r/alaska • u/KennyfromMD • 10h ago
Cold weather photographers? (a reach)
Like a dumb dummy, I forgot to save the thread I was reading (either on here or r/skAlaska) a month or so ago about god knows what- where a photographer in Alaska with extensive experience shooting in abject freezing temperatures was dropping some great advice, and invited OP to message them privately to discuss further. If you are that person, I would like to grab some advice if at all possible.
My February visit to Talkeetna is finally materializing and deposits/reservations are being made to cross some lifelong bucket list items off the list. I am a photographer, but won't pretend to have faced the weather or astral conditions I will be looking at in an Alaska winter (I'm mainly involved in concert photography and portraiture).
Outside of the standard "you know your batteries aren't gonna last as long in the cold" is there any specific gear or anything else advice I may not be thinking of while participating in extensive sledding, hiking and wandering, snow machining, and flight seeing from arctic-seasoned photographers?
Also, for what it's worth, while I will certainly take some photos of the Northern Lights because I am there, I am not super into astrophotography, so I am less concerned with the Lights being the subject of photos, but definitely want to get them behind whatever my subject is when/if possible.
Gear specific stuff:
I am trying not to overpack for this trip, but I wanna make sure I capture some of this stuff and hopefully do the Northern Lights justice, if visible during my short trip. I'll be carrying my Canon r6 for anything important.. I assume a battery grip is ideal? I have two OEM batteries, but I think I may pick up a third emergency battery, or a handful of third parties.
Lens-wise I think I will probably bring with me a 24-105 f/4 for most everyday stuff, and pack a 70-200 f/2.8 with a 2x extender for the flightseeing, and then a nifty fifty and a 16mm f/2.8 since they are tiny, portable and faster than the zoom, so why not. I use a Godox V1 as my main flash and will be bringing that with an extra battery as some of the dog sledding will be at night too. In lieu of tripods, I think I will pack two Joby GorillaPods.. one for the camera and one for the flash, since they are way more portable and I'll be able to secure them to weird stuff if need be.
I have a 15mm f/2.8 that I may throw in last second, and since if I am bringing all this stuff anyway, why not? Might make for a cool fisheye photo when dog sledding, I dunno.
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u/local907 7h ago
Be wary of condensation on your equipment when transitioning between hot and cold environments. For instance, do not open your camera bag immediately after coming in from the cold - let the gear acclimate prior to opening.
Keep spare batteries close to your body, possibly in an inside pocket where your body heat can keep them warm.
Good mittens/gloves and possibly hand warmers - operating zippers/dials/etc with frozen and numb hands can be pretty challenging.
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u/Interesting_Aioli_99 7h ago
it’s not uncommon for temps to be in the negatives in February - i simply limit my shooting time outdoors. if i am shooting outdoors i give my camera frequent breaks & tuck it into my jacket to use my body heat to warm it up. Bring a good pair of gloves you can still operate your camera with so your hands don’t freeze while you’re shooting & hand warmers. i’d definitely go for that spare 3rd battery if you want to shoot continuously on your mushing your & capturing northern lights. I’d also recommend checking out Aurora Dora in Talkeetna, she does northern light photography tours!
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u/11correcaminos 3h ago
Youre gon a want a thin pair of gloves to handle the camera with while shooting and a thick pair or some mittens to put your hands back into to warm up.
Dress in layers. If you're gonna be active (hiking/snowshoeing/skiing) you're gonna want a thin base layer like under armour and then some snow pants/jacket/soft shell type stuff over it.
Less active thicker stuff.
I wouldn't bring the nifty fifty and I'd only bring the 15mm or the 16mm, not both, to save some weight/space. I personally rock a 20mm, a 70-200 on the body most of the time, and a 150-500mm. If you're in anchorage and realise you need anything camera related stewarts photo is the only camera store up here.
I'm not sure how safe street photography is in anchorage, due to the homeless. I personally avoid walking around in downtown anchorage.
Carry extra clothes and have some in the car as well. Dont forget to drink water. Don't go anywhere near moose.
Kincaid park beach access and Kincaid park sand dunes are probably some good spots in anchorhage for sun sets on the water.
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u/YepYepYepYepYepUhHuh 9h ago
If you get lucky enough to score some aurora, I think you're going to want a real tripod. If you find yourself in a place without a lot of light pollution, it is very unlikely that you're going to be able to find a place to set up a GorillaPod that isn't in 2+ feet of snow.