Proper Winter Photography Gear and Equipment

So I know you're looking at this picture right now and you're saying, "Absolutely no way am I gonna get into winter photography!" It's because you see all this gear and you're thinking, "My gosh, I can't carry all that stuff in." Well, you're right. You can't carry all that stuff in, and based on where you're located you find ways to adapt to the environment that you're going in to photograph. So I've kinda come up with a very simple idea that is akin to what you see photographers using up in the Arctic where they're pulling pulks, which is a sled that goes behind your back. So I just went down to my local gas station and thrift shop and picked up a $15 plastic sled, and then took it home and I drilled in some drill marks that are occasionally through it that I was able to intertwine rope through, which allows me to put my gear inside of this and cinch it down so it can't flip and fall. The other is that I put a rope on, with a carabiner on the front, that allows me to pull this sled out behind me. And then I've got an old inner tube that I've attached to the ropes, and the reason I use an inner tube and I just don't have the rope is that if you have the rope and you're going up a steep hill, the rope just keeps pulling on you, whereas the inner tube has a little bit of give and so it kind of helps inch the sled along. So, plus it's more comfortable. And then what I'll do is I'll just wrap this around my waist, and I have another carabiner that I'll put in the back to keep this cinched, and off I go. And I just drag my sled with all my gear in it. It's as simple as beans. It's a $20 operation that allows me to go virtually any place. So I'm about ready to head out to a lake shore where there's some ice caves. And so I wanna carry all this gear but I don't know what kind of conditions I'm gonna meet. So some of the things that I like to bring with me is a pair of snow shoes in case the snow gets really deep, especially in the drifted areas. I also bring with me, if I wanna get away from things, I have a dry bag, which you use on rafting trips. You can get a variety of these things. The nice thing I like about this one is that it's extra sized. Photographers need extra size in almost everything. But the great thing is that this bag, once I've filled it and turned it in, also turns into a backpack, so I can carry a dry bag with my cameras, anything in. If I'm going underneath a waterfall, it's dripping, I can get my gear into it, completely dry, by using a bag like this. And this is one of those extra items that you can bring with you if you know the conditions that you're going into. Other, normally that I bring, of course, is my tripod, and inside my tripod case in the wintertime, again, because I'm pulling this, it's not on my back, I always bring an umbrella. And people say, "An umbrella, in the winter?" Well, when you get towards the spring and you start getting that wet snow that comes down and clings to everything, most importantly your camera gear, if you have an assistant with you or if you can hold your umbrella while you're shooting, your camera gear stays dry. And it's a great way to continue to shoot. So I'll pile these things into my sled. I also have, in those drill holes that I've made, that have the cords. I have bungee cords which will go top and bottom. So the pulks which they're using in the high Arctic, they have poles that go down the side, and the poles keep the sled directly behind you. In my quick little makeshift invention here, if I'm going up a hill in a slant, the sled has the possibility of sliding one side or the other. So I put bungees in my gear, so when it's inside of that, if I flip over, it keeps everything inside the sled. So one of the other tricks that you can bring, and this is important for winter photography, well, especially in the warmer, more spring-like winter conditions, is I have an old tarp that I've grabbed out of the garage, and I can lay this down inside my sled and I can wrap everything in it. So if it does start to snow, my stuff stays dry. As well as when you're out shooting, you can take this tarp and lay it in the snow and lie on the tarp, and then you stay dry. So it's a really simple, very lightweight addition throwing into your sled. The other is that along with my camera bag, I have another one of these watertight satchel cases. And this is great because my extra hats, my extra gloves, in case I punch through the ice, get my feet wet, all of that stays in here and stays dry all the time. So it's basically, if I'm going on a back country trip for the entire day or overnight, all my gear can stay inside of this. And that then goes inside the sled as well. So I can get everything piled in here nice and tight, nice and compact. I can take my camera bag. My camera bag will fit in here. And then I use my bungee cords to lash everything inside, just by going from one side of the sled to the other, then I have another one which goes lengthwise. And then you simply just take this tire tube around you and you can see how easily that sled moves, and I can go virtually anywhere. If the terrain starts to get a little dicey, I can simply reduce the length that I'm pulling on this and I'm in good shape. It helps keep, the closer the sled is to the back of you, the more stable it is. The longer it is, for long distances, it's more comfortable, but if the terrain is getting iffy just shorten up your distance between that. So that's a great way to get your gear out into the back country, carry a lot of gear, and not have to have your hands occupied with that gear. So that's one of the ways we can get around. When you get back, after you've been outside all day long, one of the problems you're gonna face is your camera gear has been exposed to cold weather all day long. When it gets exposed to cold all day long, when you go back inside, where it's warm and comfortable, your camera gear is gonna condensate instantly, especially if it's been brutally cold outside. Bad for your gear. Two tricks you can do. Keep your camera bag closed when you go back inside. When we go back inside, take your warmest jacket, wrap it around your camera gear, and just set it off into a room for an hour or longer until it acclimates to the temperature inside. You won't have any condensation issues when you go back inside. It's really important to do that. Keeps your camera gear from getting wet, possibly from shorting out and then causing it so it does not function. The other thing I wanna point out is that when you're out in the wintertime and you're changing lenses in the field, if you have fleece gloves or liners like I do, most of these things are static monsters. And especially if we're in a really cold, dry climate, there's a lot of static electricity in these. If you're changing your lenses and you're wearing these liners, remember that your sensor is also electromagnetic. And when you do that, the static electricity that's on these, hence dust and debris, when you change lenses and you're close to your lens, it automatically wants to suck itself right onto your sensor. Be very careful when you're changing your lenses that any of this synthetic material, this fleece, static, clinging material, is away from your sensor when you're doing it. In fact, it might even be better if you can take it off, put your lens on, and slide your gloves back on. So these are just a couple of the little items that when you're out and about in the wintertime, take these precautions, make your life easy when you travel, and you'll have a good shoot.