protected if you happen to slip and fall on ice. I know this from personal experience, having fallen on black ice last year while carrying my camera in a standard hiking backpack; the camera body was cracked in half as a result and cost a cool $700 to repair. The sub-$100 price of a ",[18,832,835],{"href":833,"rel":834},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2BMb0fV",[54],"Vanguard Havana backpack"," is small change in comparison.",[11,838,839],{},"You should also make sure that you bring along any lens hoods that you may have for your lenses. Not only will a lens hood help block any stray reflected light (which there is a lot more of when everything is covered with bright white snow), but it will also provide added protection from drifting snowflakes. Some snowflakes will inevitably still get on your lens, but you’ll have to clean it a lot less with a lens hood on (or, alternatively, you’ll have to do a lot less cloning out of snowflake blobs after the fact)!",[463,841,843],{"id":842},"dont-breathe","Don’t Breathe",[11,845,846],{},"Yes, breathing can be difficult enough when the air is cold and dry, so you may already be considering this already. However, it’s important to remember that your breath — nice, warm, humid air — can cause serious issues with your camera gear.",[24,848,851],{"alt":849,"smugmug":850},"Frozen tripod in Skellefteå","Frozen tripod",[11,852,853],{},"It’s not just your lens that is vulnerable to humid air, either. I breathed on this tripod head in -18º and the humid air froze the locking mechanism, stopping me from removing my camera from the tripod for hours.",[11,855,856],{},"For instance, if you go to check for spots on the lens and accidentally breathe on it, you’ll find yourself with a nice layer of photo-blurring frost. Trying to wipe this frost away could leave permanent scratches on the lens, and as mentioned in the section below, defrosting it inside could take half an hour or longer. The same issue can occur on your viewfinder or even your LCD as well.",[11,858,859],{},"To avoid this, you can wear a face-covering scarf or neck gaiter that will funnel your breath upwards. Just watch out if you wear glasses as this will just move the issue to them instead!",[463,861,863],{"id":862},"avoiding-condensation","Avoiding Condensation",[11,865,866],{},"One last — and very important — thing to remember about camera care in the cold is how you manage the transition between the cold outside and the warm temperatures inside a car or building.",[11,868,869],{},"After you’ve been outside for any period of time in extreme cold, the camera body (and particularly metal lenses) will be very cold. If you introduce them directly to a heated room or vehicle, condensation could form inside the camera body or lens. Not only will this be an irritation if you realise there is something else you want to shoot, only to find that your lens is fogged from the inside, but it could also cause harm to the internals of the camera.",[24,871,874],{"alt":872,"src":873},"Glass Igloos in Kakslauttanen, Finland","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FFinland\u002Fi-vqQfQdV\u002F0\u002F6fa4cfe0\u002FL\u002FInside%20the%20Glass%20Igloo-L.jpg",[11,875,876],{},"This goes for staying in glass igloos as well. If you want to shoot scenes from inside, shoot them prior to going outside otherwise you will risk condensation in your camera.",[11,878,879],{},"To avoid this, you should seal your camera in a ziploc bag and leave it there for at least half an hour after going inside. This lets the condensation form on the bag rather than inside your camera. If you want to look at your photos before that, you should remove the memory card before sealing the bag (just be careful handling a small memory card while wearing gloves — you wouldn’t want it to end up dropped in the snow!).",[33,881,883],{"id":882},"using-your-gear-in-the-cold","Using Your Gear in the Cold",[11,885,886],{},"You’ll probably find that, in general, everything is just a bit more difficult when it’s below zero, particularly when you are using a device with lots of little tiny buttons and dials.",[463,888,890],{"id":889},"your-camera","Your Camera",[11,892,893,894,899],{},"To begin with, it’s worth practicing using your camera with gloves on. You’ll need to get used to fumbling with dials with the least dextrous hands possible, so if you’ve at least practiced while your fingers aren’t slowly losing feeling, you’ll know where the particular pain points for your camera are (on my ",[18,895,898],{"href":896,"rel":897},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2sfFK4V",[54],"Nikon Df",", for instance, it’s trying to change the ISO, which requires pressing a tiny button and moving a manual knob).",[24,901,903],{"alt":902,"smugmug":902},"Kristin shooting in winter",[11,904,905],{},"It’s better to know how to use your camera with gloves on before you are sitting in snow in -20ºC. Thanks to my friend Michelle for the photo.",[11,907,908,909,914],{},"I will talk more about specific cold weather clothing recommendations in an upcoming post, but it’s important to mention gloves here as well. I recommend that you wear a thinner glove (like a glove liner) inside a thick pair of mittens so, if you get desperate and just can’t get the ISO or some other setting changed, you can take off your outer layer without risking exposing your hands directly to the cold. ",[18,910,913],{"href":911,"rel":912},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2Ec2XdO",[54],"Hand warmers"," (available in outdoor stores and many general grocery stores in cold regions) placed in your mittens will warm up your hands much more quickly once you put them back on again.",[463,916,918],{"id":917},"your-tripod","Your Tripod",[11,920,921],{},"If you are planning to shoot any long exposures (or do any shooting at night), it’s important that you know how to operate your tripod in the cold. You should practice extending and shortening the tripod’s legs with your gloves on at home; the last thing you want to have to do is remove your gloves and touch cold metal when it’s -20ºC outside.",[24,923,926],{"alt":924,"src":925},"Fairy Creek Falls, Fernie, BC","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FBC\u002Fi-BVT9Z4K\u002F1\u002F0f9bf642\u002FL\u002FThe%20Curtain%20of%20Ice-L.jpg",[11,927,928],{},"A tripod is useful for shooting long exposures like this one, captured at Fairy Creek Falls in Fernie, BC.",[11,930,931],{},"If you have a tripod where you have to rotate the closure rather than closing a clip, make sure you can rotate it into locked position with gloves on. It’s hard to tell when these have stopped turning because you have an awkward grip with gloves on and because they are actually locked tight, and you don’t want your tripod collapsing underneath you when you thought it was sturdy.",[11,933,934],{},"If you are shooting in snow, you should check that your tripod is not in loose snow. If the snow below the tripod has not compacted fully, you risk the snow gradually moving during your photo and introducing blur to your shots. To avoid this, you should either (a) push your tripod as deep as possible in the snow, or (b) find a way to help the tripod “float” on top of the snow. Frisbees or coasters will help keep your tripod higher in the snow. Alternatively, you can buy powder baskets for ski poles and screw them into the bottom of your tripod to give it more floatation.",[24,936,939],{"alt":937,"src":938},"Northern Lights in Inari, Finland","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FFinland\u002Fi-kvQTcK5\u002F0\u002F5ac9180c\u002FL\u002FThe%20God%20of%20the%20Sky-L.jpg",[11,940,941],{},"If you want to capture the northern lights, you will have to use a tripod.",[11,943,944],{},"Finally, if you are shooting on ice (for instance, capturing Abraham Lake’s famous ice bubbles), try to take a tripod that has spikes in the feet. These spikes will help you solidly anchor your tripod on the ice so it doesn’t go skating away from you as soon as a gust of wind blows.",[33,946,948],{"id":947},"useful-settings-for-snow","Useful Settings for Snow",[11,950,951],{},"I know that cold doesn’t always equal snow, but they usually go hand-in-hand (and really, winter scenes are much prettier with that layer of snow on them). There are two important settings that you may have to tweak so your winter scenes come out as planned.",[463,953,955],{"id":954},"exposure","Exposure",[11,957,958],{},"If you shoot on any semi-automatic mode (for instance, aperture priority or shutter priority), your camera will be metering the scene and choosing settings accordingly. When a scene is covered in bright white snow, the camera has a tendency to underexpose the scene and turn that sparkly white snow into a dull grey. To avoid this, use exposure compensation to overexpose your photo (starting with about 2\u002F3 of a stop). This should brighten the overall scene, but you’ll want to watch your highlights (the brightest areas of the photo) to ensure they haven’t blown out and lost all detail in the process.",[24,960,963],{"alt":961,"smugmug":962},"Athabasca River, Jasper National Park","Athabasca River",[11,964,965],{},"Avoiding underexposure in winter photos can take your images from dull and gray to bright and white.",[11,967,968],{},"Alternatively, if your camera has way overexposed the scene (losing all the details in the snow in the process), use exposure compensation to underexpose the photo and regain the details in those areas.",[463,970,972],{"id":971},"white-balance","White Balance",[11,974,975],{},"Snow has a tendency to turn blue in photos, particularly if it is in the shade, and particularly if you are using auto white balance. If you are shooting RAW, this is an issue that can be fixed easily in post-processing, but if you are shooting JPG, you’ll want to fix this while you are shooting to ensure the best possible colour. To fix this, change your white balance to daylight, cloudy or shade; these are in order of amount of yellow added, so daylight will add the least yellow to the scene while shade will add the most.",[366,977],{},[11,979,980,981,176],{},"While winter can definitely present some challenges to photographers — particularly those used to shooting in much warmer climes — it is an absolutely magical time of year to shoot, and many of the issues that occur with your gear can be easily mitigated if you’re prepared. So bundle up, and happy shooting!\nDid I not cover something you’re wondering about? ",[18,982,377],{"href":983,"rel":984},"https:\u002F\u002Fkristinrepsher.com\u002Fcontact\u002F",[54],[24,986],{"alt":682,"smugmug":682,":pin":381,"display-width":28},{"title":383,"searchDepth":384,"depth":384,"links":988},[989,996,1000],{"id":717,"depth":384,"text":718,"children":990},[991,992,993,994,995],{"id":734,"depth":659,"text":735},{"id":784,"depth":659,"text":785},{"id":816,"depth":659,"text":817},{"id":842,"depth":659,"text":843},{"id":862,"depth":659,"text":863},{"id":882,"depth":384,"text":883,"children":997},[998,999],{"id":889,"depth":659,"text":890},{"id":917,"depth":659,"text":918},{"id":947,"depth":384,"text":948,"children":1001},[1002,1003],{"id":954,"depth":659,"text":955},{"id":971,"depth":659,"text":972},"2018-01-22","What can you do to make sure your gear stays functional in winter, even when faced with extreme cold?","\u002Fimg\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter\u002Fice-spiral-sunrise.jpg",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter",{"title":682,"description":1005},"Blog-Posts\u002F2018.01.20-Photography-in-Cold-Weather---Gear","blog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter",[408,678],"OUiJPq7CYFCTdzOU3xeHYG0iOpHH_7SCnS37h-9QvXA",{"id":1015,"title":1016,"body":1017,"buttonText":394,"date":1348,"description":1349,"extension":397,"image":1350,"meta":1351,"navigation":400,"path":1352,"seo":1353,"smugmugAlbum":1354,"stem":1355,"tags":1356,"__hash__":1358},"blog\u002Fblog\u002F8-things-know-driving-icefields-parkway-winter.md","8 Things To Know Before Driving the Icefields Parkway in Winter",{"type":8,"value":1018,"toc":1338},[1019,1022,1025,1032,1035,1038,1042,1045,1051,1054,1057,1064,1073,1077,1080,1086,1089,1092,1099,1108,1126,1133,1136,1140,1143,1150,1153,1156,1163,1166,1169,1176,1179,1183,1197,1204,1218,1227,1233,1236,1239,1243,1246,1253,1256,1259,1265,1269,1272,1275,1281,1284,1287,1291,1294,1300,1303,1306,1310,1313,1319,1322,1325,1327,1330,1335],[11,1020,1021],{},"The Icefields Parkway (also known as Highway 93 or the 230km stretch of road between Lake Louise and Jasper in the Canadian Rockies) is one of those epic drives that, year after year, gets mentioned in roundups of “top road trips in the world.” That’s with good reason too — even though I live in the foothills of the Rockies and get to see the Parkway on a regular basis, I am still constantly in awe as I drive along the seemingly endless valleys with mountains towering all around me.",[11,1023,1024],{},"Most of those roundups feature the Icefields Parkway in summer. During the months of June to September, the drive is incredibly easy, with the main obstacles being fellow tourists driving erratically (largely because of the other obstacle of local wildlife). There is only one pass to traverse (Sunwapta Pass, near the boundary between Jasper and Banff National Parks) and none of the switchbacks that you’ll find familiar if you’ve driven in the Colorado Rockies. You can easily cruise along at the speed limit — that is, if you’re not stopping in every possible pull-off to take photos of your epic surroundings.",[24,1026,1029],{"alt":1027,"src":1028},"The Icefields Parkway near Mosquito Creek.","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FBanff-National-Park\u002Fi-VzL9ZkM\u002F0\u002Fb599ab89\u002FL\u002FIce%20on%20the%20Icefields%20Parkway-L.jpg",[11,1030,1031],{},"I mean, how can you not stop and stare at views like this?",[11,1033,1034],{},"Driving the Parkway in winter is a completely different proposition. Unlike the TransCanada to the south, the Icefields Parkway is considered to be a mountain highway and is thus not as well maintained. While Parks Canada does make a concerted effort to ensure that the road is open for most of the winter, it presents a number of challenges that aren’t an issue elsewhere in the national parks; if you’re not prepared, your dream road trip could easily turn into anything but. On the flipside, if you are prepared, you can have a trip of a lifetime that you’ll share with hardly anyone else during this very quiet time of year.",[11,1036,1037],{},"From my experience having driven the Icefields Parkway in deeply winter conditions a number of times, I’ve included a number of tips below that are crucial that you know before your trip. Following these won’t guarantee that you have an issue-free trip, but they will certainly help to mitigate a number of the risks encountered.",[33,1039,1041],{"id":1040},"_1-you-must-have-winter-tires","1. You MUST have winter tires",[11,1043,1044],{},"This is not an option; it is a legal requirement that all vehicles on the Icefields Parkway have either winter tires (generally marked on the tire with either M+S or a snowflake symbol inside a mountain) or be fitted with chains between November 1-March 30 each year.",[24,1046,1048],{"alt":1047,"smugmug":1047},"Driving on the Icefields Parkway near Athabasca Pass",[11,1049,1050],{},"It’s not legal to try to drive here without winter tires or chains on your vehicle.",[11,1052,1053],{},"If you’re thinking, “no worries. I’m renting a car so they’ll give me the tires I need to drive safely in winter!” you should think again. Unlike in Quebec, it’s not a legal requirement that all cars have winter tires in Alberta. That means that rental car companies DO NOT give you winter tires unless you specifically ask for them (and pay a daily surcharge for their use). They generally will not indicate this when you book, and it’s too late to request them when you arrive at the rental car desk as they only have a few sets of winter tires at any location. For instance, when I tried to book a rental car for my parents, I could only get winter tires from the Calgary Airport (YYC) or Banff Budget locations; nowhere else in the area even offered them.",[11,1055,1056],{},"Some rental car companies will try to offer you an AWD vehicle to make up for not having winter tires. While this is a huge benefit in winter conditions (see tip #2), it is not a legal substitute for winter tires and you can still get ticketed for driving on the Parkway.",[24,1058,1061],{"alt":1059,"smugmug":1060},"Nissan Pathfinder at Parker Ridge on the Icefields Parkway","Pathfinder at Parker Ridge",[11,1062,1063],{},"My Pathfinder in the parking lot at Parker Ridge. It’s impossible to tell the difference between its tires (M+S winter tires) and the tires I use in summer without a closer look at the tires themselves. Also, that isn’t a rock next to it — it’s one of the ravens that you’ll find in seemingly every parking lot along the entire Parkway.",[11,1065,1066,1067,1072],{},"If you don’t have the option for winter tires, then buying chains isn’t an expensive endeavour; ",[18,1068,1071],{"href":1069,"rel":1070},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2EbdcPn",[54],"these chains I found on Amazon"," are less than $50 and you can find similar in brick-and-mortar stores like Canadian Tire. If you are using chains, put them on in a parking lot in Lake Louise or Jasper as there is very little space to pull over (see tip #7) on the Parkway.",[33,1074,1076],{"id":1075},"_2-you-will-not-have-reception","2. You will NOT have reception",[11,1078,1079],{},"This can make the Icefields Parkway seem more remote than any other factor listed here. You’ll lose reception around Herbert Lake (around 5km north of Lake Louise) and you won’t get it again until Athabasca Falls (30km south of Jasper), where you’ll occasionally pick up a few bars before losing reception again for most of the rest of the trip into Jasper. This isn’t something that’s likely to change in the next few years either, as no telcos have made any indication that they plan to add reception in this remote area.",[24,1081,1083],{"alt":1082,"smugmug":1082},"Golden Hour at Bow Lake",[11,1084,1085],{},"You won’t be posting amazing scenes like this one, captured during golden hour at Bow Lake, until many hours after you’ve seen them due to the complete lack of reception on the Parkway.",[11,1087,1088],{},"This means that you’ll not only need to be fully up-to-date on weather reports and road conditions (see tip #3) before you set out, but it also means that, should you need help, it might be a while before you can get in contact with anyone. The beautiful mountains towering in all directions around you make sure of that, as there’s so little reception that you can’t even make emergency calls.",[11,1090,1091],{},"So what do you do if you need help? If your vehicle is completely disabled (i.e., you have hit a large animal or you are stuck in a bank of snow), you’ll need to sit in your car and wait to flag down any passersby. In turn, they’ll either stop and help remedy the issue (i.e. tow you out of the ditch) or they’ll continue on and call emergency services or roadside assistance when they can.",[24,1093,1096],{"alt":1094,"display-width":28,"src":1095},"The Contrasts of Winter","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FJasper-National-Park\u002Fi-ZHHH3sD\u002F0\u002F263b3076\u002FL\u002FThe%20Contrasts%20of%20Winter-L.jpg",[11,1097,1098],{},"There are two payphones in the Athabasca Falls parking lot.",[11,1100,1101,1102,1107],{},"“When they can” doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have to wait until your good samaritan has made it to either Lake Louise or Jasper. There are still a series of payphones along the Icefields Parkway, and most of them still work (I’ve personally tested the ones at Athabasca Falls). ",[18,1103,1106],{"href":1104,"rel":1105},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.fitzhugh.ca\u002Fsearching-for-a-dial-tone-on-the-icefields-parkway\u002F",[54],"This article from the Fitzhugh in Jasper"," does an excellent job detailing these phone locations, the functional ones being the following (from south to north):",[1109,1110,1111,1114,1117,1120,1123],"ul",{},[586,1112,1113],{},"Saskatchewan River Crossing Warden Station",[586,1115,1116],{},"Beauty Creek Hostel",[586,1118,1119],{},"Sunwapta Falls Warden Station",[586,1121,1122],{},"Athabasca Falls Hostel",[586,1124,1125],{},"Athabasca Falls (accepts credit; one does not seem to accept coins)",[24,1127,1130],{"alt":1128,"smugmug":1129},"On the Icefields Parkway near Beauty Creek","Near Beauty Creek",[11,1131,1132],{},"There are also payphones at Beauty Creek Hostel, not far from where this photo was captured.",[11,1134,1135],{},"Even if some of the payphones don’t accept coins anymore, it doesn’t hurt to have them on hand just in case. In addition, some of these payphones may require a significant amount of work to access, as most day-use areas on the Parkway are not maintained in winter and can therefore be under a thick blanket of snow. Please note that all payphones are from Saskatchewan Crossing north; neither myself nor the writer of the article in the Fitzhugh have found working ones on the stretch between Lake Louise and Saskatchewan Crossing.",[33,1137,1139],{"id":1138},"_3-youll-need-to-be-prepared-for-winter-driving-conditions","3. You’ll need to be prepared for winter driving conditions",[11,1141,1142],{},"One important thing to know about winter tires is that they are often not studded. This means that they will give you no additional grip on ice, but they are designed to better grip the road when it is cold and partially covered in snow. Why am I telling you this? Well, it’s important to know that the Icefields Parkway will likely be covered in ice, snow, or a combination of both on your winter trip, so you need to be comfortable driving in these conditions — and just as importantly, you’ll need to be prepared in case something goes wrong.",[24,1144,1147],{"alt":1145,"smugmug":1146},"Winter road conditions near Bow Lake on the Icefields Parkway","Near Bow Lake",[11,1148,1149],{},"These conditions, seen near Bow Lake, are quite good for winter on the Icefields Parkway. They were classified as “fair” on the conditions board at the Lake Louise entrance.",[11,1151,1152],{},"A 4WD or AWD vehicle does not go astray in conditions like these; however, just because you have a 4WD doesn’t mean you’re invincible. I’ve probably seen more SUVs off the road in winter conditions than not; this is obviously for a variety of reasons, but some of those drivers may have become complacent. Black ice can sneak up on you.",[11,1154,1155],{},"Since this is a mountain highway, it doesn’t benefit from 24-hour maintenance like the TransCanada. The road is only plowed between 7am-3.30pm daily, so you’ll want to try to limit your travel to those times. Short jaunts outside these times are fine (for instance, heading to Athabasca Falls from Jasper), but you don’t want to find yourself at Sunwapta Pass in the middle of a heavy snowstorm only to realise the next plow won’t be arriving for another 17 hours or so.",[24,1157,1160],{"alt":1158,"smugmug":1159},"Sunwapta Falls Road in March","Sunwapta Falls Road",[11,1161,1162],{},"The road to Sunwapta Falls (a 1km side road off the Parkway itself) in March. One vehicle had attempted and made it into the parking lot, although the bottom of his truck had dragged along the snow for much of the way. We later saw a Parks Canada truck nearly get bogged trying to enter the same road. Rather than risk getting stuck ourselves, we walked to the falls.",[11,1164,1165],{},"Even if the weather conditions are good, there is minimal traffic on the Parkway in winter, and even less outside of these times. That means that, if you do happen to get stuck or otherwise need assistance, you’ll potentially be waiting quite some time before you see anyone.",[11,1167,1168],{},"This means that you need to be well-supplied. Bring a roadside assistance kit (something you can pick up in stores like Walmart in Calgary and Canadian Tire in Canmore) that includes some basics like matches and thick blankets. Have a few extra thick blankets and a number of extra layers in case you have to spend the night in the car (when temperatures could easily get down to -30ºC). Tools and a knife can come in handy, and a shovel could mean the difference between being stranded and heading on your way. Finally, extra food and water is a must. All services on the Parkway close in mid-October and do not reopen until mid-May, so there is nowhere to buy any additional food in the entire 230km stretch.",[24,1170,1173],{"alt":1171,"smugmug":1172},"Sundog at the Icefields","Sundog Over the Icefields",[11,1174,1175],{},"Part of a sundog appearing over the Columbia Icefields. It’s beautiful, but this phenomenon tends to only happen when it is very, very cold (it was around -20ºC when I took this shot).",[11,1177,1178],{},"Finally, it would not hurt to phone ahead to your hotel that you plan to check into at the end of the day. Tell them that you plan to be driving the Icefields Parkway and that you will be checking in before the end of the day. This means you’ll at least have one other party aware of your plans that (could) raise the alarm should you not show.",[33,1180,1182],{"id":1181},"_4-check-road-conditions-before-you-go","4. Check road conditions before you go",[11,1184,1185,1186,87,1191,1196],{},"Before you set out, check either ",[18,1187,1190],{"href":1188,"rel":1189},"https:\u002F\u002F511.alberta.ca\u002Fmap.html#l=36&x=-12802084&y=6802017&z=1&lb=1&rb=1",[54],"511Alberta",[18,1192,1195],{"href":1193,"rel":1194},"https:\u002F\u002Fama.ab.ca\u002Fknowledge-base\u002Farticles\u002Fcaa-app\u002F",[54],"AMA mobile app"," for the latest road conditions. I personally use the AMA mobile app as it allows me to quickly skim all road conditions throughout the area, but if I want more detail I simply click on a section of road and get a quick popup with a full description of what I can expect.",[24,1198,1201],{"alt":1199,"smugmug":1200,"display-width":28},"AMA Road Report","AMA Road Reports",[11,1202,1203],{},"An example road condition report from the AMA App.",[11,1205,1206,1207,209,1212,1217],{},"Both 511 Alberta and AMA will alert you to extreme snowfall conditions (if 10cm or more is expected in the next 12 hours). Be sure to pay attention to this, as heavy snowfall can mean white-out conditions where the road and the falling snow all seem to blend into one. Environment Canada will also mention when heavy snowfall is expected on the Icefields Parkway in both its ",[18,1208,1211],{"href":1209,"rel":1210},"https:\u002F\u002Fweather.gc.ca\u002Fcity\u002Fpages\u002Fab-49_metric_e.html",[54],"Banff",[18,1213,1216],{"href":1214,"rel":1215},"https:\u002F\u002Fweather.gc.ca\u002Fcity\u002Fpages\u002Fab-70_metric_e.html",[54],"Jasper"," forecasts. Remember that mountain weather is extremely changeable, so don’t rely on these forecasts as fact; just use them as a good piece of guidance.",[11,1219,1220,1221,1226],{},"Parks Canada does its best to keep the road open as much as possible in the winter. It’s worth knowing that the road closes much more towards the end of the winter (March onwards) as this is prime time for avalanches and there are a lot of avalanche tracks going across the Parkway (such as ",[18,1222,1225],{"href":1223,"rel":1224},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.cbc.ca\u002Fnews\u002Fcanada\u002Fedmonton\u002Favalanche-closes-icefields-parkway-lake-louise-1.4100869",[54],"the one at Mount Hector that buried the road under metres of snow in May 2017","). Parks actively monitors conditions and proactively closes the road to ensure that as many avalanches as possible occur when there is no traffic on the road.",[24,1228,1230],{"alt":1229,"smugmug":1229},"Icefields Parkway near Athabasca Pass lookout",[11,1231,1232],{},"When the road looks like this, it will display as red on highway reports (indicating full ice or snow cover on the road).",[11,1234,1235],{},"When closures happen, they usually don’t effect the entire Icefields Parkway. When it is closed, it is often either the northern section (from Athabasca Falls to Saskatchewan Crossing) or the southern section (Lake Louise to Saskatchewan Crossing), as you can exit the Parkway and head east on Highway 11 (the David Thompson Highway) at Saskatchewan Crossing.",[11,1237,1238],{},"Regardless of whether the entire Parkway or just a section is closed, your journey from Banff to Jasper will be significantly longer so it’s good to be aware of conditions prior to the day you set off. Taking the Parkway, you will cover 280km between Banff and Jasper, which is a good day’s drive and certainly not unreasonable to try to tackle. However, if the northern half of the Parkway is closed, that 280km becomes 725km when you divert via Highway 11 through Rocky Mountain House. If the whole parkway is closed, it is 735km to go via Calgary and Red Deer. Alternatively, if you are heading south, it will be 670km if you have to divert via the David Thompson when the southern half of the road is closed. Any of these options will make for a much, much longer day of driving.",[33,1240,1242],{"id":1241},"_5-leave-plenty-of-time-for-your-trip","5. Leave plenty of time for your trip",[11,1244,1245],{},"The last point above leads into this tip: make sure you leave plenty of time for your trip. There is always the possibility that half of the Parkway could close as you are navigating the other half, so you could find yourself having to take the long way around regardless.",[24,1247,1250],{"alt":1248,"src":1249},"Sunwapta Sprinkled with Snow","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FBanff-National-Park\u002Fi-b3f8qJs\u002F0\u002Fe3410cdb\u002FL\u002FSunwapta%20Sprinkled%20with%20Snow-L.jpg",[11,1251,1252],{},"The Sunwapta Pass area in mid-October. This lookout is in an avalanche zone in winter so you cannot stop, but you’ll still see this amazing view as you climb over the pass.",[11,1254,1255],{},"Even if the entire Icefields Parkway is open, it’s unlikely that you’ll make it between Jasper and Lake Louise in the minimum three hours (travelling at the 90kmh speed limit) that it takes in better conditions. A number of sections of the Parkway are simply not navigable at 90kmh in winter, particularly the area around Sunwapta Pass where the speed limit drops to 60kmh for quite a while.",[11,1257,1258],{},"Plus, you’ll likely want to stop a number of times as you’re driving (after all, you’ll be going through some of the most stunning landscapes you may ever drive through).",[24,1260,1262],{"alt":1261,"smugmug":1261},"Lower Waterfowl Lake",[11,1263,1264],{},"You’ll be stopping pretty regularly for scenes like this (seen at the Lower Waterfowl Lake lookout).",[33,1266,1268],{"id":1267},"_6-fill-up-with-gas-before-you-go","6. Fill up with gas before you go",[11,1270,1271],{},"While driving the Parkway should take at most half a tank of gas, it’s important that you fill up in either Banff, Lake Louise, or Jasper prior to starting the drive. There are two big reasons for this.",[11,1273,1274],{},"First of all, there are no gas stations on the Parkway in winter, with the only one (at Saskatchewan Crossing) closing in October for the season.",[24,1276,1278],{"alt":1277,"smugmug":1277},"Saskatchewan River Crossing",[11,1279,1280],{},"The actual river crossing at Saskatchewan River Crossing.",[11,1282,1283],{},"Second of all, if you find yourself stuck on the Parkway for any reason, that gas could be a lifesaver. The more gas you have in your tank, the longer you can run your vehicle and keep yourself warm overnight. While you should have extra layers and blankets (as mentioned in tip #3), sitting in a car heated to 20ºC while the temperature drops to -30ºC outside can potentially be a life-saving difference.",[11,1285,1286],{},"In addition to gas, pick up an extra bottle of wiper fluid before you leave the gas station. Winter conditions will cause you to use significantly more wiper fluid than usual, and you don’t want to run out only to find yourself having to peer through the muddy snow smearing your windscreen. Wiper fluid sold in gas stations in Alberta is also generally rated to -40ºC, so you’ll want to use it rather than water (which won’t be useful at all in below freezing temperatures).",[33,1288,1290],{"id":1289},"_7-make-sure-you-what-you-pull-off-onto-is-pavement","7. Make sure you what you pull off onto is pavement",[11,1292,1293],{},"The last thing you want to do is see an amazing shot and pull over onto some snow, thinking that it’s paved only to find out that it’s a snow-covered ditch. When everything is covered in thick snow, it’s hard to tell what might be a good place to pull off and what is just an accident waiting to happen. Most day-use areas will be closed with gates across their entrances, but some smaller parking lots (for instance, the Crowfoot Glacier parking lot near Bow Lake) will be plowed and have plenty of space to park.",[24,1295,1297],{"alt":1296,"smugmug":1296},"Near Saskatchewan Crossing",[11,1298,1299],{},"Along this stretch, just north of Saskatchewan Crossing, it was easy to tell how wide the pavement was before it turned into the ditch.",[11,1301,1302],{},"If you can’t tell what you’re pulling onto, don’t risk it. You can always pull in as close as possible to the plowed snow on the edge of the road and quickly hop out; the road is so quiet in winter that you’ll be able to hear cars coming from miles away. However, please remember that you’ll be making the drive more hazardous for those that have to pass you, and that you’ll be blocking the path of any passing snowplows, so this is only recommended for very quick stops.",[11,1304,1305],{},"Also, make sure you are constantly on the lookout for avalanche area signs. All avalanche areas are clearly marked with a start and end sign. Regardless of what you see (unless it’s a herd of animals completely blocking the road), these areas are NOT FOR STOPPING. You are in an active danger zone and could be putting yourself and any passersby at serious risk by getting out of the car in these areas.",[33,1307,1309],{"id":1308},"_8-watch-for-wildlife","8. Watch for wildlife",[11,1311,1312],{},"While some animals are hibernating for the season (for instance, black bears), that doesn’t mean that you’re home free while driving. Many animals actually spend more time on the road in winter, partially because there is less traffic, and partially because of the salt that is put down to melt the snow on the roads. Moose, goats, and bighorn sheep all adore licking salt off the roads, and will often be found on the centre line where salt builds up between the lanes of traffic. They’ll stand their ground and guard that salt with their lives as well.",[24,1314,1316],{"alt":1296,"smugmug":1315},"Moose on the Maligne Road",[11,1317,1318],{},"We were very lucky to see three moose together on the Maligne Road the following day. The speed limit here is 60kmh so you can stop much more quickly for wildlife.",[11,1320,1321],{},"Moose are often loners and are very dark, so they can blend in quite well with trees. Elk and bighorn sheep can block the entire Parkway in herds, and 20km of the road between the Icefields and Sunwapta Falls has prominent warnings about caribou in the area. The last time I drove the Parkway, I saw eagles and a fox bolting from the road, where they had clearly been dining on some recent roadkill.",[11,1323,1324],{},"For both the wildlife’s sake and your own, you don’t want to hit anything on your drive, so be alert and keep to a sensible speed. If you have slowed down significantly because of wildlife, ensure you have your hazard lights on to warn any oncoming traffic.",[366,1326],{},[11,1328,1329],{},"I know that, having gotten to this point, you are probably feeling a bit daunted and are potentially questioning your plan to drive the Icefields Parkway in winter. Don’t be; I just want to make sure that you know the risks and have planned accordingly so you can have a fantastic drive that is memorable for all the right reasons.",[11,1331,1332,1333,176],{},"Have a question about doing this drive in winter that I haven’t covered? Comment below or ",[18,1334,652],{"href":376},[24,1336],{"alt":1337,"smugmug":1016,"display-width":28,":pin":381},"8 Things to Know Before Driving the Icefields Parkway in Winter",{"title":383,"searchDepth":384,"depth":384,"links":1339},[1340,1341,1342,1343,1344,1345,1346,1347],{"id":1040,"depth":384,"text":1041},{"id":1075,"depth":384,"text":1076},{"id":1138,"depth":384,"text":1139},{"id":1181,"depth":384,"text":1182},{"id":1241,"depth":384,"text":1242},{"id":1267,"depth":384,"text":1268},{"id":1289,"depth":384,"text":1290},{"id":1308,"depth":384,"text":1309},"2017-12-01","Driving the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93N) between Lake Louise and Jasper is an amazing experience in winter. It's also something you need to be fully prepared for before setting off.","\u002Fimg\u002Fblog\u002F8-things-know-driving-icefields-parkway-winter\u002Ficefields-parkway.jpg",{},"\u002Fblog\u002F8-things-know-driving-icefields-parkway-winter",{"title":1016,"description":1349},"Blog-Posts\u002F2017.12.01-Driving-the-Icefields-Parkway","blog\u002F8-things-know-driving-icefields-parkway-winter",[408,1357],"icefields parkway","dh8ktG7aOVlrSrimUhud4IlN6bJE8gffUvhK1FAMoiU",{"id":1360,"title":441,"body":1361,"buttonText":394,"date":1619,"description":1620,"extension":397,"image":1621,"meta":1622,"navigation":400,"path":1623,"seo":1624,"smugmugAlbum":1625,"stem":1626,"tags":1627,"__hash__":1628},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fpreparing-northern-lights-shoot.md",{"type":8,"value":1362,"toc":1611},[1363,1366,1373,1376,1379,1383,1392,1398,1407,1416,1419,1422,1426,1432,1435,1442,1445,1449,1456,1459,1462,1469,1472,1476,1479,1482,1489,1503,1506,1509,1516,1519,1522,1531,1535,1541,1549,1553,1556,1563,1566,1569,1576,1579,1582,1589,1598,1600,1603,1608],[11,1364,1365],{},"Seeing the green of the aurora dancing in the sky above the snowy wilderness is an extraordinary experience that you will never forget. However, if you’re like most travellers, you won’t be happy with just seeing it — you’ll want at least one or two photos so you can show people at home and make them incredibly jealous, right?",[24,1367,1370],{"alt":1368,"smugmug":1369},"Northern Lights over Camp Tamok, Norway.","Green Skies Over Camp Tamok",[11,1371,1372],{},"My first northern lights photo. I spent 5 nights in the Arctic looking for the aurora before I finally captured it. Settings: 30s at f\u002F5.6, ISO800",[11,1374,1375],{},"Well, unlike many travel experiences where you can simply pull out your camera and snap a shot (or pull out a GoPro and blindly aim), it pays to be prepared when it comes to photographing the northern lights. Even as an experienced photographer, it was harder than expected on my first few attempts to take good photos of the aurora. These tips will help you be prepared for what the aurora throws at you, and hopefully you’ll come home with more than a few shots that make you smile every time you see them.",[11,1377,1378],{},"This post covers what you should do to prepare for a northern lights shoot; a post about how best to capture the lights (covering camera settings, composition, and the like) is forthcoming.",[33,1380,1382],{"id":1381},"know-the-space-weather-forecast","Know the space weather forecast",[11,1384,1385,1386,1391],{},"You may not know this, but there are actually daily aurora forecasts (just like there are daily weather forecasts). There are plenty of apps (such as ",[18,1387,1390],{"href":1388,"rel":1389},"https:\u002F\u002Fitunes.apple.com\u002Fca\u002Fapp\u002Fnorthern-lights-canada-forecast-aurora-alerts\u002Fid1092949787?mt=8",[54],"Aurora Alerts"," for the iPhone) that show you both forecasts and the current conditions, but some are more reliable than others, so it pays to have a few on your phone for comparison.",[24,1393,1395],{"alt":1394,"smugmug":1394,"display-width":28},"Aurora alerts current conditions",[11,1396,1397],{},"Current conditions report on Aurora Alerts for Sept 27, 2017.",[11,1399,1400,1401,1406],{},"Crowdsourcing information often works very well for aurora chasers as well. The ",[18,1402,1405],{"href":1403,"rel":1404},"https:\u002F\u002Fitunes.apple.com\u002Fca\u002Fapp\u002Faurorasaurus\u002Fid920587333?mt=8",[54],"Aurorasaurus"," app allows users to self-report auroras, so you can crowdsource information on the night about where the aurora has been visible and how strong it has been. There are also a number of local Facebook groups for aurora chasers (Alberta Aurora Chasers and Aurora Australis Tasmania, to name a few) where threads are made on nights of big aurora shows to help people find good locations for viewing.",[11,1408,1409,1410,1415],{},"Another fantastic source (and the one I have always used in conjunction with the sources mentioned above) is ",[18,1411,1414],{"href":1412,"rel":1413},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.spaceweather.com",[54],"SpaceWeather.com",". In one glance, you can see if there have been any recent coronal holes or CMEs (coronal mass ejections from the sun which create geomagnetic storms in the atmosphere), when they will arrive, and what the current Kp level is.",[11,1417,1418],{},"The Kp level varies between 0 and 9, with 0 meaning it’s very unlikely you’ll see anything to 9 meaning exposed electronics in the Arctic are at risk of frying. The biggest storm I’ve experienced was an 8, when I could see the aurora clearly dancing over my apartment in Calgary despite the light pollution.",[11,1420,1421],{},"The other important indicator to look at is the Bz level, which is a measure of the interplanetary magnetic field. All you need to know is that the more negative this number is, the more active the aurora is likely to be.",[33,1423,1425],{"id":1424},"know-the-actual-weather-forecast","Know the actual weather forecast",[24,1427,1429],{"alt":1428,"smugmug":1428},"Almost seeing the northern lights at Peyto Lake",[11,1430,1431],{},"That green gap in the clouds on the right? Yep, that’s the northern lights, hidden by cloud.",[11,1433,1434],{},"This is crucial. Even if the auroras are the strongest they have ever been, if you have a cloudy night you may see a bit of green peek out from behind the clouds, but that’s all. It pays to look up various cloud cover forecasts and radars that show cloud cover (not just rain) to determine if the clouds are going to move, and if not, if there is another area within driving distance that may have clearer skies.",[24,1436,1439],{"alt":1437,"src":1438},"Dancing the Night Away","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FBanff-National-Park\u002Fi-XZMRR3g\u002F0\u002F0a4cfc2d\u002FL\u002FDancing%20the%20Night%20Away-L.jpg",[11,1440,1441],{},"The northern lights on a clear night at Peyto Lake (the same location). Settings: ISO3200, 13s @ f2.8",[11,1443,1444],{},"It’s also important to know how much sun is expected at your latitude at any time of night. The aurora is not visible in the far north between April and August because the sun doesn’t drop far enough below the horizon; even in Banff, skies do not go completely black in the middle of summer due to the sun being too close to the horizon. I’ve had people tell me they are so excited to go to Iceland in June to see the northern lights; in this case, there is no point getting your hopes up, because the aurora just isn’t bright enough to be seen in daylight.",[33,1446,1448],{"id":1447},"avoid-light-pollution","Avoid light pollution",[24,1450,1453],{"alt":1451,"smugmug":1452},"Aurora Ignites in Kätkävaara, Finland","Aurora Ignites",[11,1454,1455],{},"The aurora appears to ignite, but it is actually mixing with light pollution from Rovaniemi. Settings: 20s at f\u002F2.8, ISO800",[11,1457,1458],{},"Light pollution — whether it’s natural or man-made — is your enemy when you are taking aurora shots. You want the sky to be as dark as it can be so the colours contrast against the sky as much as possible. That means you’re best off getting out of the city and once you’re out, you should face away from any nearby towns.",[11,1460,1461],{},"It’s also best to photograph the aurora at new moon rather than full moon; while it will still be visible, long exposures will turn the sky blue (as though it’s daylight), which doesn’t contrast well with green.",[24,1463,1466],{"alt":1464,"smugmug":1465},"Northern Lights over Porjus, Sweden","Northern Lights Over Porjus",[11,1467,1468],{},"The aurora over Porjus, Sweden, during full moon. Notice how the sky has turned blue. Settings: 20s at f\u002F2.8, ISO 800",[11,1470,1471],{},"Don’t worry — if you’re only visiting during full moon, there’s still every chance you’ll see the lights. If you’re in a large city, your chances are significantly lower; in a town (even one with 60,000 people like Rovaniemi, Finland), it can be possible on stronger nights. but the more external light sources you can cut, the better.",[33,1473,1475],{"id":1474},"have-the-right-gear-and-be-comfortable-using-it","Have the right gear and be comfortable using it",[11,1477,1478],{},"You will need a camera that has manual mode, meaning you have the ability to adjust the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. All dSLRs and mirrorless systems have this option, as do a select few point and shoots.",[11,1480,1481],{},"It’s usually best to take the widest possible lens you have with you for aurora photography. Why do I say this? Well, stars will begin to trail after a certain period of time in your photos because they are constantly moving across the sky due to the earth’s rotation. The wider then lens, the longer you can shoot before this rotation becomes evident.",[24,1483,1486],{"alt":1484,"smugmug":1485},"Glass igloos at Hotel Kakslauttanen in Finnish Lapland","Nighttime in a Glass Igloo",[11,1487,1488],{},"The aurora dances above the glass igloos at Kakslauttanen. The longer exposure in this photo caused the stars to start trailing. Settings: 30s at f\u002F2.8, ISO800",[11,1490,1491,1492,87,1497,1502],{},"There’s a rule called the 500 rule that tells you (roughly) when stars will begin to trail in your photos. This rule says that the amount of time stars will take to trail is 500 ÷ the length of your lens (or, for a non-full-frame sensor like in the ",[18,1493,1496],{"href":1494,"rel":1495},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2EcmVkH",[54],"Canon 7DmkII",[18,1498,1501],{"href":1499,"rel":1500},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2BLSLqJ",[54],"Nikon D7500",", 300 ÷ the length of your lens). For instance, a 24mm lens will trail after 500\u002F24 = 20s, whereas a 16mm lens will trail after 30s.",[11,1504,1505],{},"As you can see from the photo above, you don’t always have to pay attention to whether the stars will trail, but I find that short star trails tend to make your eyes feel like the sky is out of focus, even if the aurora is perfectly clear.",[11,1507,1508],{},"The other reason a wide angle lens is best is the fact that it lets you take in as much of the sky as possible. Composition of shots with the northern lights is difficult due to the fact that they are constantly moving, so the more sky you can see at any one time, the better.",[24,1510,1513],{"alt":1511,"src":1512},"Santa's Heading Home","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FCanada\u002FBanff-National-Park\u002Fi-pShhH8R\u002F0\u002F4b7c9e26\u002FL\u002FSanta%27s%20Heading%20Home-L.jpg",[11,1514,1515],{},"The northern lights and a shooting star over Lake Minnewanka on Christmas night, 2016. The 14mm lens I used for this shot helped me capture a huge amount of sky. Settings: ISO3200, 25s @f2.8",[11,1517,1518],{},"You should make sure you remove all filters (including UV filters) from your lens beforehand, otherwise the aurora can reflect in weird ways through them and create artefacts that are impossible to remove in the final photo (a common complaint is a series of concentric circles). I also recommend taking a cable release so you can use it to operate the camera to avoid introducing camera shake.",[11,1520,1521],{},"Remember that shooting at night can be frustrating, particularly when you are in large groups and cannot use your flashlight due to the disruption it would cause for other people’s photos. It’s best to play around with your camera in a dark setting (such as a dark room) beforehand to make sure you can start to find different buttons (ISO is an important one) prior to going out on the night. Also, practice focusing on infinity (a point that will be further discussed in my “shooting the northern lights” post) so you can find this point at night when your lens will no longer easily autofocus.",[11,1523,1524,1525,1530],{},"I also strongly recommend buying a pack of ",[18,1526,1529],{"href":1527,"rel":1528},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2C5E2Tl",[54],"glowsticks"," — these are often bright enough to light up the buttons on your camera without casting light everywhere around you like a flashlight or cell phone screen will do.",[33,1532,1534],{"id":1533},"be-ready-for-the-cold","Be ready for the cold",[24,1536,1538],{"alt":1537,"smugmug":1537},"The Aurora Hunters",[11,1539,1540],{},"These guys were bundled up well in Arctic suits so they could handle extended exposure to -20ºC.",[11,1542,1543,1544,1548],{},"Many people travel to see the aurora during the northern winter, which means that you need to be ready to shoot in the cold. There are a few different aspects to this: ",[18,1545,1547],{"href":1546},"\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter\u002F","keeping your gear functional"," (both during and after your shoot) and keeping yourself safe. I’ve covered the former in the linked blog post above, and the latter is the subject of an upcoming post.",[33,1550,1552],{"id":1551},"pick-your-foreground-and-figure-out-how-to-light-it","Pick your foreground (and figure out how to light it)",[11,1554,1555],{},"Yes, aurora photos are all about the crazy, seemingly unnatural lights dancing above your head. However, a shot of only the aurora isn’t always as exciting as it could be, since it doesn’t give any context as to what it was like to be there or how much of the sky the aurora was covering at the time.",[24,1557,1560],{"alt":1558,"smugmug":1559},"A corona dancing over Galdotieva in Enontekiö, Finland","My Corona",[11,1561,1562],{},"A corona dancing over Galdotieva in Enontekiö, Finland. It’s cool, but there’s no reference to show just how large it was.",[11,1564,1565],{},"On many of my shoots (particularly in Finland), I didn’t have a lot of time to scout my location during the day. So, I had to rely on finding a good spot in the dark, hoping that it lined up well with the aurora and didn’t have too much light pollution. In places like the Hotel Kultahovi at Inari, that worked out quite well, since I had a river of frozen rapids less than 100m from my hotel room.",[11,1567,1568],{},"However, if possible, I recommend going to potential shoot locations during the day so you can get a better idea of what options you have for your foreground. You should also use a compass to determine what, if any, foreground lies to the north or northeast (the lights will usually start in the northeast sky and move across towards the northwest sky as the night goes on).",[24,1570,1573],{"alt":1571,"smugmug":1572},"Northern Lights over the River Juutua in Inari.","Aurora Dancing Above Inari",[11,1574,1575],{},"This photo was actually helped by the presence of other lights. A floodlight from my hotel turned the snow white when it would have otherwise been very dull. Settings: 20s at f\u002F4, ISO800",[11,1577,1578],{},"That said, please don’t get too attached to any specific compositions. The northern lights are an incredibly dynamic subject, and while they can generally be relied on to be in the north, they move rapidly and can appear in regions of the sky that you didn’t expect (which can completely throw off any planned compositions). Be flexible (a mantra that you’ll need for composition as well as for your settings, as I’ll describe in my followup post).",[11,1580,1581],{},"Once you know where you’re shooting, you’ll need to know how you are going to light the foreground. If you have some moonlight, that can help to bring out details in your foreground without any form of artificial lighting; if you are shooting over a body of water, the aurora can be bright enough that it can actually make the water glow green as it reflects the sky.",[24,1583,1586],{"alt":1584,"display-width":28,"src":1585},"Swirling Sky, Churning Waterfall","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FIceland\u002Fi-X9LTbRv\u002F0\u002F378c7ca8\u002FL\u002FSwirling%20Sky%2C%20Churning%20Waterfall-L.jpg",[11,1587,1588],{},"Goðafoss in northern Iceland lighting up in green under a strong display of the northern lights. Settings: ISO 800, 6s @ f4",[11,1590,1591,1592,1597],{},"If neither of these are the case, you may need to use light painting to bring out details and stop the foreground from just being a dark blob. I am currently writing a post on how to light paint, but in the meantime, please check out ",[18,1593,1596],{"href":1594,"rel":1595},"https:\u002F\u002Fdigital-photography-school.com\u002Flight-painting-part-one-the-photography\u002F",[54],"this excellent article on Digital Photography School"," to learn more about this technique.",[366,1599],{},[11,1601,1602],{},"Hopefully, all of this should give you a good idea of where to start when planning your once-in-a-lifetime northern lights shoot. Some of them may seem like small details, but making sure you’ve covered the small stuff now is much better than it becoming a factor that blocks you from getting your dream photos later.",[11,1604,373,1605,176],{},[18,1606,377],{"href":983,"rel":1607},[54],[24,1609],{"alt":1610,"smugmug":1610,"display-width":28,":pin":381},"How to Plan a Northern Lights Photo Shoot",{"title":383,"searchDepth":384,"depth":384,"links":1612},[1613,1614,1615,1616,1617,1618],{"id":1381,"depth":384,"text":1382},{"id":1424,"depth":384,"text":1425},{"id":1447,"depth":384,"text":1448},{"id":1474,"depth":384,"text":1475},{"id":1533,"depth":384,"text":1534},{"id":1551,"depth":384,"text":1552},"2017-11-25","You've planned a trip to chase the northern lights. What do you need to know before you try to capture them?","\u002Fimg\u002Fblog\u002Fpreparing-northern-lights-shoot\u002Fnighttime-in-a-glass-igloo.jpg",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpreparing-northern-lights-shoot",{"title":441,"description":1620},"Blog-Posts\u002F2017.11.25-Preparing-for-the-Northern-Lights","blog\u002Fpreparing-northern-lights-shoot",[675,676,677,678],"4kil2jRm7v0pW-24GSTd3aRFcaEX2-ZwHGtKyrvFXxU",{"id":1630,"title":1631,"body":1632,"buttonText":394,"date":2213,"description":2214,"extension":397,"image":2215,"meta":2216,"navigation":400,"path":2217,"seo":2218,"smugmugAlbum":2219,"stem":2220,"tags":2221,"__hash__":2222},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhats-in-my-bag-for-travel-photography.md","What’s in My Bag: A Travel Photography Gear Guide",{"type":8,"value":1633,"toc":2203},[1634,1637,1640,1646,1649,1652,1659,1665,1669,1675,1726,1744,1748,1755,1814,1818,1825,1828,1843,1850,1862,1865,1869,1878,1885,1894,1897,1900,1907,1989,1993,1999,2013,2016,2019,2026,2030,2037,2075,2082,2151,2155,2189,2191,2194,2199],[11,1635,1636],{},"Travel photographer. Most people see someone that is travelling the world, being paid to take photos, and sigh with jealousy. What could be better than being paid to do something you love, all the while getting to see new places in every corner of the globe?",[11,1638,1639],{},"Having been a travel photographer myself for the last five years or so, I totally get that. I can’t disagree with the fact that getting paid to do what I love is awesome; after all, my office has transformed from a 9-5 desk to the never-ending scenic vistas of the mountains.",[24,1641,1643],{"alt":1642,"smugmug":1642,"display-width":28},"Kristin at Lake Annette",[11,1644,1645],{},"Kristin in her natural habitat. Thanks to Matt Hardy for the photo.",[11,1647,1648],{},"It’s not an easy job though. When I’m on location, nearly every waking moment has been consumed by planning shoot locations, re-planning those shoots when the weather doesn’t cooperate (which is often), actually taking photos, and organising and processing the photos at the end of each day. Visiting somewhere that has midnight sun at the forecast says that it will only be sunny from 2-4am? Then I’m up at 2am shooting.",[11,1650,1651],{},"One thing that makes this job much easier is preparation. One of the biggest things I need to prep prior to a trip is my camera bag, since most of that gear will become an extension of my arm for the duration of the shoot. Since I already keep a handy shoot checklist on my phone, it only made sense to post it here as well. This list encompasses everything that comes along with me on a shoot as well as necessary tools that don’t make it into the field but are needed to get the job done.",[24,1653,1656],{"alt":1654,"smugmug":1655},"Kristin at Jökulsárlón","Kristin at Jokulsarlon",[11,1657,1658],{},"In action at Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon in Iceland. Thanks to Johanna Amrhein for the photo.",[11,1660,1661,1664],{},[528,1662,1663],{},"Note:"," This is not a list of gear that I recommend all travellers take with them; it’s entirely too much for most sensible people. Stay tuned for a post about what I recommend for the travelling non-professional photographer.",[33,1666,1668],{"id":1667},"cameras","Cameras",[24,1670,1672],{"alt":1671,"smugmug":1671},"Standard camera setup",[11,1673,1674],{},"My standard travel camera setup.",[1109,1676,1677,1687,1697,1707,1717],{},[586,1678,1679,1686],{},[528,1680,1681],{},[18,1682,1685],{"href":1683,"rel":1684},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2nMLT3P",[54],"Nikon D750 24MP FX (full-frame)",": This is my go-to camera body. Purchased in June 2015 to replace my ageing (and failing) D700, this camera made me realise how much I’d been missing. HD video, a tilting LCD screen, and incredibly fast burst speed were all things I didn’t know I need but now use regularly. Plus, it feels significantly lighter than my D700. Its full-frame sensor means I can capture night skies and other low-light scenes with minimal noise.",[586,1688,1689,1696],{},[528,1690,1691],{},[18,1692,1695],{"href":1693,"rel":1694},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2EdcYHw",[54],"Nikon DF 16MP FX (full-frame)",": Until I got the D750, this was my main camera body, but now I use it mainly for telephoto images, time lapses, or the times when I want to use my old manual-focus lenses. It’s a fantastic camera and it looks so beautifully old-school that people regularly stop me and tell me that they love my camera, and is it film?",[586,1698,1699,1706],{},[528,1700,1701],{},[18,1702,1705],{"href":1703,"rel":1704},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2BPa4Y9",[54],"GoPro Hero 4 Silver",": Such a great camera in such a small package. Attached to the suction cup, it can capture hours of images from driving that can be turned into a time-lapse (or simply capture a moment that I may not have been able to stop for, like a sheep in NZ wearing a high-vis vest on the roadside). With a helmet mount or chest mount, it can do virtually any activity with me. They’ve just released the Hero 6 so I’m a bit behind, but it works for what I need.",[586,1708,1709,1716],{},[528,1710,1711],{},[18,1712,1715],{"href":1713,"rel":1714},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2nMhxhJ",[54],"Canon Powershot S100",": A pocketable camera that can go with me when I can’t take my dSLR. It shoots RAW and transfers photos via wifi straight to my phone.",[586,1718,1719,1725],{},[528,1720,1721],{},[18,1722,803],{"href":1723,"rel":1724},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2C7eHbt",[54],": The Pixel 2 has a fantastic camera and it’s useful for times when my other cameras are not accessible, like at dinners or on plane flights. Plus, being weatherproof means its battery lasts much longer in extreme cold.",[11,1727,1728,1731,1732,1737,1738,1743],{},[528,1729,1730],{},"Note on mirrorless cameras vs. traditional dSLRs:"," The mirrorless vs. dSLR debate still rages on, especially with the huge success of the ",[18,1733,1736],{"href":1734,"rel":1735},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2EdyhsA",[54],"Sony a7 range"," of full-frame mirrorless bodies. Despite the fact that I used to shoot with an ",[18,1739,1742],{"href":1740,"rel":1741},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2seMv6W",[54],"Olympus OM-D"," as my second body — and the fact that I would love to lighten the load so I didn’t have to break carry-on weight limits every time I fly — I’ve stuck with dSLRs. I’ve mainly done so because I don’t want to re-invest in a whole new lens system when I already have so many Nikon lenses (including a number of manual-focus, 1970s-era lenses), and carrying around equivalent lenses for 2 different systems was a pain.",[33,1745,1747],{"id":1746},"lenses","Lenses",[24,1749,1752],{"alt":1750,"src":1751},"The Green Lights of Gardur Lighthouse","https:\u002F\u002Fphotos.smugmug.com\u002FLandscapes\u002FIceland\u002Fi-48XtVNb\u002F1\u002Fc6415561\u002FM\u002FThe%20Green%20Lights%20of%20Gardur%20Lighthouse-L.jpg",[11,1753,1754],{},"My ultra-wide 16-35mm lens helps me capture more of the night sky (seen here in Gardur, Iceland).",[1109,1756,1757,1767,1777,1787,1797],{},[586,1758,1759,1766],{},[528,1760,1761],{},[18,1762,1765],{"href":1763,"rel":1764},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2nRI1Ph",[54],"24-70mm f\u002F2.8 AF-S Nikkor",": This is my go-to lens and one that I will use in 80% of situations. Some sites will tell you you’re not a real pro if you use a mid-range zoom, and frankly, that’s bullshit. Primes are not often practical for travel and the range on this means I won’t be stopping to change lenses every five minutes. Plus, it’s a bright lens, so in darker settings I can open the aperture up to f\u002F2.8 and still get great photos.",[586,1768,1769,1776],{},[528,1770,1771],{},[18,1772,1775],{"href":1773,"rel":1774},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2C5Mwde",[54],"16-35mm f\u002F4G VR Nikkor",": My wide angle landscape lens; very useful in the mountains.",[586,1778,1779,1786],{},[528,1780,1781],{},[18,1782,1785],{"href":1783,"rel":1784},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2nMsb8a",[54],"14mm f\u002F2.8 Rokinon",": My go-to night sky lens. This cheap but fast manual focus lens is perfect for shooting at night since you don’t use autofocus anyway, and the fast 2.8 aperture lets in a lot more light than my 16-35mm.",[586,1788,1789,1796],{},[528,1790,1791],{},[18,1792,1795],{"href":1793,"rel":1794},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2EcUQts",[54],"70-300mm f\u002F4.5-5.6G AF-S VR Nikkor",": I don’t shoot telephoto lengths enough to justify the expense (or weight!) of a 70-200mm f\u002F2.8, and in most situations this lens will get the job done when I need it. It’s useful for telephoto landscapes, wildlife photography, and for capturing slightly different perspectives of city scenes.",[586,1798,1799,1813],{},[528,1800,1801,1806,1807,1812],{},[18,1802,1805],{"href":1803,"rel":1804},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2C4l93d",[54],"50mm f\u002F1.4 Nikkor",", ",[18,1808,1811],{"href":1809,"rel":1810},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2GYkzHI",[54],"20mm f\u002F2.8 Nikkor",", 65mm micro",": All tiny, manual focus lenses that come in handy in less rushed situations when autofocus is not a must.",[33,1815,1817],{"id":1816},"tripods","Tripods",[24,1819,1822],{"alt":1820,"smugmug":1821},"BBH-300 in action in Hamnøya, Norway.","BBH-300 in action in Norway",[11,1823,1824],{},"My D750 and the BBH-300 ballhead in action in Hamnøya, Norway.",[11,1826,1827],{},"I now carry 2 tripods with me on most trips — one for day-to-day shooting and the other for time lapses (since I still want to be able to shoot other compositions while the time-lapse is running).",[11,1829,1830,1831,1836,1837,1842],{},"The ",[18,1832,1835],{"href":1833,"rel":1834},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2FYKg9U",[54],"Vanguard Alta+ 254CT"," with ",[18,1838,1841],{"href":1839,"rel":1840},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2H2zUr0",[54],"BBH-300 ballhead"," is a sturdy and flexible rig that is still relatively small in terms of tripods. The carbon fibre makes it reasonably light and it can fold down to fit in a medium-sized suitcase. The BBH-300 ballhead is a breath of fresh air after the Markins ballhead I used previously that gave me no end of trouble, particularly in the icy cold environment of Lapland. The BBH-300 moves smoothly and is quick to lock into place, and you can even set it to lock when level to ensure straight horizons.",[24,1844,1847],{"alt":1845,"smugmug":1846},"Vanguard VEO at Slieve League Cliffs, Ireland","Vanguard VEO at Slieve League Cliffs",[11,1848,1849],{},"My Vanguard VEO tripod setup at the Slieve League Cliffs in Donegal, Ireland.",[11,1851,1830,1852,1857,1858,1861],{},[18,1853,1856],{"href":1854,"rel":1855},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2G0vUWK",[54],"VEO 265CB travel tripod"," is my new day-to-day tripod, particularly in cities. This tripod has been designed for the regular traveller with strict weight and size allowances to deal with, yet it doesn’t sacrifice much in terms of stability. I’ve successfully packed it in a daypack (and tripods have ",[47,1859,1860],{},"never"," fit in my daypack) and have used it to take photos in cities with no wobbling or other obvious issues stemming from its light weight. It does start to get a little bit unstable in strong winds (such as those often encountered in Iceland), but for most usages it works perfectly.",[11,1863,1864],{},"I also like that, even though the built-in ballhead is smaller than I’m used to, it doesn’t have issues steadily holding my camera in portrait orientation. The D750 + 24-70mm is a heavy combination and other ballheads have not been able to hold its weight, instead slowly letting the lens sink towards the ground. While this gives photos an abstract feel, it’s usually not what I’m going for!",[33,1866,1868],{"id":1867},"bag","Bag",[11,1870,1871,1872,1877],{},"Everything in this article, bar my tripods, fits into my ",[18,1873,1876],{"href":1874,"rel":1875},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2BRl870",[54],"Vanguard Heralder 49"," camera bag. This bag is an absolute trooper and kind of resembles a tank. The main compartment of the bag is the typical camera bag layout, with various different sections that you can move around to fit your particular gear best. It’s huge, and easily holds two camera bodies, three large lenses, an array of smaller lenses and flashes, and my GoPro.",[24,1879,1882],{"alt":1880,"smugmug":1881},"Vanguard Havana 41 at Bow Lake","Vanguard Havana at Bow Lake",[11,1883,1884],{},"My Vanguard Havana 41 at Bow Lake.",[11,1886,1887,1888,1893],{},"The bag I’ve used a lot more this summer, though, is my ",[18,1889,1892],{"href":1890,"rel":1891},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2BRlx9w",[54],"Vanguard Havana 41",". This bag is perfect for carrying along with me when I’m running a workshop and don’t need all of my camera gear. Plus, it’s probably the best-looking gear bag I’ve ever used, and hardly anyone would suspect that it’s actually a camera bag.",[11,1895,1896],{},"What usually comes along with me on a workshop? My camera and a spare lens, VEO tripod, a folder full of cheat sheets for handing out on the day, bear spray, a sports first aid kit, plastic bags and towels for cameras in case of wet weather, ND and polarizing filters, headlamps for the whole group, large flashlight, glowsticks, spare memory cards, spare batteries, and a few other odds and ends. There are a lot of pockets to keep all the little things organised, and overall, it’s a light pack that doesn’t get in the way (which is exactly what I need).",[33,1898,1899],{"id":619},"Filters",[24,1901,1904],{"alt":1902,"smugmug":1903},"Nikon DF, Vanguard Alta+ tripod and BBH-300 head, and Lee Filters setup at Ravadas Falls in Finland.","Shooting at Ravadas Falls",[11,1905,1906],{},"The Lee Filters kit and Big Stopper mounted on my Nikon Df at Ravadas Falls in Finnish Lapland.",[1109,1908,1909,1926,1959,1969,1979],{},[586,1910,1911,1914,1915,209,1920,1925],{},[528,1912,1913],{},"ND screw-on filters",": I no longer use screw-on filters myself, but they are very useful to have on hand during photography workshops so participants can do long exposure photography during the day. In particular, I carry the ",[18,1916,1919],{"href":1917,"rel":1918},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2slx5Ot",[54],"Hoya ND-16",[18,1921,1924],{"href":1922,"rel":1923},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2C98fB6",[54],"ND-400",". Essentially, neutral density filters are dark pieces of glass that you put in front of your lens to darken a scene and allow longer shutter speeds. The ND-16 removes 4 stops of light and is often perfect for slowing down moving water without it turning into a complete blur; the ND-400 removes 10 stops of light. I stopped using these myself because they have a green colour cast that I have to remove in post-processing, and I also find screw-on filters to be much more difficult to clean well.",[586,1927,1928,1935,1936,209,1941,1946,1947,1952,1953,1958],{},[528,1929,1930],{},[18,1931,1934],{"href":1932,"rel":1933},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2BOZkZF",[54],"Nisi filters & adaptor kit",": Even though this kit — which involves a massive bracket that attaches to the lens — takes a bit of getting used to and is more fragile than a screw-on filter, it’s worth it for the versatility that it adds to your filter kit. Also, I recently switched from Lee to Nisi and have found that both the ",[18,1937,1940],{"href":1938,"rel":1939},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2C4Mtyh",[54],"6-stop",[18,1942,1945],{"href":1943,"rel":1944},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2BNHkyG",[54],"10-stop"," Nisi filters exhibit less colour tint than the ",[18,1948,1951],{"href":1949,"rel":1950},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2E913um",[54],"Lee Big Stopper"," did. This kit also lets you use grad filters (I have a ",[18,1954,1957],{"href":1955,"rel":1956},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2C9ce0w",[54],"0.9 soft grad"," that I often use to darken bright skies), and those grad filters are made of glass, rather than the plastic grad filters in the Lee system.",[586,1960,1961,1968],{},[528,1962,1963],{},[18,1964,1967],{"href":1965,"rel":1966},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2C5NW7y",[54],"Circular polariser",": Very useful to have in the kit. It adds contrast to scenes, cuts the glare on water, and can make rainbows significantly brighter.",[586,1970,1971,1978],{},[528,1972,1973],{},[18,1974,1977],{"href":1975,"rel":1976},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2BOmTSA",[54],"UV filters",": Many photographers use these to protect their lenses (since the UV filtering is no longer necessary on digital cameras), and for travel photographers they are highly recommended since you never know quite what environment you’ll be shooting in. They are especially helpful in dusty and salty environments. Just make sure you have good quality ones — it sort of defeats the purpose to buy a fantastic lens and then put a dodgy piece of glass in front of it.",[586,1980,1981,1988],{},[528,1982,1983],{},[18,1984,1987],{"href":1985,"rel":1986},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2EpTDCv",[54],"Step-up rings",": Filters can be incredibly expensive, so buying them for each width of lens can break the bank. Step-up rings, on the other hand, achieve the exact same thing for around $5-$10. The ones I have screw into a 67mm filter ring on one side and into a 77mm filter on the other. It looks a bit silly and you have to take extra care not to bash your filter into anything since it’s wider than the lens, but the cost savings is worth it.",[33,1990,1992],{"id":1991},"memory-cards","Memory Cards",[24,1994,1996],{"alt":1995,"smugmug":1995},"Hard drives and memory cards",[11,1997,1998],{},"Memory cards, backups, backups, and more backups.",[11,2000,2001,2002,2007,2008,176],{},"I have a huge pile of memory cards, all organised in two ",[18,2003,2006],{"href":2004,"rel":2005},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2C76yUp",[54],"Ruggard cases"," for quick access. Since both of my dSLRs use SD cards, that’s all I carry, but they are in a variety of sizes — anywhere from 8GB to ",[18,2009,2012],{"href":2010,"rel":2011},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2Ed3XKw",[54],"64GB",[11,2014,2015],{},"The cards are a variety of brands, but the majority are made by Sandisk. I have used them for years with no issues, except for one glaring exception when one of my 32GB Ultra cards failed in camera. One minute, I was snapping photos on the Isle of Skye, the next minute my camera was flashing “card error” at me. Plugging it into the computer was no better; the computer didn’t recognise that anything had been plugged in at all so no recovery software could see the drive to do a recovery from.",[11,2017,2018],{},"I ended up having to send the card into the Sandisk Recovery Pro centre in the US. For $275, they recovered more than 1000 JPGs and 400 raw files from the card and told me that the controller circuit of the card had failed (less than 3 months after I’d purchased it). That’s a hell of a lot of money for a few photos, and I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t been on a job at the time.",[11,2020,2021,2022,176],{},"So, even though I still recommend Sandisk, it is no longer a whole-hearted recommendation. Want to read more about my recommendations on how to deal with a disaster like this one? Check out my article on ",[18,2023,2025],{"href":2024},"\u002Fblog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card\u002F","recovering photos from a failed memory card",[33,2027,2029],{"id":2028},"other-accessories","Other Accessories",[24,2031,2034],{"alt":2032,"smugmug":2033},"The HoldFast MoneyMaker at Abraham Lake","Kristin at Abraham Lake",[11,2035,2036],{},"With my HoldFast MoneyMaker at Abraham Lake.",[1109,2038,2039,2049,2059,2065],{},[586,2040,2041,2048],{},[528,2042,2043],{},[18,2044,2047],{"href":2045,"rel":2046},"https:\u002F\u002Fholdfastgear.com\u002Fproducts\u002Fbridle-leather-money-maker-luxury-leather-multi-camera-strap",[54],"HoldFast MoneyMaker (Bridle Leather)",": When you’re out on a shoot and need both wide and telephoto lenses, I find the easiest solution is to carry two cameras. Trying to carry one on each shoulder is a royal pain, which is why I now use the MoneyMaker. This harness holds both cameras at hip-level; when you want to use one, it slides up the strap while the harness itself stays in the same place. It’s comfortable enough to wear underneath by backpack when hiking as well, which means I can get camera photos without holding up the group (a case where I used to only take iPhone photos).",[586,2050,2051,2058],{},[528,2052,2053],{},[18,2054,2057],{"href":2055,"rel":2056},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2H0bBdb",[54],"SB-500 flash",": I don’t use a flash very often, since my style of photography often doesn’t call for it. I used to have an SB-600 that died disappointingly quickly (and spectacularly, since it started firing willy-nilly any time it was turned on and then eventually stopped turning on at all). I downsized when I replaced it so I still have an off-camera flash, but the lightest one possible.",[586,2060,2061,2064],{},[528,2062,2063],{},"Spare batteries",": I carry at least three spare batteries for each camera. Often that’s overkill because I’ll go through one (and at a stretch, two) in a day in summer. However, in winter, batteries go flat much more quickly than usual. The last thing you want is to have dead batteries in the middle of the best northern lights show you’ve ever seen!",[586,2066,2067,2074],{},[528,2068,2069],{},[18,2070,2073],{"href":2071,"rel":2072},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2FUS24D",[54],"Hahnel Cube battery charger",": This was a fairly expensive alternative to the battery chargers that came with my cameras, but it charges two batteries at a time, can charge the batteries for both of my dSLRs, and shows me the exact percentage of charge in each battery. Worth it.",[24,2076,2079],{"alt":2077,"smugmug":2078},"Troll in Stavanger wearing a Speakeasy scarf","Troll in Stavanger",[11,2080,2081],{},"Even the trolls of Norway like my Speakeasy scarves (although they probably don’t use them to hold camera gear like I do).",[1109,2083,2084,2094,2104,2114,2132,2142],{},[586,2085,2086,2093],{},[528,2087,2088],{},[18,2089,2092],{"href":2090,"rel":2091},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2nOobV3",[54],"Lens cloth & tissues",": I keep both of these on hand at all times. I find lens tissues tend to leave less fluff behind than lens cloths, but cloths are essential to get rid of any water droplets on the lens (which tends to make the tissues disintegrate). I needed at least three cloths to keep my lenses clean while photographing waterfalls in Iceland!",[586,2095,2096,2103],{},[528,2097,2098],{},[18,2099,2102],{"href":2100,"rel":2101},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2H2GI84",[54],"Lens pen",": Very handy for more stubborn blotches (think fingerprints) on filters or lenses. This is essentially two tools in one — a brush for removing debris that may scratch the lens if you try to remove it with a cloth, and a charcoal tip to remove gunk from the lens.",[586,2105,2106,2113],{},[528,2107,2108],{},[18,2109,2112],{"href":2110,"rel":2111},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2EcqYgS",[54],"Allen keys",": If a tripod plate (the plate that attaches to the tripod head on the bottom of the camera) isn’t screwed on with an Allen key, my camera is heavy enough that it will quickly come lose. Therefore, I keep multiple Allen keys around my bag to make sure I can add or remove the plate as necessary.",[586,2115,2116,2119,2120,2125,2126,2131],{},[528,2117,2118],{},"Torches",": I carry both a ",[18,2121,2124],{"href":2122,"rel":2123},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2H1Bb1q",[54],"Black Diamond head lamp"," and a high-powered ",[18,2127,2130],{"href":2128,"rel":2129},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2sgKlDT",[54],"LED Lenser P14 flashlight",". These are handy for finding my way around sites in the dark, illuminating my camera to check settings (particularly focus), and light painting on dark foregrounds.",[586,2133,2134,2141],{},[528,2135,2136],{},[18,2137,2140],{"href":2138,"rel":2139},"http:\u002F\u002Fspeakeasytravelsupply.com\u002F",[54],"Speakeasy Travel Scarf",": While this is more an item of clothing than a camera accessory, I’ve found it very useful on photo shoots. Not only is the material soft enough that I can use it when desperate to clean my lens (that happened a few times in Iceland when my camera was dripping from waterfall spray), but it has a handy pocket in it where I can keep small necessities like my Allen key and tripod mount.",[586,2143,2144,2145,2150],{},"**",[18,2146,2149],{"href":2147,"rel":2148},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2C3PleB",[54],"Danbo",": This little guy hasn’t appeared in many photos recently, but he always lives in my bag in case an opportunity arises to pose him in a photo.",[33,2152,2154],{"id":2153},"computer-gear","Computer Gear",[1109,2156,2157,2167,2179],{},[586,2158,2159,2166],{},[528,2160,2161],{},[18,2162,2165],{"href":2163,"rel":2164},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2G0Ay78",[54],"MacBook Air 11inch",": While I would love the screen real estate that a 15 inch MacBook Pro Retina would give me, I love the size of the Air even more. It’s one of the lightest pieces of gear in my bag and is so small that it can squeeze into the hydration pouch pocket in some of my non-camera backpacks. It’s started to struggle a bit more with video files, but all in all, it’s fast enough to do all the processing I need to do on the road.",[586,2168,2169,2172,2173,2178],{},[528,2170,2171],{},"More hard drives than you can count",": In 2017 alone, I have taken more than 1TB of photos and videos. I also don’t trust having a single hard drive when I travel, so I’ve got complete backups of both 1TB drives that live elsewhere in my luggage. I tend to use ",[18,2174,2177],{"href":2175,"rel":2176},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2Bi578Z",[54],"Seagate drives"," since I’ve always found them to be pretty reliable, but anything featuring USB 3.0 will do.",[586,2180,2181,2188],{},[528,2182,2183],{},[18,2184,2187],{"href":2185,"rel":2186},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2EPztj1",[54],"Lexar memory card reader",": One downside of the MacBook Air is the lack of SD card reader, so I have to pack a USB 3.0 reader as well. Or I can not pack it, like I did in NZ when it took me three days to find a shop that sold one…",[366,2190],{},[11,2192,2193],{},"So there you have it. That’s everything that I need when I travel to do an on-location gig. Some variation of this gear goes with me on every shoot, both at home and abroad. It’s also the reason I have a sore back and a lot of conversations with check-in agents about why I am over the 7kg carry-on limit — but that is a whole post on its own!",[11,2195,2196],{},[47,2197,2198],{},"The Vanguard tripods and bag, as well as the Speakeasy scarves, were provided as part of a sponsorship, but all opinions stated about them are my own. All other gear — as well asmemory card recovery — was paid for by me.",[24,2200],{"alt":2201,"smugmug":2202,"display-width":28,":pin":381},"What's in my Bag? A Travel Photography Gear Guide","What's in my Bag - Pinterest",{"title":383,"searchDepth":384,"depth":384,"links":2204},[2205,2206,2207,2208,2209,2210,2211,2212],{"id":1667,"depth":384,"text":1668},{"id":1746,"depth":384,"text":1747},{"id":1816,"depth":384,"text":1817},{"id":1867,"depth":384,"text":1868},{"id":619,"depth":384,"text":1899},{"id":1991,"depth":384,"text":1992},{"id":2028,"depth":384,"text":2029},{"id":2153,"depth":384,"text":2154},"2017-10-20","When I travel for photography, what exactly do I carry with me? Hint: it's not a carry-on that fits in Qantas' 7kg limit.","\u002Fimg\u002Fblog\u002Fwhats-in-my-bag-for-travel-photography\u002Fslieve-league-df.jpg",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhats-in-my-bag-for-travel-photography",{"title":1631,"description":2214},"Blog-Posts\u002F2017.10.17-What's-in-my-Bag","blog\u002Fwhats-in-my-bag-for-travel-photography",[406,678],"mZUkqGCvkS4eF3Thu21hAueGemVSQE2e0LaqnsfxwAI",{"id":2224,"title":2225,"body":2226,"buttonText":394,"date":2497,"description":2498,"extension":397,"image":2499,"meta":2500,"navigation":400,"path":2501,"seo":2502,"smugmugAlbum":2503,"stem":2504,"tags":2505,"__hash__":2509},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card.md","How to Recover Photos from a Failed Memory Card",{"type":8,"value":2227,"toc":2487},[2228,2233,2236,2242,2245,2248,2252,2259,2268,2272,2275,2281,2302,2305,2309,2315,2318,2322,2325,2329,2332,2341,2347,2350,2353,2366,2369,2400,2404,2411,2414,2417,2420,2423,2427,2433,2436,2445,2448,2451,2454,2458,2464,2467,2470,2473,2476,2483],[11,2229,2230],{},[47,2231,2232],{},"“This memory card cannot be used. Card may be damaged. Insert another card.”",[11,2234,2235],{},"It’s the last thing anyone wants to see blinking on their camera’s LCD, particularly when they are halfway around the world from home. Unfortunately, that was exactly the screen I saw while shooting on location in the Isle of Skye with Haggis Adventures. I think it was fitting that the sky, which had been blue and full of sunshine all day, chose that moment to fill with clouds and bucket down rain.",[24,2237,2239],{"alt":2238,"smugmug":2238,"display-width":28},"Swirling Towards the Sea",[11,2240,2241],{},"I’m serious. It was sunny until about 15 minutes before I took this shot (which happened to be right around the time my card died).",[11,2243,2244],{},"While some memory card issues can be quickly remedied, mine most definitely did not fall into that category. It took months to exhaust every possible option for recovering my images, and in the end, I was only able to access 50 of the 400-500 images that I had taken.",[11,2246,2247],{},"You shouldn’t give up hope though. Most people don’t suffer complete card failures like I did and (at least some) images should be recoverable much earlier in the process. So what steps should you take if you’re in the same situation I was?",[33,2249,2251],{"id":2250},"dont-take-any-more-photos","Don’t take any more photos",[24,2253,2256],{"alt":2254,"smugmug":2255},"Kristin Taking Photos in the Orkney Islands","Kristin Taking Photos",[11,2257,2258],{},"Even if you’re sitting on the side of a cliff in Orkney, stop taking photos. Find another memory card and use it instead. Thanks to Annieke den Besten for this photo.",[11,2260,2261,2262,2267],{},"One of the most crucial steps once you have experienced memory card failure is to ",[47,2263,2264],{},[528,2265,2266],{},"stop taking photos",". As soon as your camera starts blinking “ERR” at you, take the memory card out of the camera and replace it with the backup card that you hopefully carry in your bag. Attempting to write any more photos to the card could cause catastrophic damage, or at the very least, it could overwrite your previous images and make them unrecoverable.",[33,2269,2271],{"id":2270},"try-to-read-the-memory-card-from-your-computer","Try to read the memory card from your computer",[11,2273,2274],{},"Once you get back to the computer, plug the memory card in and attempt to read the card using your usual card reader. There are usually three different outcomes from this step:",[24,2276,2278],{"alt":2277,"smugmug":2277},"Disk Utility",[11,2279,2280],{},"Disk Utility on Mac OS X.",[583,2282,2283,2290,2299],{},[586,2284,2285,2286,2289],{},"The card is recognised and you can import photos as per usual. In this case, I would recommend transferring the photos and immediately backing them up. Then, reformat the memory card (once you are ",[47,2287,2288],{},"sure"," that every photo you want has been transferred) in an attempt to avoid the same issue down the road.",[586,2291,2292,2293,2298],{},"The card is recognised as a drive but the computer cannot read it. On a Windows computer, this will usually result in a popup that says the USB drive needs to be formatted. ",[47,2294,2295],{},[528,2296,2297],{},"DO NOT FORMAT THE DRIVE",". On a Mac computer, this often means that the card does not show up in Finder, but when you go to the Disk Utility app, you can see it listed.",[586,2300,2301],{},"The computer does not recognise the drive at all. On a Windows computer, this means that no USB icon appears on the task bar when you plug the memory card reader in, and when you go to the Windows Device Manager, there are no USB devices listed for your card. On a Mac computer, this means that the card does not show up as a drive in Finder and when you go to Disk Utility, there is no drive listed for your card.",[11,2303,2304],{},"If you fall into the first category, you’re in luck and your saga has ended there. I’m jealous! Otherwise, you’ll need to read on.",[33,2306,2308],{"id":2307},"try-a-second-memory-card-reader","Try a second memory card reader",[24,2310,2312],{"alt":2311,"smugmug":2311},"Kristin at John O'Groats",[11,2313,2314],{},"With luck, you’ll be able to recover your images so you can show people what a glorious, sunny place you visited. (This was one of the last photos recovered from my card.)",[11,2316,2317],{},"If your memory card has displayed an error in camera and it can’t be read on the computer, it’s likely not to be your card reader’s fault. Just in case, though, you should try to read the card with a separate card reader, whether it is the built-in reader in another computer or a separate external reader. If you have the USB cable that can connect your camera to your computer, you can try reading the card through the camera as well.",[33,2319,2321],{"id":2320},"try-a-different-operating-system","Try a different operating system",[11,2323,2324],{},"This is another last-ditch effort, but there is a chance that the file system on your memory card could be corrupted in such a way that a Windows computer cannot read it but a Mac can (or vice versa). If you have access to a friend’s laptop with a different operating system from yours, it is worth trying to plug in your memory card reader to see if their computer can recognise it.",[33,2326,2328],{"id":2327},"download-recovery-software","Download recovery software",[11,2330,2331],{},"Only take this step if you fall into the second category above; if your computer has not recognised your memory card at all, no recovery software will be able to see it either.",[11,2333,2334,2335,2340],{},"One piece of software that has worked for me in the past is ",[18,2336,2339],{"href":2337,"rel":2338},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.lc-tech.com\u002Fpc\u002Fsandisk-rescuepro-and-rescuepro-deluxe\u002F",[54],"Sandisk RescuePRO",". This program is available on both Mac and Windows and will scan your problematic card to bring up a list of all files that it can find. (Note: this isn’t just for memory cards; the program works with any drive that can connect to your computer, including flash drives and USB drives).",[24,2342,2344],{"alt":2343,"smugmug":2343},"RescuePro Search",[11,2345,2346],{},"SanDisk RescuePro running a search on a 32GB card.",[11,2348,2349],{},"It’s worth noting that the files it displays may be from a variety of sources and do not all represent high-resolution images on the drive. They will often be a combination of thumbnail files (which are auto-generated so your camera can display the image on your LCD), partially recovered files (which will appear partially grey), and your high-res JPG and RAW files.",[11,2351,2352],{},"This application does take a while to run, and once you choose what you want to recover, it will require a flash or hard drive large enough to hold the recovered files.",[11,2354,2355,2356,2359,2360,2365],{},"One handy thing to know is that ",[528,2357,2358],{},"you often get a free one-year subscription to RescuePRO"," when you buy a Sandisk memory card (for instance, the ",[18,2361,2364],{"href":2362,"rel":2363},"http:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2nMKqdU",[54],"32GB Sandisk Extreme Pro SD"," that I use). Make sure you note down the license key on the little piece of paper that comes with the card in case you need it! Also, you can download the application and use it as a free trial to test if it can recover anything before committing to paying the full price. Handy, right?",[11,2367,2368],{},"If RescuePRO does not work for you, there are a host of other options available. I tried a number of these during my memory card saga, but as my card fell into the “unrecognisable” category, I can’t personally vouch for how well they work. They include:",[1109,2370,2371,2385,2393],{},[586,2372,2373,2378,2379,2384],{},[18,2374,2377],{"href":2375,"rel":2376},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.cardrecovery.com\u002F",[54],"Card Recovery"," (Windows)\u002F",[18,2380,2383],{"href":2381,"rel":2382},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.cardrescue.com\u002F",[54],"Card Rescue"," (Mac)",[586,2386,2387,2392],{},[18,2388,2391],{"href":2389,"rel":2390},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.lc-tech.com\u002Fpc\u002Fphotorecovery\u002F",[54],"PhotoRECOVERY"," (Windows)",[586,2394,2395,2392],{},[18,2396,2399],{"href":2397,"rel":2398},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.z-a-recovery.com\u002F",[54],"Zero Assumption Recovery",[33,2401,2403],{"id":2402},"bring-in-the-professionals","Bring in the professionals",[24,2405,2408],{"alt":2406,"smugmug":2407},"Yesnaby Cliffs, Orkney Islands","Yesnaby Cliffs, Orkney",[11,2409,2410],{},"Yesnaby Cliffs on Orkney; this image was recovered from my card but I had previously transferred it.",[11,2412,2413],{},"If all else has failed so far, it’s time to call in the professionals. This step will unfortunately require the biggest outlay of money, so it’s well worth it to assess how much you’d be willing to pay to get your photos back. In my case, I would not have paid a professional to recover the photos if I hadn’t been shooting for a job.",[11,2415,2416],{},"First, I recommend looking for a local data recovery shop as the results will be fastest. When I was in Edinburgh, I googled “data recovery edinburgh” and came up with 4-5 different options around the city, and I can imagine the results would the same in any reasonably large city.",[11,2418,2419],{},"Make sure that you get all the details about what this shop can do for you before you give them your memory card. I was lucky enough to find a shop that was willing to attempt recovery with no payment; others may charge a nominal fee simply to look at the card, regardless of whether they can recover anything.",[11,2421,2422],{},"It’s also worth noting that nearly all data recovery centres will charge you based on the size of the media you are giving them rather than the number of photos you’d like to recover. So, even if you only want 100 photos off a 64GB memory card, you will be charged for recovering all 64GB.",[33,2424,2426],{"id":2425},"bring-in-the-best-professionals","Bring in the best professionals",[24,2428,2430],{"alt":2429,"smugmug":2429,"display-width":28},"Staircase Near Wick",[11,2431,2432],{},"The second-to-last image recovered from my memory card, a full day before the card failed.",[11,2434,2435],{},"Just because a recovery centre advertises itself as such doesn’t mean that their opinion is the be-all and end-all. If you end up in the unlucky camp whose card cannot be recovered by the professionals (as I was), you still have one last option available to you — professional recovery in the US.",[11,2437,2438,2439,2444],{},"The recovery centre that I mailed my memory card to is run by ",[18,2440,2443],{"href":2441,"rel":2442},"http:\u002F\u002Fdatarecovery.lc-tech.com\u002Fdocuments\u002Flctechnologydatarecoveryservice.pdf",[54],"LC Technology",", the same people that make the SanDisk RescuePRO software mentioned above. They do not charge you until they have recovered images, and they promise an answer between 2-5 business days after they receive the card.",[11,2446,2447],{},"Their prices are by no means cheap but they are more reasonable than quotes I saw on forums from others in the same situation. For $275, they recovered as many images as possible from my 32GB memory card, and for $20 extra, they put the images on a USB drive instead of a CD (a handy alternative if you don’t actually have a CD\u002FDVD drive in your computer).",[11,2449,2450],{},"When they contacted me about their recovery efforts, I was ecstatic. They told me that they had managed to recover more than 900 JPGs (including thumbnail files) and over 400 RAW files. I was going to get my blue-sky Isle of Skye photos back!",[11,2452,2453],{},"While it would be impossible not to get your hopes up at this, it’s still worth it to wait (impatiently) while the photos get sent back to you before you celebrate. I was so excited to get my photos back, only to find that only 50 of those photos — all JPGs, no RAWs — were from the 500 images I had wanted to recover. The images abruptly stopped about a day before the failure occurred; the rest were likely destroyed in the complete failure of the card’s controller circuit.",[33,2455,2457],{"id":2456},"a-better-backup-strategy","A better backup strategy",[24,2459,2461],{"alt":2460,"smugmug":2460},"Steaming Away From Mallaig",[11,2462,2463],{},"The Jacobite Steam Train, taken the day after my memory card failed. It would have been easier to shoot high-speed if my memory cards weren’t backing up between each other in-camera, but I was pretty paranoid at this point.",[11,2465,2466],{},"I know it doesn’t help for me to get up on a soapbox and talk about backing up when you’ve lost all your cherished images. However, I do have one recommendation for future you: use in-camera backups.",[11,2468,2469],{},"A number of SLRs now offer two memory card slots and give you options on how to use them. I was using the cards independently of each other, so once one filled up, the camera began recording on the other. This saved on memory card space, which I was running low on, but it meant that when my card failed — while out shooting when I had no chance to transfer to my computer — everything was gone.",[11,2471,2472],{},"Now, I’ve set it up so images immediately copy from one card to the other. It takes more time for each shot to save — so it’s not a good option if you’re trying to take a fast series of photos — but it gives me the peace of mind that I won’t have to fork out $300 at the end of the day to get a small portion of my photos.",[11,2474,2475],{},"I sincerely hope that you were able to stop reading partway through this post because one of these options worked for you. If not, I’m really sorry to hear it, but I most definitely feel your pain. Here’s hoping it’s the last time it happens to you.",[11,2477,2478],{},[47,2479,2480],{},[528,2481,2482],{},"Have you ever had a memory card fail? Did any of these options work for you?",[24,2484],{"alt":2485,"smugmug":2486,"display-width":28,":pin":381},"How To Recover Photos from a Failed Memory Card","How To Recover Photos Pinterest",{"title":383,"searchDepth":384,"depth":384,"links":2488},[2489,2490,2491,2492,2493,2494,2495,2496],{"id":2250,"depth":384,"text":2251},{"id":2270,"depth":384,"text":2271},{"id":2307,"depth":384,"text":2308},{"id":2320,"depth":384,"text":2321},{"id":2327,"depth":384,"text":2328},{"id":2402,"depth":384,"text":2403},{"id":2425,"depth":384,"text":2426},{"id":2456,"depth":384,"text":2457},"2017-10-16","What do you do when your camera suddenly starts flashing \"ERR\" and all of your photos appear to be lost?","\u002Fimg\u002Fblog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card\u002Fsteaming-away-from-mallaig.jpg",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card",{"title":2225,"description":2498},"Blog-Posts\u002F2017.10.16-How-to-Recover-Photos-from-a-Failed-Memory-Card","blog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card",[2506,2507,678,2508],"memory cards","gear failure","scotland","_lEbpcSVLgwcEPBwsq0DScY9K0McMerVKKzfn5nmRKE",{"id":2511,"title":2512,"body":2513,"buttonText":394,"date":2551,"description":2552,"extension":397,"image":2553,"meta":2554,"navigation":400,"path":2555,"seo":2556,"smugmugAlbum":2557,"stem":2558,"tags":2559,"__hash__":2561},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwelcome-kristin-repsher-photography.md","Welcome to Kristin Repsher Photography",{"type":8,"value":2514,"toc":2549},[2515,2518,2523,2526,2529,2532,2538],[11,2516,2517],{},"Hello and welcome to my little neck of the woods (aka the Kristin Repsher Photography blog, or “A Pair of Boots and a Tripod” in honour of my previous travel blog).",[24,2519,2520],{"alt":2033,"smugmug":2033},[11,2521,2522],{},"That's me at Abraham Lake earlier this year.",[11,2524,2525],{},"I’m Kristin, and I’m the founder of Kristin Repsher Photography workshops, which I run across southern Alberta. I’ve had a fantastic summer meeting photographers from around the world that have travelled to Banff to capture our world-famous landscapes. I’ve seen more sunrises at Moraine Lake than I can even count and have watched shooting stars fly across the sky and the northern lights dance over the mountains while teaching night sky workshops.",[11,2527,2528],{},"Landscape photography is truly my passion, and even when I’m not teaching, I’m out scouting new locations and capturing images for myself. I have so much to share on this topic that it felt remiss to not have somewhere to post some of my tips and general knowledge about Banff and the other amazing parks here in the Rockies.",[11,2530,2531],{},"So what can you expect from this blog? A lot of photography and a little bit of travel — but most of those travel posts will be oriented around either photographic opportunities at a location or specific travel tips for the Canadian Rockies. I want this blog to be a resource, not only for those that attend my workshops, but for any photographer that stumbles across this little section of the web.",[24,2533,2535],{"alt":2534,"smugmug":1437},"Northern lights dancing the night away at Peyto Lake",[11,2536,2537],{},"Oh, and the northern lights. I can talk about them for hours.",[11,2539,2540,2541,2544,2545,176],{},"I’m looking forward to sharing more; I have quite a few topics planned (from the aforementioned northern lights to driving the Icefields Parkway in winter and more), but if you have a specific topic you’d like to learn more about, please ",[18,2542,2543],{"href":376},"contact me"," and I’ll see if I can work it in. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about the workshops I offer and see my upcoming schedule, you can find both on my ",[18,2546,2548],{"href":2547},"\u002Fworkshops","workshops page",{"title":383,"searchDepth":384,"depth":384,"links":2550},[],"2017-10-15","Welcome to my little neck of the woods (aka \"A Pair of Boots and a Tripod\").","\u002Fimg\u002Fblog\u002Fwelcome-kristin-repsher-photography\u002Fdancing-the-night-away.jpg",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwelcome-kristin-repsher-photography",{"title":2512,"description":2552},"Blog-Posts\u002F2017.10.15-Welcome-to-KRP","blog\u002Fwelcome-kristin-repsher-photography",[676,675,2560],"abraham lake","rCtF9hHgURCuzEWk1FeeWyzbpZ-IEgpGMLtzr1FwMiY",[2563,2567,2571,2575,2579,2583,2587,2591,2595,2599,2602,2606,2610,2614,2618,2622,2626,2629,2633,2637,2640,2644,2648,2651,2655,2658,2662,2666,2669,2673,2677,2681,2685,2688,2692,2696,2700,2704,2708,2712,2715,2719,2723,2727,2730,2734,2738,2742,2746,2749,2752,2756,2760,2764,2768,2772,2776,2780,2784,2787,2791,2795,2799,2803,2807,2810,2814],{"id":1352,"title":1016,"titles":2564,"content":2565,"level":2566},[],"Driving the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93N) between Lake Louise and Jasper is an amazing experience in winter. It's also something you need to be fully prepared for before setting off. The Icefields Parkway (also known as Highway 93 or the 230km stretch of road between Lake Louise and Jasper in the Canadian Rockies) is one of those epic drives that, year after year, gets mentioned in roundups of “top road trips in the world.” That’s with good reason too — even though I live in the foothills of the Rockies and get to see the Parkway on a regular basis, I am still constantly in awe as I drive along the seemingly endless valleys with mountains towering all around me. Most of those roundups feature the Icefields Parkway in summer. During the months of June to September, the drive is incredibly easy, with the main obstacles being fellow tourists driving erratically (largely because of the other obstacle of local wildlife). There is only one pass to traverse (Sunwapta Pass, near the boundary between Jasper and Banff National Parks) and none of the switchbacks that you’ll find familiar if you’ve driven in the Colorado Rockies. You can easily cruise along at the speed limit — that is, if you’re not stopping in every possible pull-off to take photos of your epic surroundings. I mean, how can you not stop and stare at views like this? Driving the Parkway in winter is a completely different proposition. Unlike the TransCanada to the south, the Icefields Parkway is considered to be a mountain highway and is thus not as well maintained. While Parks Canada does make a concerted effort to ensure that the road is open for most of the winter, it presents a number of challenges that aren’t an issue elsewhere in the national parks; if you’re not prepared, your dream road trip could easily turn into anything but. On the flipside, if you are prepared, you can have a trip of a lifetime that you’ll share with hardly anyone else during this very quiet time of year. From my experience having driven the Icefields Parkway in deeply winter conditions a number of times, I’ve included a number of tips below that are crucial that you know before your trip. Following these won’t guarantee that you have an issue-free trip, but they will certainly help to mitigate a number of the risks encountered.",1,{"id":2568,"title":1041,"titles":2569,"content":2570,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002F8-things-know-driving-icefields-parkway-winter#_1-you-must-have-winter-tires",[1016],"This is not an option; it is a legal requirement that all vehicles on the Icefields Parkway have either winter tires (generally marked on the tire with either M+S or a snowflake symbol inside a mountain) or be fitted with chains between November 1-March 30 each year. It’s not legal to try to drive here without winter tires or chains on your vehicle. If you’re thinking, “no worries. I’m renting a car so they’ll give me the tires I need to drive safely in winter!” you should think again. Unlike in Quebec, it’s not a legal requirement that all cars have winter tires in Alberta. That means that rental car companies DO NOT give you winter tires unless you specifically ask for them (and pay a daily surcharge for their use). They generally will not indicate this when you book, and it’s too late to request them when you arrive at the rental car desk as they only have a few sets of winter tires at any location. For instance, when I tried to book a rental car for my parents, I could only get winter tires from the Calgary Airport (YYC) or Banff Budget locations; nowhere else in the area even offered them. Some rental car companies will try to offer you an AWD vehicle to make up for not having winter tires. While this is a huge benefit in winter conditions (see tip #2), it is not a legal substitute for winter tires and you can still get ticketed for driving on the Parkway. My Pathfinder in the parking lot at Parker Ridge. It’s impossible to tell the difference between its tires (M+S winter tires) and the tires I use in summer without a closer look at the tires themselves. Also, that isn’t a rock next to it — it’s one of the ravens that you’ll find in seemingly every parking lot along the entire Parkway. If you don’t have the option for winter tires, then buying chains isn’t an expensive endeavour; these chains I found on Amazon are less than $50 and you can find similar in brick-and-mortar stores like Canadian Tire. If you are using chains, put them on in a parking lot in Lake Louise or Jasper as there is very little space to pull over (see tip #7) on the Parkway.",{"id":2572,"title":1076,"titles":2573,"content":2574,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002F8-things-know-driving-icefields-parkway-winter#_2-you-will-not-have-reception",[1016],"This can make the Icefields Parkway seem more remote than any other factor listed here. You’ll lose reception around Herbert Lake (around 5km north of Lake Louise) and you won’t get it again until Athabasca Falls (30km south of Jasper), where you’ll occasionally pick up a few bars before losing reception again for most of the rest of the trip into Jasper. This isn’t something that’s likely to change in the next few years either, as no telcos have made any indication that they plan to add reception in this remote area. You won’t be posting amazing scenes like this one, captured during golden hour at Bow Lake, until many hours after you’ve seen them due to the complete lack of reception on the Parkway. This means that you’ll not only need to be fully up-to-date on weather reports and road conditions (see tip #3) before you set out, but it also means that, should you need help, it might be a while before you can get in contact with anyone. The beautiful mountains towering in all directions around you make sure of that, as there’s so little reception that you can’t even make emergency calls. So what do you do if you need help? If your vehicle is completely disabled (i.e., you have hit a large animal or you are stuck in a bank of snow), you’ll need to sit in your car and wait to flag down any passersby. In turn, they’ll either stop and help remedy the issue (i.e. tow you out of the ditch) or they’ll continue on and call emergency services or roadside assistance when they can. There are two payphones in the Athabasca Falls parking lot. “When they can” doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have to wait until your good samaritan has made it to either Lake Louise or Jasper. There are still a series of payphones along the Icefields Parkway, and most of them still work (I’ve personally tested the ones at Athabasca Falls). This article from the Fitzhugh in Jasper does an excellent job detailing these phone locations, the functional ones being the following (from south to north): Saskatchewan River Crossing Warden StationBeauty Creek HostelSunwapta Falls Warden StationAthabasca Falls HostelAthabasca Falls (accepts credit; one does not seem to accept coins) There are also payphones at Beauty Creek Hostel, not far from where this photo was captured. Even if some of the payphones don’t accept coins anymore, it doesn’t hurt to have them on hand just in case. In addition, some of these payphones may require a significant amount of work to access, as most day-use areas on the Parkway are not maintained in winter and can therefore be under a thick blanket of snow. Please note that all payphones are from Saskatchewan Crossing north; neither myself nor the writer of the article in the Fitzhugh have found working ones on the stretch between Lake Louise and Saskatchewan Crossing.",{"id":2576,"title":1139,"titles":2577,"content":2578,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002F8-things-know-driving-icefields-parkway-winter#_3-youll-need-to-be-prepared-for-winter-driving-conditions",[1016],"One important thing to know about winter tires is that they are often not studded. This means that they will give you no additional grip on ice, but they are designed to better grip the road when it is cold and partially covered in snow. Why am I telling you this? Well, it’s important to know that the Icefields Parkway will likely be covered in ice, snow, or a combination of both on your winter trip, so you need to be comfortable driving in these conditions — and just as importantly, you’ll need to be prepared in case something goes wrong. These conditions, seen near Bow Lake, are quite good for winter on the Icefields Parkway. They were classified as “fair” on the conditions board at the Lake Louise entrance. A 4WD or AWD vehicle does not go astray in conditions like these; however, just because you have a 4WD doesn’t mean you’re invincible. I’ve probably seen more SUVs off the road in winter conditions than not; this is obviously for a variety of reasons, but some of those drivers may have become complacent. Black ice can sneak up on you. Since this is a mountain highway, it doesn’t benefit from 24-hour maintenance like the TransCanada. The road is only plowed between 7am-3.30pm daily, so you’ll want to try to limit your travel to those times. Short jaunts outside these times are fine (for instance, heading to Athabasca Falls from Jasper), but you don’t want to find yourself at Sunwapta Pass in the middle of a heavy snowstorm only to realise the next plow won’t be arriving for another 17 hours or so. The road to Sunwapta Falls (a 1km side road off the Parkway itself) in March. One vehicle had attempted and made it into the parking lot, although the bottom of his truck had dragged along the snow for much of the way. We later saw a Parks Canada truck nearly get bogged trying to enter the same road. Rather than risk getting stuck ourselves, we walked to the falls. Even if the weather conditions are good, there is minimal traffic on the Parkway in winter, and even less outside of these times. That means that, if you do happen to get stuck or otherwise need assistance, you’ll potentially be waiting quite some time before you see anyone. This means that you need to be well-supplied. Bring a roadside assistance kit (something you can pick up in stores like Walmart in Calgary and Canadian Tire in Canmore) that includes some basics like matches and thick blankets. Have a few extra thick blankets and a number of extra layers in case you have to spend the night in the car (when temperatures could easily get down to -30ºC). Tools and a knife can come in handy, and a shovel could mean the difference between being stranded and heading on your way. Finally, extra food and water is a must. All services on the Parkway close in mid-October and do not reopen until mid-May, so there is nowhere to buy any additional food in the entire 230km stretch. Part of a sundog appearing over the Columbia Icefields. It’s beautiful, but this phenomenon tends to only happen when it is very, very cold (it was around -20ºC when I took this shot). Finally, it would not hurt to phone ahead to your hotel that you plan to check into at the end of the day. Tell them that you plan to be driving the Icefields Parkway and that you will be checking in before the end of the day. This means you’ll at least have one other party aware of your plans that (could) raise the alarm should you not show.",{"id":2580,"title":1182,"titles":2581,"content":2582,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002F8-things-know-driving-icefields-parkway-winter#_4-check-road-conditions-before-you-go",[1016],"Before you set out, check either 511Alberta or the AMA mobile app for the latest road conditions. I personally use the AMA mobile app as it allows me to quickly skim all road conditions throughout the area, but if I want more detail I simply click on a section of road and get a quick popup with a full description of what I can expect. An example road condition report from the AMA App. Both 511 Alberta and AMA will alert you to extreme snowfall conditions (if 10cm or more is expected in the next 12 hours). Be sure to pay attention to this, as heavy snowfall can mean white-out conditions where the road and the falling snow all seem to blend into one. Environment Canada will also mention when heavy snowfall is expected on the Icefields Parkway in both its Banff and Jasper forecasts. Remember that mountain weather is extremely changeable, so don’t rely on these forecasts as fact; just use them as a good piece of guidance. Parks Canada does its best to keep the road open as much as possible in the winter. It’s worth knowing that the road closes much more towards the end of the winter (March onwards) as this is prime time for avalanches and there are a lot of avalanche tracks going across the Parkway (such as the one at Mount Hector that buried the road under metres of snow in May 2017). Parks actively monitors conditions and proactively closes the road to ensure that as many avalanches as possible occur when there is no traffic on the road. When the road looks like this, it will display as red on highway reports (indicating full ice or snow cover on the road). When closures happen, they usually don’t effect the entire Icefields Parkway. When it is closed, it is often either the northern section (from Athabasca Falls to Saskatchewan Crossing) or the southern section (Lake Louise to Saskatchewan Crossing), as you can exit the Parkway and head east on Highway 11 (the David Thompson Highway) at Saskatchewan Crossing. Regardless of whether the entire Parkway or just a section is closed, your journey from Banff to Jasper will be significantly longer so it’s good to be aware of conditions prior to the day you set off. Taking the Parkway, you will cover 280km between Banff and Jasper, which is a good day’s drive and certainly not unreasonable to try to tackle. However, if the northern half of the Parkway is closed, that 280km becomes 725km when you divert via Highway 11 through Rocky Mountain House. If the whole parkway is closed, it is 735km to go via Calgary and Red Deer. Alternatively, if you are heading south, it will be 670km if you have to divert via the David Thompson when the southern half of the road is closed. Any of these options will make for a much, much longer day of driving.",{"id":2584,"title":1242,"titles":2585,"content":2586,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002F8-things-know-driving-icefields-parkway-winter#_5-leave-plenty-of-time-for-your-trip",[1016],"The last point above leads into this tip: make sure you leave plenty of time for your trip. There is always the possibility that half of the Parkway could close as you are navigating the other half, so you could find yourself having to take the long way around regardless. The Sunwapta Pass area in mid-October. This lookout is in an avalanche zone in winter so you cannot stop, but you’ll still see this amazing view as you climb over the pass. Even if the entire Icefields Parkway is open, it’s unlikely that you’ll make it between Jasper and Lake Louise in the minimum three hours (travelling at the 90kmh speed limit) that it takes in better conditions. A number of sections of the Parkway are simply not navigable at 90kmh in winter, particularly the area around Sunwapta Pass where the speed limit drops to 60kmh for quite a while. Plus, you’ll likely want to stop a number of times as you’re driving (after all, you’ll be going through some of the most stunning landscapes you may ever drive through). You’ll be stopping pretty regularly for scenes like this (seen at the Lower Waterfowl Lake lookout).",{"id":2588,"title":1268,"titles":2589,"content":2590,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002F8-things-know-driving-icefields-parkway-winter#_6-fill-up-with-gas-before-you-go",[1016],"While driving the Parkway should take at most half a tank of gas, it’s important that you fill up in either Banff, Lake Louise, or Jasper prior to starting the drive. There are two big reasons for this. First of all, there are no gas stations on the Parkway in winter, with the only one (at Saskatchewan Crossing) closing in October for the season. The actual river crossing at Saskatchewan River Crossing. Second of all, if you find yourself stuck on the Parkway for any reason, that gas could be a lifesaver. The more gas you have in your tank, the longer you can run your vehicle and keep yourself warm overnight. While you should have extra layers and blankets (as mentioned in tip #3), sitting in a car heated to 20ºC while the temperature drops to -30ºC outside can potentially be a life-saving difference. In addition to gas, pick up an extra bottle of wiper fluid before you leave the gas station. Winter conditions will cause you to use significantly more wiper fluid than usual, and you don’t want to run out only to find yourself having to peer through the muddy snow smearing your windscreen. Wiper fluid sold in gas stations in Alberta is also generally rated to -40ºC, so you’ll want to use it rather than water (which won’t be useful at all in below freezing temperatures).",{"id":2592,"title":1290,"titles":2593,"content":2594,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002F8-things-know-driving-icefields-parkway-winter#_7-make-sure-you-what-you-pull-off-onto-is-pavement",[1016],"The last thing you want to do is see an amazing shot and pull over onto some snow, thinking that it’s paved only to find out that it’s a snow-covered ditch. When everything is covered in thick snow, it’s hard to tell what might be a good place to pull off and what is just an accident waiting to happen. Most day-use areas will be closed with gates across their entrances, but some smaller parking lots (for instance, the Crowfoot Glacier parking lot near Bow Lake) will be plowed and have plenty of space to park. Along this stretch, just north of Saskatchewan Crossing, it was easy to tell how wide the pavement was before it turned into the ditch. If you can’t tell what you’re pulling onto, don’t risk it. You can always pull in as close as possible to the plowed snow on the edge of the road and quickly hop out; the road is so quiet in winter that you’ll be able to hear cars coming from miles away. However, please remember that you’ll be making the drive more hazardous for those that have to pass you, and that you’ll be blocking the path of any passing snowplows, so this is only recommended for very quick stops. Also, make sure you are constantly on the lookout for avalanche area signs. All avalanche areas are clearly marked with a start and end sign. Regardless of what you see (unless it’s a herd of animals completely blocking the road), these areas are NOT FOR STOPPING. You are in an active danger zone and could be putting yourself and any passersby at serious risk by getting out of the car in these areas.",{"id":2596,"title":1309,"titles":2597,"content":2598,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002F8-things-know-driving-icefields-parkway-winter#_8-watch-for-wildlife",[1016],"While some animals are hibernating for the season (for instance, black bears), that doesn’t mean that you’re home free while driving. Many animals actually spend more time on the road in winter, partially because there is less traffic, and partially because of the salt that is put down to melt the snow on the roads. Moose, goats, and bighorn sheep all adore licking salt off the roads, and will often be found on the centre line where salt builds up between the lanes of traffic. They’ll stand their ground and guard that salt with their lives as well. We were very lucky to see three moose together on the Maligne Road the following day. The speed limit here is 60kmh so you can stop much more quickly for wildlife. Moose are often loners and are very dark, so they can blend in quite well with trees. Elk and bighorn sheep can block the entire Parkway in herds, and 20km of the road between the Icefields and Sunwapta Falls has prominent warnings about caribou in the area. The last time I drove the Parkway, I saw eagles and a fox bolting from the road, where they had clearly been dining on some recent roadkill. For both the wildlife’s sake and your own, you don’t want to hit anything on your drive, so be alert and keep to a sensible speed. If you have slowed down significantly because of wildlife, ensure you have your hazard lights on to warn any oncoming traffic. I know that, having gotten to this point, you are probably feeling a bit daunted and are potentially questioning your plan to drive the Icefields Parkway in winter. Don’t be; I just want to make sure that you know the risks and have planned accordingly so you can have a fantastic drive that is memorable for all the right reasons. Have a question about doing this drive in winter that I haven’t covered? Comment below or get in contact with me here.",{"id":1008,"title":682,"titles":2600,"content":2601,"level":2566},[],"What can you do to make sure your gear stays functional in winter, even when faced with extreme cold? For a photographer, winter is far from an excuse to sit inside waiting until spring arrives. As much as I enjoy a cup of hot chocolate in front of a fire, I still enjoy capturing the world as a winter wonderland more. And who can forget the fact that this time of year is perfect for heading even further north to chase the northern lights? A workshop participant embracing the cold & snow during a photography workshop on Alberta’s prairies in November. With that endless sparkling snow comes a number of concerns though, namely, how do I keep my equipment safe in extreme cold? Even more importantly, how do I keep myself safe in extreme cold? Those are definitely concerns that I had when I headed north, having lived my whole life in warm climates. I’ve learned quite a lot from my last few years of shooting in winter in both the Rockies and in Scandinavia’s Arctic north, and the missteps I’ve made have taught me what I need to do to keep my gear functional and myself safe in extreme cold. I’ve written about how to dress for the cold in another post; for now I’ll cover…",{"id":2603,"title":718,"titles":2604,"content":2605,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter#keeping-your-gear-functional",[682],"Your camera is not designed to work in temperatures below zero. Canon and Nikon only rate their cameras down to that temperature; other manufacturers may have a slightly lower threshold, but not by much. You shouldn’t take this to mean that you can’t use your camera in these temperatures — I use mine constantly in temperatures hovering around -30ºC in winter with only a few small issues — but you may notice some sluggishness that isn’t usually there. My camera worked just fine on this -24ºC morning in Jasper, but I noticed that settings changes occasionally took longer than usual to register. You’ll also notice that it seems to only take a fraction of the number of shots it usually takes before dying, which leads us to…",{"id":2607,"title":735,"titles":2608,"content":2609,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter#batteries",[682,718],"Your batteries will not hold their charge in cold temperatures (sometimes only firing 20-30 shots before the battery claims to be dead), and the last thing you want is to get outside under a fantastic northern lights show only to find your camera is dead. Notice that I said the battery “claims to be dead.” That’s because it hasn’t actually used up all its power; it has just been sapped by the cold temperatures. If you warm it back up, you’ll be able to get extra power out of it…and warming is actually easier than it seems. Simply put the battery into an inner pocket of your jacket (or one of your inner layers), and in 20 minutes or so, the battery will have more life available in it simply from the warmth of your body. It would be pretty depressing to wait until the sun lit up the steam rising off the lake only to find that your only battery had died from the cold! It’s best to start with all your spare batteries in an inner pocket to ensure none of them are starting from a cold state. Then, you can keep dying batteries in one pocket and fresh batteries in another (or, if you only have one pocket, write numbers on them in sharpie so you know which is which).\nYou should make sure you take a number of spare batteries with you. I currently carry four spares; this may seem excessive, but if I’m outside for an extended period of time, I’ll go through 2-3 of them. You don’t necessarily have to make the investment to buy brand-name batteries either; I have three of the Nikon-brand EN-EL15 battery and two off-brand batteries purchased for less than half the brand-name battery price. They show very little difference in performance; the only difference is that the Nikon brand battery will still show you the number of photos you have left when the camera is off; when the off-brand battery dies, the display goes completely blank. I captured this view of the Fairmont Banff Springs on a day of time-lapse shooting around the park. Had I not had multiple spare batteries, I wouldn’t have been able to shoot for the full day like I did. Finally, if you are driving to your shooting location and have an always-on power outlet in that car, you can use a car charger to keep your batteries going. I use the Hahnel cube, which charges two batteries at a time and can charge batteries for both of my Nikon cameras.",{"id":2611,"title":785,"titles":2612,"content":2613,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter#phone-batteries",[682,718],"Not only is your phone an incredibly handy tool for planning photo shoots, but it is also your lifeline to the outside world in case you need to call for help. So, it’s good to keep in mind that its battery can die just as quickly as your camera battery, and it often won’t give you much notice.\nWhen I was using an iPhone, my battery regularly would tell me 80-90% battery one minute and be completely dead the next. What was very annoying was that, even when warmed up, it wouldn’t turn on until I plugged it into a power source; at that point, it would boot up and tell me again that it was around 80% battery. Plus, if your phone has battery power, it can help you capture some pretty nice photos too (like this one taken during an avalanche training day on Fortress Mountain. Luckily, my new Pixel 2 is a bit smarter than that; not only is it weather-sealed so it keeps the cold at bay a bit longer, but if it does shut down and is then re-warmed, it will turn on again without a connection to power. If you’re worried about your phone’s performance in the cold, it’s worth bringing along a spare battery that can give it a quick boost. I use an Anker PowerCore that can charge my phone fully 5-6 times before needing a recharge.",{"id":2615,"title":817,"titles":2616,"content":2617,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter#protecting-from-the-elements",[682,718],"It’s always a good idea to carry your gear in a bag while out on cold days. Not only will it keep it slightly warmer, but it will also keep snow from getting into little nooks and crannies (like your hotshoe) while you carry it on your shoulder. The Vanguard Havana backpack (and Bow Lake). I recommend a backpack designed to carry cameras that has extra cushioning around them as well. That means that your camera will be much more protected if you happen to slip and fall on ice. I know this from personal experience, having fallen on black ice last year while carrying my camera in a standard hiking backpack; the camera body was cracked in half as a result and cost a cool $700 to repair. The sub-$100 price of a Vanguard Havana backpack is small change in comparison. You should also make sure that you bring along any lens hoods that you may have for your lenses. Not only will a lens hood help block any stray reflected light (which there is a lot more of when everything is covered with bright white snow), but it will also provide added protection from drifting snowflakes. Some snowflakes will inevitably still get on your lens, but you’ll have to clean it a lot less with a lens hood on (or, alternatively, you’ll have to do a lot less cloning out of snowflake blobs after the fact)!",{"id":2619,"title":843,"titles":2620,"content":2621,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter#dont-breathe",[682,718],"Yes, breathing can be difficult enough when the air is cold and dry, so you may already be considering this already. However, it’s important to remember that your breath — nice, warm, humid air — can cause serious issues with your camera gear. It’s not just your lens that is vulnerable to humid air, either. I breathed on this tripod head in -18º and the humid air froze the locking mechanism, stopping me from removing my camera from the tripod for hours. For instance, if you go to check for spots on the lens and accidentally breathe on it, you’ll find yourself with a nice layer of photo-blurring frost. Trying to wipe this frost away could leave permanent scratches on the lens, and as mentioned in the section below, defrosting it inside could take half an hour or longer. The same issue can occur on your viewfinder or even your LCD as well. To avoid this, you can wear a face-covering scarf or neck gaiter that will funnel your breath upwards. Just watch out if you wear glasses as this will just move the issue to them instead!",{"id":2623,"title":863,"titles":2624,"content":2625,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter#avoiding-condensation",[682,718],"One last — and very important — thing to remember about camera care in the cold is how you manage the transition between the cold outside and the warm temperatures inside a car or building. After you’ve been outside for any period of time in extreme cold, the camera body (and particularly metal lenses) will be very cold. If you introduce them directly to a heated room or vehicle, condensation could form inside the camera body or lens. Not only will this be an irritation if you realise there is something else you want to shoot, only to find that your lens is fogged from the inside, but it could also cause harm to the internals of the camera. This goes for staying in glass igloos as well. If you want to shoot scenes from inside, shoot them prior to going outside otherwise you will risk condensation in your camera. To avoid this, you should seal your camera in a ziploc bag and leave it there for at least half an hour after going inside. This lets the condensation form on the bag rather than inside your camera. If you want to look at your photos before that, you should remove the memory card before sealing the bag (just be careful handling a small memory card while wearing gloves — you wouldn’t want it to end up dropped in the snow!).",{"id":2627,"title":883,"titles":2628,"content":886,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter#using-your-gear-in-the-cold",[682],{"id":2630,"title":890,"titles":2631,"content":2632,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter#your-camera",[682,883],"To begin with, it’s worth practicing using your camera with gloves on. You’ll need to get used to fumbling with dials with the least dextrous hands possible, so if you’ve at least practiced while your fingers aren’t slowly losing feeling, you’ll know where the particular pain points for your camera are (on my Nikon Df, for instance, it’s trying to change the ISO, which requires pressing a tiny button and moving a manual knob). It’s better to know how to use your camera with gloves on before you are sitting in snow in -20ºC. Thanks to my friend Michelle for the photo. I will talk more about specific cold weather clothing recommendations in an upcoming post, but it’s important to mention gloves here as well. I recommend that you wear a thinner glove (like a glove liner) inside a thick pair of mittens so, if you get desperate and just can’t get the ISO or some other setting changed, you can take off your outer layer without risking exposing your hands directly to the cold. Hand warmers (available in outdoor stores and many general grocery stores in cold regions) placed in your mittens will warm up your hands much more quickly once you put them back on again.",{"id":2634,"title":918,"titles":2635,"content":2636,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter#your-tripod",[682,883],"If you are planning to shoot any long exposures (or do any shooting at night), it’s important that you know how to operate your tripod in the cold. You should practice extending and shortening the tripod’s legs with your gloves on at home; the last thing you want to have to do is remove your gloves and touch cold metal when it’s -20ºC outside. A tripod is useful for shooting long exposures like this one, captured at Fairy Creek Falls in Fernie, BC. If you have a tripod where you have to rotate the closure rather than closing a clip, make sure you can rotate it into locked position with gloves on. It’s hard to tell when these have stopped turning because you have an awkward grip with gloves on and because they are actually locked tight, and you don’t want your tripod collapsing underneath you when you thought it was sturdy. If you are shooting in snow, you should check that your tripod is not in loose snow. If the snow below the tripod has not compacted fully, you risk the snow gradually moving during your photo and introducing blur to your shots. To avoid this, you should either (a) push your tripod as deep as possible in the snow, or (b) find a way to help the tripod “float” on top of the snow. Frisbees or coasters will help keep your tripod higher in the snow. Alternatively, you can buy powder baskets for ski poles and screw them into the bottom of your tripod to give it more floatation. If you want to capture the northern lights, you will have to use a tripod. Finally, if you are shooting on ice (for instance, capturing Abraham Lake’s famous ice bubbles), try to take a tripod that has spikes in the feet. These spikes will help you solidly anchor your tripod on the ice so it doesn’t go skating away from you as soon as a gust of wind blows.",{"id":2638,"title":948,"titles":2639,"content":951,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter#useful-settings-for-snow",[682],{"id":2641,"title":955,"titles":2642,"content":2643,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter#exposure",[682,948],"If you shoot on any semi-automatic mode (for instance, aperture priority or shutter priority), your camera will be metering the scene and choosing settings accordingly. When a scene is covered in bright white snow, the camera has a tendency to underexpose the scene and turn that sparkly white snow into a dull grey. To avoid this, use exposure compensation to overexpose your photo (starting with about 2\u002F3 of a stop). This should brighten the overall scene, but you’ll want to watch your highlights (the brightest areas of the photo) to ensure they haven’t blown out and lost all detail in the process. Avoiding underexposure in winter photos can take your images from dull and gray to bright and white. Alternatively, if your camera has way overexposed the scene (losing all the details in the snow in the process), use exposure compensation to underexpose the photo and regain the details in those areas.",{"id":2645,"title":972,"titles":2646,"content":2647,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-safely-use-camera-gear-winter#white-balance",[682,948],"Snow has a tendency to turn blue in photos, particularly if it is in the shade, and particularly if you are using auto white balance. If you are shooting RAW, this is an issue that can be fixed easily in post-processing, but if you are shooting JPG, you’ll want to fix this while you are shooting to ensure the best possible colour. To fix this, change your white balance to daylight, cloudy or shade; these are in order of amount of yellow added, so daylight will add the least yellow to the scene while shade will add the most. While winter can definitely present some challenges to photographers — particularly those used to shooting in much warmer climes — it is an absolutely magical time of year to shoot, and many of the issues that occur with your gear can be easily mitigated if you’re prepared. So bundle up, and happy shooting!\nDid I not cover something you’re wondering about? Get in contact with me here.",{"id":670,"title":412,"titles":2649,"content":2650,"level":2566},[],"Seeing the aurora is an amazing experience, but capturing it on camera can be more difficult than you would expect. A few starter settings (and knowing how to adjust them) can make all the difference on the night. The night sky is an incredibly rewarding subject for photos; the aurora is even more so, since it captures both the stars and the elusive and breathtaking phenomenon that is the northern (or southern) lights. One big difference between shooting the night sky and shooting the aurora is that the northern lights are an incredibly dynamic subject. Sure, the stars move over time, and sometimes the aurora is quiet enough that you can only barely see its movement; in this case, similar settings to a standard night sky photo will get you quite a nicely exposed shot. However, if the aurora is flickering and dancing across the sky, sometimes in the matter of seconds, you’ll have to be able to adjust your settings on the fly to ensure your photo doesn’t just turn into a blob of brilliant green. Aurora photos turn out much better if there is some shape the aurora, rather than it being a shapeless green blob in the sky. Hopefully these tips will help you feel a bit more confident with anything the aurora throws at you and show you how to capture images that make you feel like you’re back under the night sky, gawking at the crazy show above you.",{"id":2652,"title":434,"titles":2653,"content":2654,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fphotograph-northern-lights#preparation-choosing-your-gear",[412],"The more preparation you do prior to heading out into the (often cold) night, the better off you will be. I’ve compiled a full list of preparations you can do — from knowing the space weather forecast, to having an up-to-date weather forecast, to choosing the compositions you’ll use — on my previous post Preparing for a Northern Lights Shoot. As mentioned in my preparations blog post, you will want to shoot with a camera with manual mode that allows you to adjust shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. All dSLRs and mirrorless systems will have this option. An ultra-wide angle lens helped me capture the entirety of Goðafoss waterfall, even when it was so close that it coated the camera in spray. In addition, you’ll want to have your widest possible lens so you can have a longer shutter speed and include as much of the sky as possible. If it’s very cold outside, you’ll want to mount it on the camera prior to the shoot so you’re not fumbling with it with gloved hands.",{"id":2656,"title":458,"titles":2657,"content":461,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fphotograph-northern-lights#camera-settings",[412],{"id":2659,"title":466,"titles":2660,"content":2661,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fphotograph-northern-lights#aperture",[412,458],"You should generally keep your aperture as wide open as possible — that is, one of the smallest f numbers — when shooting at night. For instance, if your lens is f4, shoot at f4. If your lens is f2.8, shoot at f2.8. A solar storm in Finnish Lapland, captured using a wide open aperture (f2.8 in this case). This goes against what you’re often taught about landscape photography, which is that you need to keep the aperture narrow to ensure a deep depth of field. While this is useful during the day, a wide open aperture allows your camera to gather more light at night without having to increase the ISO, which increases noise. It will also help the stars behind the aurora appear brighter. Plus, you’ll often find that the shallow depth of field is not terribly noticeable since you are focusing on infinity, and most of your foreground will often be far enough away that your camera treats it as infinity as well. (On most wide angle lenses, anything beyond 3 meters away will be treated as “infinity.”).",{"id":2663,"title":502,"titles":2664,"content":2665,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fphotograph-northern-lights#shutter-speed",[412,458],"Your shutter speed will vary immensely over the course of the night; as an example, my shutter speeds have varied between around 2s during the biggest storms to 30s for the slow-moving, less colourful shows. 15-20s is a good starting point, but as we’ll discuss below, it’s important to adjust this based on what you’re seeing. The shutter speed on this image, captured just outside Calgary, was only 6s.",{"id":2667,"title":516,"titles":2668,"content":519,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fphotograph-northern-lights#iso",[412,458],{"id":2670,"title":523,"titles":2671,"content":2672,"level":659},"\u002Fblog\u002Fphotograph-northern-lights#overall",[412,458],"In short, a good starting point is around f4, ISO1600, and 15s. If this is too dark, lengthen your shutter speed or increase your ISO. If this is too bright or gets rid of the definition you can see with your eyes, decrease your shutter speed. I used similar ‘starter’ settings I’ve recommended here for this shot, which I frantically composed so I could get a shot and not be late for my tour pickup. Settings: 15s at f\u002F4.8, ISO800",{"id":2674,"title":545,"titles":2675,"content":2676,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fphotograph-northern-lights#thenchanging-your-settings",[412],"As I’ve mentioned before, the aurora is a dynamic subject that is constantly moving — and more importantly, constantly changing its brightness. While some nights may have fairly stable conditions that allow you to shoot with the exact same settings throughout the night, they will be the exception, not the rule. You’ll need to be ready to change your settings, and you’ll need to do so quickly. If the lights start to move quickly (i.e. you are starting to see waves all across the sky), you should decrease your shutter speed. The reason you want to change your shutter speed and not any other setting is to do with the movement you are capturing. If the lights move too much across the sky during your exposure, you will end up with a photo with an entire sky of green that has little to no definition. While green is a nice colour, it’s much better to have textures and signs of movement in your photo, since this is what makes the northern lights as spectacular as they are. This photo was captured during a particularly bright spate of lights and used a 20s shutter speed. I’m happy with how it came out and the movement it captured; had it been any longer, the colour would have washed out the whole sky. If you decide you need to shorten your shutter speed to get more definition in the aurora, you will need to increase your ISO to maintain the same exposure. The reason you have to adjust the ISO rather than the aperture is because your aperture is likely already wide open, so you cannot adjust it to let in any more light. Alternatively, if you are shooting a bright show that suddenly dims, you will need to choose whether you want to lengthen your shutter speed or increase your ISO to brighten your image. Lengthening the shutter speed will help you capture green in more areas of the sky as the aurora moves, but you will lose some definition. Increasing the ISO will add noise, so try to avoid going over ISO 6400 if at all possible. Noise performance has improved greatly on newer models of cameras, but beyond 6400 you’ll start to see noticeable noise regardless of your camera.",{"id":2678,"title":568,"titles":2679,"content":2680,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fphotograph-northern-lights#focus",[412],"Getting the scene in focus is by far the most frustrating part of shooting at night. Your camera focuses best when there is contrast at the focal point; at night, you generally don’t have any contrast around you because everything is just varying levels of black. Therefore, if you try to use autofocus, you’ll generally find that the camera will try to focus, fail, and leave you with a scene that is even more out of focus than when you started. Viewing the focal point on a Nikon 24-70mm lens. This is currently focused on infinity, but the point will vary between lenses. Also, please ignore how dusty the outside of my lens was in this shot! There are three common ways to focus at night: Use a flashlight to light up an area enough that your camera can focus. If you are shooting with a wide-angle lens, your camera will treat anything further away than ~3m as “infinity.” This means that focusing ~4m away is the same as focusing on the mountains in the distance or even the stars. Practically, this means that you can shine a bright flashlight on a nearby tree and focus on it rather than struggling to focus on foreground elements in the distance. Aim your camera at the tree, press the shutter down halfway, and then switch to manual focus. Just remember that if you zoom in or out (or knock your focal ring), you’ll have to do this again!Use live view to zoom in on details and manually focus on them. Sometimes your focus will still seem a bit off, even when using method #1 above. That’s where live view comes in handy. While live view is not great for general use at night, it can really help with determining if you are truly in focus. To do this, turn on live view and locate the magnifying glass buttons on the back of your camera (you won’t use the zoom ring on your lens as you’re just working with digital zoom here). Magnify the scene until you find something clear enough to see (which could be a tree lit up by your flashlight as in method #1). Then, turn the focal ring on your lens until your foreground element is crisp.Know where infinity is on your lens and set it manually. All lenses are different and their ‘infinity point’ may be smack on the infinity label on your lens, or it could be slightly off. I recommend testing during daylight by auto-focusing on items in the distance, then checking your lens to see the exact distance it has focused on (which you can see on a display similar to the one pictured above). Once you’ve got your focus sorted using any of these methods, it’s crucial to make sure you choose manual focus on your lens. Otherwise, the next time you try to take a shot, your camera will try to autofocus and you’ll have to go through this whole rigmarole all over again.",{"id":2682,"title":610,"titles":2683,"content":2684,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fphotograph-northern-lights#things-to-avoid",[412],"There are two things that can cause subtle issues in your aurora photos that you may not notice until you get home: image stabilisation and filters. I don’t have any photos of the “things to avoid,” so here’s a photo of the southern lights instead! This aurora was very dim and barely pink to the naked eye, so I shot it at f4, 30s, and ISO 2000. When you are using a tripod, you don’t need image stabilisation as your camera is already on a stable surface. The addition of image stabilisation can actually make your photo slightly blurry as the camera tries to stabilise an already steady shot. As mentioned in my preparations post, filters can cause some very interesting artefacts in aurora photos, commonly seen as a series of concentric circles created from reflections of aurora light within the filter. These are unremovable (unless you’re willing to sink hours into each photo), so it’s best to just remove all filters and leave them in your bag for the night. Now that you know how to plan and execute a northern lights shoot, remember to not spend the entire time looking through the viewfinder. Sometimes it’s best just to learn back and stare up at the sky in awe rather than fiddling with settings and missing what is happening above you. You won’t regret that uninterrupted time at all, even if it means you have a few less photos to show for it. Finally, I can’t guarantee that, even if you follow all of these instructions to a T, that you’ll get perfect photos. Aurora photography is not that exact of a science. Hopefully this will give you a good starting point so you can adjust accordingly and get some fantastic photos to remember your time in the north seeing one of nature’s most stunning phenomenons. Is there anything I didn’t cover in this post series? Comment below or get in contact with me here.",{"id":1623,"title":441,"titles":2686,"content":2687,"level":2566},[],"You've planned a trip to chase the northern lights. What do you need to know before you try to capture them? Seeing the green of the aurora dancing in the sky above the snowy wilderness is an extraordinary experience that you will never forget. However, if you’re like most travellers, you won’t be happy with just seeing it — you’ll want at least one or two photos so you can show people at home and make them incredibly jealous, right? My first northern lights photo. I spent 5 nights in the Arctic looking for the aurora before I finally captured it. Settings: 30s at f\u002F5.6, ISO800 Well, unlike many travel experiences where you can simply pull out your camera and snap a shot (or pull out a GoPro and blindly aim), it pays to be prepared when it comes to photographing the northern lights. Even as an experienced photographer, it was harder than expected on my first few attempts to take good photos of the aurora. These tips will help you be prepared for what the aurora throws at you, and hopefully you’ll come home with more than a few shots that make you smile every time you see them. This post covers what you should do to prepare for a northern lights shoot; a post about how best to capture the lights (covering camera settings, composition, and the like) is forthcoming.",{"id":2689,"title":1382,"titles":2690,"content":2691,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpreparing-northern-lights-shoot#know-the-space-weather-forecast",[441],"You may not know this, but there are actually daily aurora forecasts (just like there are daily weather forecasts). There are plenty of apps (such as Aurora Alerts for the iPhone) that show you both forecasts and the current conditions, but some are more reliable than others, so it pays to have a few on your phone for comparison. Current conditions report on Aurora Alerts for Sept 27, 2017. Crowdsourcing information often works very well for aurora chasers as well. The Aurorasaurus app allows users to self-report auroras, so you can crowdsource information on the night about where the aurora has been visible and how strong it has been. There are also a number of local Facebook groups for aurora chasers (Alberta Aurora Chasers and Aurora Australis Tasmania, to name a few) where threads are made on nights of big aurora shows to help people find good locations for viewing. Another fantastic source (and the one I have always used in conjunction with the sources mentioned above) is SpaceWeather.com. In one glance, you can see if there have been any recent coronal holes or CMEs (coronal mass ejections from the sun which create geomagnetic storms in the atmosphere), when they will arrive, and what the current Kp level is. The Kp level varies between 0 and 9, with 0 meaning it’s very unlikely you’ll see anything to 9 meaning exposed electronics in the Arctic are at risk of frying. The biggest storm I’ve experienced was an 8, when I could see the aurora clearly dancing over my apartment in Calgary despite the light pollution. The other important indicator to look at is the Bz level, which is a measure of the interplanetary magnetic field. All you need to know is that the more negative this number is, the more active the aurora is likely to be.",{"id":2693,"title":1425,"titles":2694,"content":2695,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpreparing-northern-lights-shoot#know-the-actual-weather-forecast",[441],"That green gap in the clouds on the right? Yep, that’s the northern lights, hidden by cloud. This is crucial. Even if the auroras are the strongest they have ever been, if you have a cloudy night you may see a bit of green peek out from behind the clouds, but that’s all. It pays to look up various cloud cover forecasts and radars that show cloud cover (not just rain) to determine if the clouds are going to move, and if not, if there is another area within driving distance that may have clearer skies. The northern lights on a clear night at Peyto Lake (the same location). Settings: ISO3200, 13s @ f2.8 It’s also important to know how much sun is expected at your latitude at any time of night. The aurora is not visible in the far north between April and August because the sun doesn’t drop far enough below the horizon; even in Banff, skies do not go completely black in the middle of summer due to the sun being too close to the horizon. I’ve had people tell me they are so excited to go to Iceland in June to see the northern lights; in this case, there is no point getting your hopes up, because the aurora just isn’t bright enough to be seen in daylight.",{"id":2697,"title":1448,"titles":2698,"content":2699,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpreparing-northern-lights-shoot#avoid-light-pollution",[441],"The aurora appears to ignite, but it is actually mixing with light pollution from Rovaniemi. Settings: 20s at f\u002F2.8, ISO800 Light pollution — whether it’s natural or man-made — is your enemy when you are taking aurora shots. You want the sky to be as dark as it can be so the colours contrast against the sky as much as possible. That means you’re best off getting out of the city and once you’re out, you should face away from any nearby towns. It’s also best to photograph the aurora at new moon rather than full moon; while it will still be visible, long exposures will turn the sky blue (as though it’s daylight), which doesn’t contrast well with green. The aurora over Porjus, Sweden, during full moon. Notice how the sky has turned blue. Settings: 20s at f\u002F2.8, ISO 800 Don’t worry — if you’re only visiting during full moon, there’s still every chance you’ll see the lights. If you’re in a large city, your chances are significantly lower; in a town (even one with 60,000 people like Rovaniemi, Finland), it can be possible on stronger nights. but the more external light sources you can cut, the better.",{"id":2701,"title":1475,"titles":2702,"content":2703,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpreparing-northern-lights-shoot#have-the-right-gear-and-be-comfortable-using-it",[441],"You will need a camera that has manual mode, meaning you have the ability to adjust the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. All dSLRs and mirrorless systems have this option, as do a select few point and shoots. It’s usually best to take the widest possible lens you have with you for aurora photography. Why do I say this? Well, stars will begin to trail after a certain period of time in your photos because they are constantly moving across the sky due to the earth’s rotation. The wider then lens, the longer you can shoot before this rotation becomes evident. The aurora dances above the glass igloos at Kakslauttanen. The longer exposure in this photo caused the stars to start trailing. Settings: 30s at f\u002F2.8, ISO800 There’s a rule called the 500 rule that tells you (roughly) when stars will begin to trail in your photos. This rule says that the amount of time stars will take to trail is 500 ÷ the length of your lens (or, for a non-full-frame sensor like in the Canon 7DmkII or the Nikon D7500, 300 ÷ the length of your lens). For instance, a 24mm lens will trail after 500\u002F24 = 20s, whereas a 16mm lens will trail after 30s. As you can see from the photo above, you don’t always have to pay attention to whether the stars will trail, but I find that short star trails tend to make your eyes feel like the sky is out of focus, even if the aurora is perfectly clear. The other reason a wide angle lens is best is the fact that it lets you take in as much of the sky as possible. Composition of shots with the northern lights is difficult due to the fact that they are constantly moving, so the more sky you can see at any one time, the better. The northern lights and a shooting star over Lake Minnewanka on Christmas night, 2016. The 14mm lens I used for this shot helped me capture a huge amount of sky. Settings: ISO3200, 25s @f2.8 You should make sure you remove all filters (including UV filters) from your lens beforehand, otherwise the aurora can reflect in weird ways through them and create artefacts that are impossible to remove in the final photo (a common complaint is a series of concentric circles). I also recommend taking a cable release so you can use it to operate the camera to avoid introducing camera shake. Remember that shooting at night can be frustrating, particularly when you are in large groups and cannot use your flashlight due to the disruption it would cause for other people’s photos. It’s best to play around with your camera in a dark setting (such as a dark room) beforehand to make sure you can start to find different buttons (ISO is an important one) prior to going out on the night. Also, practice focusing on infinity (a point that will be further discussed in my “shooting the northern lights” post) so you can find this point at night when your lens will no longer easily autofocus. I also strongly recommend buying a pack of glowsticks — these are often bright enough to light up the buttons on your camera without casting light everywhere around you like a flashlight or cell phone screen will do.",{"id":2705,"title":1534,"titles":2706,"content":2707,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpreparing-northern-lights-shoot#be-ready-for-the-cold",[441],"These guys were bundled up well in Arctic suits so they could handle extended exposure to -20ºC. Many people travel to see the aurora during the northern winter, which means that you need to be ready to shoot in the cold. There are a few different aspects to this: keeping your gear functional (both during and after your shoot) and keeping yourself safe. I’ve covered the former in the linked blog post above, and the latter is the subject of an upcoming post.",{"id":2709,"title":1552,"titles":2710,"content":2711,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpreparing-northern-lights-shoot#pick-your-foreground-and-figure-out-how-to-light-it",[441],"Yes, aurora photos are all about the crazy, seemingly unnatural lights dancing above your head. However, a shot of only the aurora isn’t always as exciting as it could be, since it doesn’t give any context as to what it was like to be there or how much of the sky the aurora was covering at the time. A corona dancing over Galdotieva in Enontekiö, Finland. It’s cool, but there’s no reference to show just how large it was. On many of my shoots (particularly in Finland), I didn’t have a lot of time to scout my location during the day. So, I had to rely on finding a good spot in the dark, hoping that it lined up well with the aurora and didn’t have too much light pollution. In places like the Hotel Kultahovi at Inari, that worked out quite well, since I had a river of frozen rapids less than 100m from my hotel room. However, if possible, I recommend going to potential shoot locations during the day so you can get a better idea of what options you have for your foreground. You should also use a compass to determine what, if any, foreground lies to the north or northeast (the lights will usually start in the northeast sky and move across towards the northwest sky as the night goes on). This photo was actually helped by the presence of other lights. A floodlight from my hotel turned the snow white when it would have otherwise been very dull. Settings: 20s at f\u002F4, ISO800 That said, please don’t get too attached to any specific compositions. The northern lights are an incredibly dynamic subject, and while they can generally be relied on to be in the north, they move rapidly and can appear in regions of the sky that you didn’t expect (which can completely throw off any planned compositions). Be flexible (a mantra that you’ll need for composition as well as for your settings, as I’ll describe in my followup post). Once you know where you’re shooting, you’ll need to know how you are going to light the foreground. If you have some moonlight, that can help to bring out details in your foreground without any form of artificial lighting; if you are shooting over a body of water, the aurora can be bright enough that it can actually make the water glow green as it reflects the sky. Goðafoss in northern Iceland lighting up in green under a strong display of the northern lights. Settings: ISO 800, 6s @ f4 If neither of these are the case, you may need to use light painting to bring out details and stop the foreground from just being a dark blob. I am currently writing a post on how to light paint, but in the meantime, please check out this excellent article on Digital Photography School to learn more about this technique. Hopefully, all of this should give you a good idea of where to start when planning your once-in-a-lifetime northern lights shoot. Some of them may seem like small details, but making sure you’ve covered the small stuff now is much better than it becoming a factor that blocks you from getting your dream photos later. Did I not cover something you’re wondering about? Get in contact with me here.",{"id":2501,"title":2225,"titles":2713,"content":2714,"level":2566},[],"What do you do when your camera suddenly starts flashing \"ERR\" and all of your photos appear to be lost? “This memory card cannot be used. Card may be damaged. Insert another card.” It’s the last thing anyone wants to see blinking on their camera’s LCD, particularly when they are halfway around the world from home. Unfortunately, that was exactly the screen I saw while shooting on location in the Isle of Skye with Haggis Adventures. I think it was fitting that the sky, which had been blue and full of sunshine all day, chose that moment to fill with clouds and bucket down rain. I’m serious. It was sunny until about 15 minutes before I took this shot (which happened to be right around the time my card died). While some memory card issues can be quickly remedied, mine most definitely did not fall into that category. It took months to exhaust every possible option for recovering my images, and in the end, I was only able to access 50 of the 400-500 images that I had taken. You shouldn’t give up hope though. Most people don’t suffer complete card failures like I did and (at least some) images should be recoverable much earlier in the process. So what steps should you take if you’re in the same situation I was?",{"id":2716,"title":2251,"titles":2717,"content":2718,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card#dont-take-any-more-photos",[2225],"Even if you’re sitting on the side of a cliff in Orkney, stop taking photos. Find another memory card and use it instead. Thanks to Annieke den Besten for this photo. One of the most crucial steps once you have experienced memory card failure is to stop taking photos. As soon as your camera starts blinking “ERR” at you, take the memory card out of the camera and replace it with the backup card that you hopefully carry in your bag. Attempting to write any more photos to the card could cause catastrophic damage, or at the very least, it could overwrite your previous images and make them unrecoverable.",{"id":2720,"title":2271,"titles":2721,"content":2722,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card#try-to-read-the-memory-card-from-your-computer",[2225],"Once you get back to the computer, plug the memory card in and attempt to read the card using your usual card reader. There are usually three different outcomes from this step: Disk Utility on Mac OS X. The card is recognised and you can import photos as per usual. In this case, I would recommend transferring the photos and immediately backing them up. Then, reformat the memory card (once you are sure that every photo you want has been transferred) in an attempt to avoid the same issue down the road.The card is recognised as a drive but the computer cannot read it. On a Windows computer, this will usually result in a popup that says the USB drive needs to be formatted. DO NOT FORMAT THE DRIVE. On a Mac computer, this often means that the card does not show up in Finder, but when you go to the Disk Utility app, you can see it listed.The computer does not recognise the drive at all. On a Windows computer, this means that no USB icon appears on the task bar when you plug the memory card reader in, and when you go to the Windows Device Manager, there are no USB devices listed for your card. On a Mac computer, this means that the card does not show up as a drive in Finder and when you go to Disk Utility, there is no drive listed for your card. If you fall into the first category, you’re in luck and your saga has ended there. I’m jealous! Otherwise, you’ll need to read on.",{"id":2724,"title":2308,"titles":2725,"content":2726,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card#try-a-second-memory-card-reader",[2225],"With luck, you’ll be able to recover your images so you can show people what a glorious, sunny place you visited. (This was one of the last photos recovered from my card.) If your memory card has displayed an error in camera and it can’t be read on the computer, it’s likely not to be your card reader’s fault. Just in case, though, you should try to read the card with a separate card reader, whether it is the built-in reader in another computer or a separate external reader. If you have the USB cable that can connect your camera to your computer, you can try reading the card through the camera as well.",{"id":2728,"title":2321,"titles":2729,"content":2324,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card#try-a-different-operating-system",[2225],{"id":2731,"title":2328,"titles":2732,"content":2733,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card#download-recovery-software",[2225],"Only take this step if you fall into the second category above; if your computer has not recognised your memory card at all, no recovery software will be able to see it either. One piece of software that has worked for me in the past is Sandisk RescuePRO. This program is available on both Mac and Windows and will scan your problematic card to bring up a list of all files that it can find. (Note: this isn’t just for memory cards; the program works with any drive that can connect to your computer, including flash drives and USB drives). SanDisk RescuePro running a search on a 32GB card. It’s worth noting that the files it displays may be from a variety of sources and do not all represent high-resolution images on the drive. They will often be a combination of thumbnail files (which are auto-generated so your camera can display the image on your LCD), partially recovered files (which will appear partially grey), and your high-res JPG and RAW files. This application does take a while to run, and once you choose what you want to recover, it will require a flash or hard drive large enough to hold the recovered files. One handy thing to know is that you often get a free one-year subscription to RescuePRO when you buy a Sandisk memory card (for instance, the 32GB Sandisk Extreme Pro SD that I use). Make sure you note down the license key on the little piece of paper that comes with the card in case you need it! Also, you can download the application and use it as a free trial to test if it can recover anything before committing to paying the full price. Handy, right? If RescuePRO does not work for you, there are a host of other options available. I tried a number of these during my memory card saga, but as my card fell into the “unrecognisable” category, I can’t personally vouch for how well they work. They include: Card Recovery (Windows)\u002FCard Rescue (Mac)PhotoRECOVERY (Windows)Zero Assumption Recovery (Windows)",{"id":2735,"title":2403,"titles":2736,"content":2737,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card#bring-in-the-professionals",[2225],"Yesnaby Cliffs on Orkney; this image was recovered from my card but I had previously transferred it. If all else has failed so far, it’s time to call in the professionals. This step will unfortunately require the biggest outlay of money, so it’s well worth it to assess how much you’d be willing to pay to get your photos back. In my case, I would not have paid a professional to recover the photos if I hadn’t been shooting for a job. First, I recommend looking for a local data recovery shop as the results will be fastest. When I was in Edinburgh, I googled “data recovery edinburgh” and came up with 4-5 different options around the city, and I can imagine the results would the same in any reasonably large city. Make sure that you get all the details about what this shop can do for you before you give them your memory card. I was lucky enough to find a shop that was willing to attempt recovery with no payment; others may charge a nominal fee simply to look at the card, regardless of whether they can recover anything. It’s also worth noting that nearly all data recovery centres will charge you based on the size of the media you are giving them rather than the number of photos you’d like to recover. So, even if you only want 100 photos off a 64GB memory card, you will be charged for recovering all 64GB.",{"id":2739,"title":2426,"titles":2740,"content":2741,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card#bring-in-the-best-professionals",[2225],"The second-to-last image recovered from my memory card, a full day before the card failed. Just because a recovery centre advertises itself as such doesn’t mean that their opinion is the be-all and end-all. If you end up in the unlucky camp whose card cannot be recovered by the professionals (as I was), you still have one last option available to you — professional recovery in the US. The recovery centre that I mailed my memory card to is run by LC Technology, the same people that make the SanDisk RescuePRO software mentioned above. They do not charge you until they have recovered images, and they promise an answer between 2-5 business days after they receive the card. Their prices are by no means cheap but they are more reasonable than quotes I saw on forums from others in the same situation. For $275, they recovered as many images as possible from my 32GB memory card, and for $20 extra, they put the images on a USB drive instead of a CD (a handy alternative if you don’t actually have a CD\u002FDVD drive in your computer). When they contacted me about their recovery efforts, I was ecstatic. They told me that they had managed to recover more than 900 JPGs (including thumbnail files) and over 400 RAW files. I was going to get my blue-sky Isle of Skye photos back! While it would be impossible not to get your hopes up at this, it’s still worth it to wait (impatiently) while the photos get sent back to you before you celebrate. I was so excited to get my photos back, only to find that only 50 of those photos — all JPGs, no RAWs — were from the 500 images I had wanted to recover. The images abruptly stopped about a day before the failure occurred; the rest were likely destroyed in the complete failure of the card’s controller circuit.",{"id":2743,"title":2457,"titles":2744,"content":2745,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Frecover-photos-from-failed-memory-card#a-better-backup-strategy",[2225],"The Jacobite Steam Train, taken the day after my memory card failed. It would have been easier to shoot high-speed if my memory cards weren’t backing up between each other in-camera, but I was pretty paranoid at this point. I know it doesn’t help for me to get up on a soapbox and talk about backing up when you’ve lost all your cherished images. However, I do have one recommendation for future you: use in-camera backups. A number of SLRs now offer two memory card slots and give you options on how to use them. I was using the cards independently of each other, so once one filled up, the camera began recording on the other. This saved on memory card space, which I was running low on, but it meant that when my card failed — while out shooting when I had no chance to transfer to my computer — everything was gone. Now, I’ve set it up so images immediately copy from one card to the other. It takes more time for each shot to save — so it’s not a good option if you’re trying to take a fast series of photos — but it gives me the peace of mind that I won’t have to fork out $300 at the end of the day to get a small portion of my photos. I sincerely hope that you were able to stop reading partway through this post because one of these options worked for you. If not, I’m really sorry to hear it, but I most definitely feel your pain. Here’s hoping it’s the last time it happens to you. Have you ever had a memory card fail? Did any of these options work for you?",{"id":2555,"title":2512,"titles":2747,"content":2748,"level":2566},[],"Welcome to my little neck of the woods (aka \"A Pair of Boots and a Tripod\"). Hello and welcome to my little neck of the woods (aka the Kristin Repsher Photography blog, or “A Pair of Boots and a Tripod” in honour of my previous travel blog). That's me at Abraham Lake earlier this year. I’m Kristin, and I’m the founder of Kristin Repsher Photography workshops, which I run across southern Alberta. I’ve had a fantastic summer meeting photographers from around the world that have travelled to Banff to capture our world-famous landscapes. I’ve seen more sunrises at Moraine Lake than I can even count and have watched shooting stars fly across the sky and the northern lights dance over the mountains while teaching night sky workshops. Landscape photography is truly my passion, and even when I’m not teaching, I’m out scouting new locations and capturing images for myself. I have so much to share on this topic that it felt remiss to not have somewhere to post some of my tips and general knowledge about Banff and the other amazing parks here in the Rockies. So what can you expect from this blog? A lot of photography and a little bit of travel — but most of those travel posts will be oriented around either photographic opportunities at a location or specific travel tips for the Canadian Rockies. I want this blog to be a resource, not only for those that attend my workshops, but for any photographer that stumbles across this little section of the web. Oh, and the northern lights. I can talk about them for hours. I’m looking forward to sharing more; I have quite a few topics planned (from the aforementioned northern lights to driving the Icefields Parkway in winter and more), but if you have a specific topic you’d like to learn more about, please contact me and I’ll see if I can work it in. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about the workshops I offer and see my upcoming schedule, you can find both on my workshops page.",{"id":2217,"title":1631,"titles":2750,"content":2751,"level":2566},[],"When I travel for photography, what exactly do I carry with me? Hint: it's not a carry-on that fits in Qantas' 7kg limit. Travel photographer. Most people see someone that is travelling the world, being paid to take photos, and sigh with jealousy. What could be better than being paid to do something you love, all the while getting to see new places in every corner of the globe? Having been a travel photographer myself for the last five years or so, I totally get that. I can’t disagree with the fact that getting paid to do what I love is awesome; after all, my office has transformed from a 9-5 desk to the never-ending scenic vistas of the mountains. Kristin in her natural habitat. Thanks to Matt Hardy for the photo. It’s not an easy job though. When I’m on location, nearly every waking moment has been consumed by planning shoot locations, re-planning those shoots when the weather doesn’t cooperate (which is often), actually taking photos, and organising and processing the photos at the end of each day. Visiting somewhere that has midnight sun at the forecast says that it will only be sunny from 2-4am? Then I’m up at 2am shooting. One thing that makes this job much easier is preparation. One of the biggest things I need to prep prior to a trip is my camera bag, since most of that gear will become an extension of my arm for the duration of the shoot. Since I already keep a handy shoot checklist on my phone, it only made sense to post it here as well. This list encompasses everything that comes along with me on a shoot as well as necessary tools that don’t make it into the field but are needed to get the job done. In action at Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon in Iceland. Thanks to Johanna Amrhein for the photo. Note: This is not a list of gear that I recommend all travellers take with them; it’s entirely too much for most sensible people. Stay tuned for a post about what I recommend for the travelling non-professional photographer.",{"id":2753,"title":1668,"titles":2754,"content":2755,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhats-in-my-bag-for-travel-photography#cameras",[1631],"My standard travel camera setup. Nikon D750 24MP FX (full-frame): This is my go-to camera body. Purchased in June 2015 to replace my ageing (and failing) D700, this camera made me realise how much I’d been missing. HD video, a tilting LCD screen, and incredibly fast burst speed were all things I didn’t know I need but now use regularly. Plus, it feels significantly lighter than my D700. Its full-frame sensor means I can capture night skies and other low-light scenes with minimal noise.Nikon DF 16MP FX (full-frame): Until I got the D750, this was my main camera body, but now I use it mainly for telephoto images, time lapses, or the times when I want to use my old manual-focus lenses. It’s a fantastic camera and it looks so beautifully old-school that people regularly stop me and tell me that they love my camera, and is it film?GoPro Hero 4 Silver: Such a great camera in such a small package. Attached to the suction cup, it can capture hours of images from driving that can be turned into a time-lapse (or simply capture a moment that I may not have been able to stop for, like a sheep in NZ wearing a high-vis vest on the roadside). With a helmet mount or chest mount, it can do virtually any activity with me. They’ve just released the Hero 6 so I’m a bit behind, but it works for what I need.Canon Powershot S100: A pocketable camera that can go with me when I can’t take my dSLR. It shoots RAW and transfers photos via wifi straight to my phone.Pixel 2: The Pixel 2 has a fantastic camera and it’s useful for times when my other cameras are not accessible, like at dinners or on plane flights. Plus, being weatherproof means its battery lasts much longer in extreme cold. Note on mirrorless cameras vs. traditional dSLRs: The mirrorless vs. dSLR debate still rages on, especially with the huge success of the Sony a7 range of full-frame mirrorless bodies. Despite the fact that I used to shoot with an Olympus OM-D as my second body — and the fact that I would love to lighten the load so I didn’t have to break carry-on weight limits every time I fly — I’ve stuck with dSLRs. I’ve mainly done so because I don’t want to re-invest in a whole new lens system when I already have so many Nikon lenses (including a number of manual-focus, 1970s-era lenses), and carrying around equivalent lenses for 2 different systems was a pain.",{"id":2757,"title":1747,"titles":2758,"content":2759,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhats-in-my-bag-for-travel-photography#lenses",[1631],"My ultra-wide 16-35mm lens helps me capture more of the night sky (seen here in Gardur, Iceland). 24-70mm f\u002F2.8 AF-S Nikkor: This is my go-to lens and one that I will use in 80% of situations. Some sites will tell you you’re not a real pro if you use a mid-range zoom, and frankly, that’s bullshit. Primes are not often practical for travel and the range on this means I won’t be stopping to change lenses every five minutes. Plus, it’s a bright lens, so in darker settings I can open the aperture up to f\u002F2.8 and still get great photos.16-35mm f\u002F4G VR Nikkor: My wide angle landscape lens; very useful in the mountains.14mm f\u002F2.8 Rokinon: My go-to night sky lens. This cheap but fast manual focus lens is perfect for shooting at night since you don’t use autofocus anyway, and the fast 2.8 aperture lets in a lot more light than my 16-35mm.70-300mm f\u002F4.5-5.6G AF-S VR Nikkor: I don’t shoot telephoto lengths enough to justify the expense (or weight!) of a 70-200mm f\u002F2.8, and in most situations this lens will get the job done when I need it. It’s useful for telephoto landscapes, wildlife photography, and for capturing slightly different perspectives of city scenes.50mm f\u002F1.4 Nikkor, 20mm f\u002F2.8 Nikkor, 65mm micro: All tiny, manual focus lenses that come in handy in less rushed situations when autofocus is not a must.",{"id":2761,"title":1817,"titles":2762,"content":2763,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhats-in-my-bag-for-travel-photography#tripods",[1631],"My D750 and the BBH-300 ballhead in action in Hamnøya, Norway. I now carry 2 tripods with me on most trips — one for day-to-day shooting and the other for time lapses (since I still want to be able to shoot other compositions while the time-lapse is running). The Vanguard Alta+ 254CT with BBH-300 ballhead is a sturdy and flexible rig that is still relatively small in terms of tripods. The carbon fibre makes it reasonably light and it can fold down to fit in a medium-sized suitcase. The BBH-300 ballhead is a breath of fresh air after the Markins ballhead I used previously that gave me no end of trouble, particularly in the icy cold environment of Lapland. The BBH-300 moves smoothly and is quick to lock into place, and you can even set it to lock when level to ensure straight horizons. My Vanguard VEO tripod setup at the Slieve League Cliffs in Donegal, Ireland. The VEO 265CB travel tripod is my new day-to-day tripod, particularly in cities. This tripod has been designed for the regular traveller with strict weight and size allowances to deal with, yet it doesn’t sacrifice much in terms of stability. I’ve successfully packed it in a daypack (and tripods have never fit in my daypack) and have used it to take photos in cities with no wobbling or other obvious issues stemming from its light weight. It does start to get a little bit unstable in strong winds (such as those often encountered in Iceland), but for most usages it works perfectly. I also like that, even though the built-in ballhead is smaller than I’m used to, it doesn’t have issues steadily holding my camera in portrait orientation. The D750 + 24-70mm is a heavy combination and other ballheads have not been able to hold its weight, instead slowly letting the lens sink towards the ground. While this gives photos an abstract feel, it’s usually not what I’m going for!",{"id":2765,"title":1868,"titles":2766,"content":2767,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhats-in-my-bag-for-travel-photography#bag",[1631],"Everything in this article, bar my tripods, fits into my Vanguard Heralder 49 camera bag. This bag is an absolute trooper and kind of resembles a tank. The main compartment of the bag is the typical camera bag layout, with various different sections that you can move around to fit your particular gear best. It’s huge, and easily holds two camera bodies, three large lenses, an array of smaller lenses and flashes, and my GoPro. My Vanguard Havana 41 at Bow Lake. The bag I’ve used a lot more this summer, though, is my Vanguard Havana 41. This bag is perfect for carrying along with me when I’m running a workshop and don’t need all of my camera gear. Plus, it’s probably the best-looking gear bag I’ve ever used, and hardly anyone would suspect that it’s actually a camera bag. What usually comes along with me on a workshop? My camera and a spare lens, VEO tripod, a folder full of cheat sheets for handing out on the day, bear spray, a sports first aid kit, plastic bags and towels for cameras in case of wet weather, ND and polarizing filters, headlamps for the whole group, large flashlight, glowsticks, spare memory cards, spare batteries, and a few other odds and ends. There are a lot of pockets to keep all the little things organised, and overall, it’s a light pack that doesn’t get in the way (which is exactly what I need).",{"id":2769,"title":1899,"titles":2770,"content":2771,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhats-in-my-bag-for-travel-photography#filters",[1631],"The Lee Filters kit and Big Stopper mounted on my Nikon Df at Ravadas Falls in Finnish Lapland. ND screw-on filters: I no longer use screw-on filters myself, but they are very useful to have on hand during photography workshops so participants can do long exposure photography during the day. In particular, I carry the Hoya ND-16 and ND-400. Essentially, neutral density filters are dark pieces of glass that you put in front of your lens to darken a scene and allow longer shutter speeds. The ND-16 removes 4 stops of light and is often perfect for slowing down moving water without it turning into a complete blur; the ND-400 removes 10 stops of light. I stopped using these myself because they have a green colour cast that I have to remove in post-processing, and I also find screw-on filters to be much more difficult to clean well.Nisi filters & adaptor kit: Even though this kit — which involves a massive bracket that attaches to the lens — takes a bit of getting used to and is more fragile than a screw-on filter, it’s worth it for the versatility that it adds to your filter kit. Also, I recently switched from Lee to Nisi and have found that both the 6-stop and 10-stop Nisi filters exhibit less colour tint than the Lee Big Stopper did. This kit also lets you use grad filters (I have a 0.9 soft grad that I often use to darken bright skies), and those grad filters are made of glass, rather than the plastic grad filters in the Lee system.Circular polariser: Very useful to have in the kit. It adds contrast to scenes, cuts the glare on water, and can make rainbows significantly brighter.UV filters: Many photographers use these to protect their lenses (since the UV filtering is no longer necessary on digital cameras), and for travel photographers they are highly recommended since you never know quite what environment you’ll be shooting in. They are especially helpful in dusty and salty environments. Just make sure you have good quality ones — it sort of defeats the purpose to buy a fantastic lens and then put a dodgy piece of glass in front of it.Step-up rings: Filters can be incredibly expensive, so buying them for each width of lens can break the bank. Step-up rings, on the other hand, achieve the exact same thing for around $5-$10. The ones I have screw into a 67mm filter ring on one side and into a 77mm filter on the other. It looks a bit silly and you have to take extra care not to bash your filter into anything since it’s wider than the lens, but the cost savings is worth it.",{"id":2773,"title":1992,"titles":2774,"content":2775,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhats-in-my-bag-for-travel-photography#memory-cards",[1631],"Memory cards, backups, backups, and more backups. I have a huge pile of memory cards, all organised in two Ruggard cases for quick access. Since both of my dSLRs use SD cards, that’s all I carry, but they are in a variety of sizes — anywhere from 8GB to 64GB. The cards are a variety of brands, but the majority are made by Sandisk. I have used them for years with no issues, except for one glaring exception when one of my 32GB Ultra cards failed in camera. One minute, I was snapping photos on the Isle of Skye, the next minute my camera was flashing “card error” at me. Plugging it into the computer was no better; the computer didn’t recognise that anything had been plugged in at all so no recovery software could see the drive to do a recovery from. I ended up having to send the card into the Sandisk Recovery Pro centre in the US. For $275, they recovered more than 1000 JPGs and 400 raw files from the card and told me that the controller circuit of the card had failed (less than 3 months after I’d purchased it). That’s a hell of a lot of money for a few photos, and I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t been on a job at the time. So, even though I still recommend Sandisk, it is no longer a whole-hearted recommendation. Want to read more about my recommendations on how to deal with a disaster like this one? Check out my article on recovering photos from a failed memory card.",{"id":2777,"title":2029,"titles":2778,"content":2779,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhats-in-my-bag-for-travel-photography#other-accessories",[1631],"With my HoldFast MoneyMaker at Abraham Lake. HoldFast MoneyMaker (Bridle Leather): When you’re out on a shoot and need both wide and telephoto lenses, I find the easiest solution is to carry two cameras. Trying to carry one on each shoulder is a royal pain, which is why I now use the MoneyMaker. This harness holds both cameras at hip-level; when you want to use one, it slides up the strap while the harness itself stays in the same place. It’s comfortable enough to wear underneath by backpack when hiking as well, which means I can get camera photos without holding up the group (a case where I used to only take iPhone photos).SB-500 flash: I don’t use a flash very often, since my style of photography often doesn’t call for it. I used to have an SB-600 that died disappointingly quickly (and spectacularly, since it started firing willy-nilly any time it was turned on and then eventually stopped turning on at all). I downsized when I replaced it so I still have an off-camera flash, but the lightest one possible.Spare batteries: I carry at least three spare batteries for each camera. Often that’s overkill because I’ll go through one (and at a stretch, two) in a day in summer. However, in winter, batteries go flat much more quickly than usual. The last thing you want is to have dead batteries in the middle of the best northern lights show you’ve ever seen!Hahnel Cube battery charger: This was a fairly expensive alternative to the battery chargers that came with my cameras, but it charges two batteries at a time, can charge the batteries for both of my dSLRs, and shows me the exact percentage of charge in each battery. Worth it. Even the trolls of Norway like my Speakeasy scarves (although they probably don’t use them to hold camera gear like I do). Lens cloth & tissues: I keep both of these on hand at all times. I find lens tissues tend to leave less fluff behind than lens cloths, but cloths are essential to get rid of any water droplets on the lens (which tends to make the tissues disintegrate). I needed at least three cloths to keep my lenses clean while photographing waterfalls in Iceland!Lens pen: Very handy for more stubborn blotches (think fingerprints) on filters or lenses. This is essentially two tools in one — a brush for removing debris that may scratch the lens if you try to remove it with a cloth, and a charcoal tip to remove gunk from the lens.Allen keys: If a tripod plate (the plate that attaches to the tripod head on the bottom of the camera) isn’t screwed on with an Allen key, my camera is heavy enough that it will quickly come lose. Therefore, I keep multiple Allen keys around my bag to make sure I can add or remove the plate as necessary.Torches: I carry both a Black Diamond head lamp and a high-powered LED Lenser P14 flashlight. These are handy for finding my way around sites in the dark, illuminating my camera to check settings (particularly focus), and light painting on dark foregrounds.Speakeasy Travel Scarf: While this is more an item of clothing than a camera accessory, I’ve found it very useful on photo shoots. Not only is the material soft enough that I can use it when desperate to clean my lens (that happened a few times in Iceland when my camera was dripping from waterfall spray), but it has a handy pocket in it where I can keep small necessities like my Allen key and tripod mount.**Danbo: This little guy hasn’t appeared in many photos recently, but he always lives in my bag in case an opportunity arises to pose him in a photo.",{"id":2781,"title":2154,"titles":2782,"content":2783,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhats-in-my-bag-for-travel-photography#computer-gear",[1631],"MacBook Air 11inch: While I would love the screen real estate that a 15 inch MacBook Pro Retina would give me, I love the size of the Air even more. It’s one of the lightest pieces of gear in my bag and is so small that it can squeeze into the hydration pouch pocket in some of my non-camera backpacks. It’s started to struggle a bit more with video files, but all in all, it’s fast enough to do all the processing I need to do on the road.More hard drives than you can count: In 2017 alone, I have taken more than 1TB of photos and videos. I also don’t trust having a single hard drive when I travel, so I’ve got complete backups of both 1TB drives that live elsewhere in my luggage. I tend to use Seagate drives since I’ve always found them to be pretty reliable, but anything featuring USB 3.0 will do.Lexar memory card reader: One downside of the MacBook Air is the lack of SD card reader, so I have to pack a USB 3.0 reader as well. Or I can not pack it, like I did in NZ when it took me three days to find a shop that sold one… So there you have it. That’s everything that I need when I travel to do an on-location gig. Some variation of this gear goes with me on every shoot, both at home and abroad. It’s also the reason I have a sore back and a lot of conversations with check-in agents about why I am over the 7kg carry-on limit — but that is a whole post on its own! The Vanguard tripods and bag, as well as the Speakeasy scarves, were provided as part of a sponsorship, but all opinions stated about them are my own. All other gear — as well asmemory card recovery — was paid for by me.",{"id":401,"title":6,"titles":2785,"content":2786,"level":2566},[],"The winter months provide some spectacular photo opportunities, but they also provide many more challenges in terms of keeping yourself safe from the elements. What should you think about before you pile on that winter gear and head out? It’s that time of year again: it’s barely 10 days into “autumn” and the third day of October, and yet Calgary had a whopping 32cm of snow yesterday. That means it’s time to get geared up for photography in cold temperatures once again. I’ve previously discussed how to safely use your camera gear in winter, so if you want to know how to extend your camera’s battery life or how to ensure that its internals do not get damaged by extreme cold, please head over to that post. Below, I discuss something equally important: what gear you need to bring along to ensure that you don’t experience any long-term effects from exposure to the cold. No photo is ever worth not being able to feel your big toes for three months afterwards… A photo taken on the night where I lost feeling in my big toe (for the next three months).",{"id":2788,"title":36,"titles":2789,"content":2790,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold#always-dress-in-layers",[6],"Regardless of what you’re doing in cold weather, it’s always important to dress in layers. Multiple layers will always be warmer than a single layer of the same thickness, and they also give you flexibility to be able to remove some, but not all, of your insulation. This is very helpful when you’re hiking up to a lookout; removing a layer early will stop you from sweating, which will make your clothes damp and cause you to get cold and then stay cold. Usually, with photography, the concern is actually the reverse: that you won’t be warm enough. Remember, you’ll be standing still compared to when you’re doing athletic activities such as skiing or snowshoeing, so the cold will really seep in. One or two extra mid-layers that you can quickly throw on under your jacket will make a much bigger difference than an even bigger, puffier down jacket would have. So what layers should you have? Start with a base layer made of a comfortable, wicking material. What you want here is something that will stay dry and keep moisture away from your skin so you don’t feel cold and clammy. I always wear Icebreaker base layers because merino wool is great for temperature regulation (it helps keep you cool when it’s warm and warm when it’s cool). For those that are allergic to wool, polypropylene thermals are a good option. What I wear: the Icebreaker Oasis V top and either the 200gsm or 260gsm leggings A wicking base layer is a must when you’re snowshoeing (or walking) through landscapes like these. On top of your base layer, add a mid-layer or two (and pack at least another one spare). I tend to wear either wool or fleece for this layer because they are lightweight but still insulate (the whole goal of this layer). The same is true for the legs; I often opt for a pair of fleece lounge pants. What I wear: Icebreaker Cascade Long Sleeve Zip or the North Face Arcata As an outer layer, you’ll want a jacket that keeps wind and water out. In a dry climate such as Banff, you will only need a water-resistant jacket because the snow will often slough right off without seeping in. However, in a climate like Vancouver, Norway, or Iceland, you’ll need a jacket with a higher waterproof rating to ensure you don’t get wet. I wouldn’t be wearing a down jacket (a jacket that will often lose all of its insulating characteristics once it gets wet) in these places; I’d opt for a ski jacket or parka. What I wear: Rab Neutrino Endurance Down Jacket (for dry climates) or Columbia Carson Pass Jacket (for wetter climates\u002Fdays when I am walking through thick trees) It’s also worth looking for other features in your jackets as well. Hoods to help keep the wind out and inner pockets to help keep your batteries warm are both handy extras that not all jackets have. Water-resistant jackets can be useful when you are flinging snow all over yourself when trying to run in snowshoes too. Thanks to my friend Larissa Dening for the photo. For pants, you’ll either want insulated ski pants (if you are in extreme cold) or pair of water-resistant hiking pants. You’ll need a bit of extra room around the waist in these because you’ll be wearing more underneath them than in summer. What I wear: $60 ski pants from Marshalls or Patagonia Simul Alpine pants (these are my year-round go-to) None of these layers should be made of cotton or denim. Both of these materials absorb water and then stay wet, meaning they will keep you cold rather than warm as soon as you get a bit sweaty or encounter your first snowfall (or snow drift). Finally, consider what I call the “Michelin man effect.” This is what happens when you put on so many layers that your movement is severely impeded (for instance, I have a pair of ski pants that are so tight in the thigh area that I cannot walk up some stairs in them). It’s worth putting on all of your layers before you pack them\u002Fhead out on a shoot just to make sure that you’ll be able to easily move your arms and legs. I’m not suffering from the Michelin Man effect here, so I can comfortably walk up the stairs at Shadow Lake Lodge. Thanks to Larissa for this photo as well.",{"id":2792,"title":146,"titles":2793,"content":2794,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold#cover-all-exposed-areas",[6],"One thing many people have a tendency to do (including me when I first moved to Canada) is leave small patches of skin open to the elements. This includes the neck, the face, and that pesky area that can open up between your pants and top when you bend. There are a few small things you can throw in your bag that will stop these areas from being a problem. Scarves can both cover your neck and mouth area; on the coldest days, I wear a fleece scarf that is so large it could double as a small blanket. Buffs take up less space and, with their tube shape, are easy to pull up over your mouth. They come in a variety of materials, including a half wool\u002Fhalf fleece version. Bundling up while shooting hoarfrost at Pyramid Lake. Everything except the upper half of my face was totally covered. Thanks to my friend Michelle for this photo. A word of warning to glasses wearers: breathing into a scarf will usually push the air up and into your glasses, causing them to fog (something that doesn’t go away quickly in winter). It may be worth switching to contacts for your shoot! I also like to wear a floppy beanie (toque) that can be pulled down well below my ears, since they often get cold in tighter-fitting hats. The one I’m wearing above is by local Calgary craft shop Wolf and Willow. Finally, if possible, it’s worth buying longer top layers and ensuring that your base layer is tucked in so, no matter how you contort yourself to get that perfect angle, you’re not leaving it open to cold air (or equally, for snow to fall down your pants).",{"id":2796,"title":183,"titles":2797,"content":2798,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold#gloves",[6],"There are a whole host of different options for gloves — so many that it can be overwhelming to choose at first. Do I get gloves where the tips fold back? Do I get [https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F2DUWyUD](big, fluffy Icelandic mitts)? The answer, as usual, is likely somewhere in between. What works best for me is to wear two layers of gloves: a glove liner or thin glove, covered by a thick set of mitts. Mitts on their own are warmer than gloves due to the circulation of warm air that they allow; however, they also make it impossible to use your camera. If you’re wearing a thin layer underneath, though, you still get their benefit but when you remove the mitt to use your camera, your hands aren’t being exposed to cold air. This is important because once your hands get cold, they will stay cold. What I wear: Head running gloves and Burton gore-tex mitts When there’s as much spray as there was coming off this waterfall, you definitely won’t want to expose your bare hands. It’s also quite handy to buy gloves that have a pocket for handwarmers. These little bags of warmth will often make your gloves positively toasty, and having a pocket means they won’t fall out every time you take your glove off. It’s worth carrying an extra stash of handwarmers as well, because some can be duds and never warm up.",{"id":2800,"title":233,"titles":2801,"content":2802,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold#footwear",[6],"You will not regret buying a good pair of winter boots, because having cold feet (especially once they start going truly numb) can really ruin a shoot. You’ll be standing still on a freezing surface, and that can seep into your boots very quickly. The temperature rating and height of a boot are both important; my current boots are rated to -40ºC (which in reality means somewhere around -20ºC before your feet start getting chilly) and are mid-calf height. You can go lower than this, but you’ll risk getting more snow in your boots (even if you wear gaiters). What I wear: North Face Chilkat 400 When buying your boots, it’s important to ensure they are not too tight. Extra space in your boots will mean extra space for warm air to circulate, and it will give you space to add toe warmers if needed. I usually go at least 1\u002F2 size up on my normal shoe size. Picking between snow-covered rocks like these could very quickly result in a shoe full of snow if you’re not wearing winter footwear. If you only have one piece of clothing made of wool, your socks should be it; they will keep your feet fairly dry (and as a bonus, they take a lot longer to start smelling)! In general, you should only wear one pair of socks. Multiple pairs will take up more space and could start pushing your toes into the boot outers, which will actually result in colder feet (since there is no longer a nice layer of warm air between your feet and the boot). What I wear: SmartWool Hike Medium Crew or SmartWool Trekking Heavy for the coldest days One exception to this is for those that use toe warmers extensively. In this case, if you wear a thin sock, you can place the toe warmer on top of your toes (without the risk of burning) and then put your thick socks on to hold it in place. Always bring along a spare pair of socks, at least two small garbage bags, and a towel. This will save your feet if you have an accident where your boot becomes inundated (which I managed to do in Johnson Lake on a -20ºC day a few winters ago). Having this gear with me meant I could dry my foot, put on a dry sock, and then put it in a garbage bag as a layer between it and the soaked boot inner. I hiked for hours afterwards and my foot wasn’t any colder than normal. The photo I took just before I inundated one of my boots with freezing water on a -20ºC morning. Genius. Finally, duct tape (as in most cases) can be a lifesaver for boots. I had a pair of Columbia boots that decided to disintegrate on me during a snowshoe trip, which left holes in the back of the boot that snow kept forcing its way into. Duct tape kept the snow out and meant I didn’t have a potential frostnip issue to deal with (since I had no choice but to hike out).",{"id":2804,"title":298,"titles":2805,"content":2806,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold#microspikes",[6],"These, along with Yaktrax, have to be one of the best winter inventions ever created. Microspikes are a series of small spikes strung between a rubber outer, which you stretch around the sole of your boot. Yaktrax are similar but come in either a version with metal coils around bungee cords or a version with tiny metal spikes. Both will give you grip on ice where you would have none otherwise, meaning you can comfortably stride along paths while others are grabbing onto trees to pull themselves along. Smooth lake ice? Some people can happily glide across this in their boots, but I’d much rather have a pair of microspikes on for grip. Between the two, I recommend microspikes as they provide more consistent grip. Their main downside is that they are awkward on non-icy surfaces, while Yaktrax can be used for a short period of time on normal surfaces (although I’d avoid gravel as it sticks in them). It’s best to use both solely on ice and snow as you won’t blunt them, but sometimes it’s just not worth removing them for a short stretch before you have to put them back on again.",{"id":2808,"title":326,"titles":2809,"content":329,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold#sunglasses",[6],{"id":2811,"title":333,"titles":2812,"content":2813,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold#headlampflashlight",[6],"It’s worth always having one of these in your bag because the short days of winter can really catch you off-guard. If you’re using them for light painting in low-light photography, I recommend having one quite dim flashlight (which you can use in-frame for a longer period of time before it blows out) and one very bright flashlight (for finding your way around in the dark and for adding light beams to photos). What I use: Coast HP8R rechargeable flashlight",{"id":2815,"title":348,"titles":2816,"content":2817,"level":384},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwinter-photography-dressing-for-the-cold#chapstick",[6],"Your lips will thank you, especially if it’s windy at all. On a windy day like this one, you’ll want to apply chapstick regularly. A final few notes about taking care of yourself: if you can avoid it, don’t shower or sauna within 2 hours of going out on your shoot. Both of these strip your skin of necessary oils it needs to help insulate so you’ll feel the cold much more quickly. Also, listen to your body. If you are losing feeling in your extremities, go inside a building or vehicle, take off at least your boots and gloves, and sit in the heat until the pins and needles feeling has gone away. That photo I captioned above with a note about losing feeling in my toes? That happened because I stood still in temperatures between -10 to -20ºC for five hours and didn’t listen to my toes when they went numb. Letting them stay numb for an hour resulted in likely nerve damage that caused my big toe to lose all sensation for about three months. Not all people are so lucky. Winter can be a challenging time for figuring out what to wear, especially for those who haven’t grown up in those conditions; sunny and 0ºC is definitely quite a different beast to snowing and -30ºC, and standing still at a photo location for an hour is quite different to zipping down a ski hill. Being prepared for what the weather might throw at you will make the difference between rushing back to the car early in a shoot and sticking around to catch magic light sparkling on the snow. So bundle up, and happy shooting! Did I not cover something you’re wondering about? Get in contact with me here."]