The challenges of photography in the high Arctic during winter can be daunting. If you are on an expedition in the high Arctic, those challenges can increase tenfold. I guide ski expeditions to the geographic North Pole and I have been shooting photographs in polar conditions for the last five years. The topic of cold weather shooting is well covered, but the information is usually geared towards going out for the day and then going indoors to warm up, download images and recharge batteries. This post is focused on spending multiple days outside in sub-zero temperatures. The main challenge shooting in polar conditions is indeed the temperature. At 20—30 below zero Fahrenheit, batteries will go flat very quickly without taking precautions. Turn off your automatic image review and only turn on the camera's LCD when necessary. When possible, use a pro-level camera that allows the adjustment of settings with external switches and dials rather than relying on the LCD menus. If you need to use the LCD for settings, find out how to set up custom presets and use them. The bottom line is conserve your batteries.
I use two ways to get more life from my batteries. The first way is to remove the battery from the camera and keep it somewhere inside my clothing, close to my skin. I did this over the last three days in northern Minnesota when the temperature stayed between 25 below zero to zero — mostly around 10 below. I was able to fire off 600 shots on a Nikon D700 with one battery. I kept my camera in a sling pack on my back and kept the battery in the palm of my fleece glove. When I wanted to take a shot, I would pull out the camera and the battery and put them together. Then I would separate them and put the battery back in my glove. That worked pretty well, and I was happy with the number of shots I got, but I did miss a few shots trying to assemble the parts. Also, I probably hesitated and missed a photo a few times because I didn't think I could put it together in time. Putting the battery inside the palm of my glove worked, but it got in the way when loading a dogsled, pitching a tent, or anything that required good hand dexterity, though I didn't seem to have any trouble cross-country skiing with this setup. If this method appeals to you, a different location for the battery might be good to consider. You can sew a small pocket into your long underwear shirt with a velcro closure or an elastic edge. Place the pocket close to the opening of your jacket so that you don't have to dig too deep to get the battery and be careful that it won't interfere with pack straps or harnesses.
My second method of gaining battery life is to use chemical warmers. I don't use hand warmers, but instead use body warmers. You can find them here. They have an adhesive backing and are much larger than a hand warmer. I wrap the warmer around the hand grip of the camera, just below the control wheel. This surrounds most of the part of the camera that holds the battery. I keep my camera in a bag that is padded with closed cell foam (like most camera bags) and closes with a zipper. The body warmer keeps the battery warm (and, I'm sure the camera to some extent) nestled in the bag. When I pull the camera out to take a shot, the battery is in and ready to go. An added bonus is that the warmer packet keeps your fingers warm while you shoot. I am sometimes shooting with a lighter glove on my hand, and the extra warmth will extend the amount of time I can keep my hand exposed. At the North Pole, in -25 degree temperatures, I expect to get a full day of travel and shooting out of one warmer. On a ten-day expedition, I plan on a battery for every two days. I usually get three days. Much of my time is spent with guiding duties, so I am not shooting continuously. If your sole purpose for the expedition is photography, you may need to up the battery count to one per day or more, but with the warmers, you are sure to get more life from the ones you have.
Spare batteries can be kept cold with no problems. I keep my batteries cold until I need them. As my current battery gets close to depletion, I will grab one of my spares and put it against my skin to pre-warm it. The battery life will be much longer if you don't use them cold. In fact, you can often squeeze out a few more frames from an apparently dead battery that has gotten too cold by warming it up in your glove or against your skin and then replacing it in the camera. I will put a piece of tape on my fully charged batteries and remove it as I put it in the camera so I can keep track of which batteries I have used.
There are a lot of proponents of carrying the entire camera inside one's clothing to keep it warm. I sometimes keep a small point-and-shoot camera just inside my jacket. Most of the people traveling to the North Pole are using this method with success. I personally find this to be too bulky with an SLR. I am far too active during the day to make this practical. My camera would have been demolished long ago negotiating a field of ice rubble or wrestling with a dogsled.
My approach to cold-weather photography is to keep the batteries warm and the camera cold. Once I begin an expedition, my SLR lives outside in its camera bag. I don't bring it into the tent at night or warm it by the stove. I try to keep the temperature of the camera fairly steady. Certainly, this is an issue when going inside a warm building or a heated base camp tent. If you expose your camera to warm temperatures after it has cooled to outside air temperatures, the camera, sensor, lens and everything else will be coated with condensation. If kept in the warm temperatures, the condensation will dissipate as the camera warms to room temperature. The droplets that formed on your sensor may leave marks that will require cleaning. The worst thing you could do once the camera has condensation on it is to go back into the cold before it dissipates. The sensitive electronics could be permanently damaged, and the entire camera will need a complete thawing before using it again. All of the condensation will have turned to ice. If you need to be able to shoot fairly quickly upon going into warmer temperatures, the point-and-shoot camera kept near the body should do the job. When I do finally go inside at the end of an expedition, I will leave my camera gear in its bag, zipped closed as long as possible before opening it. After about an hour, I will crack the zipper open a little and let it sit for another half-hour to an hour. The amount of time needed to bring your gear safely up to temperature will depend on the difference in temperature between the outdoor cold and room temperature. In my case, the two and one-half hour flight from Barneo ice base camp to Spitsbergen, Norway is plenty of time. Usually, I am able to start reviewing my images on the flight.
I usually keep all of my images on their memory cards until I reach civilization. Battery power is too precious to be used for moving images around. If you are shooting for pay and the loss of images is equal to the loss of a job, I would consider a portable digital media storage device. These are basically battery powered hard drives with card reader slots built in. You can get these with or without screens to review your images in the field. Epson makes a range of these devices with beautiful screens. They are very expensive and a bit large, but still smaller than a laptop and you can still review your images. A smaller and less expensive version is made by Digital Foci. It doesn't have a screen to see your shots, but it costs a fraction of the Epson's price. Either of these devices or other similar ones will keep your images backed up until you can get to your main computer. If you can, I would recommend still keeping the images on the memory cards as well for redundancy. If you run out of memory cards, at least this gives you the option to keep shooting. Memory cards have become relatively inexpensive and take up very little space, so I would buy as many as you can afford to take with you and a good case for them. Pelican makes a waterproof/resistant super tough case and I also like the cases made by Lowepro.
It is very important to be as comfortable as possible when shooting in the extreme cold. Dress appropriately for the conditions, stay well hydrated and fed. On my hands, I wear a light windproof glove if I am on cross-country skis or snowshoes with an oversized overmit that I can wear over the top during periods of inactivity. In temperatures down to about 10 below zero, I sometimes wear mittens that have built in fingerless gloves. Any colder, and I do everything possible to keep my fingers covered. Try to get used to working your camera controls while wearing gloves. I find that there are very few things I need bare fingers for.
Just a few last thoughts for the extreme cold. When changing lenses, turn your back to the wind and hold the camera in close to your body to keep driven snow out of your camera body. During heavy snowfall, you might need to hold the camera and lenses inside your open coat to make the switch. Another note on lenses–don't ever blow on your lenses to remove dust or snowflakes. You will just frost up your lens and will have to carry it inside your coat until you can thaw it. Use a dedicated blower with a rubber bulb. Test your blower for cold squeezeability by putting it in the freezer for a few hours and then trying it. Keep a microfiber cloth handy to remove frost from your camera viewing screen caused by your breath. Try to use a camera bag that you can work out of while you wear it, like a waist pack or a sling-type pack in stead of a backpack. It is important to make accessing your camera as easy as possible, or you will find yourself passing by shots.
Extreme cold is psychologically and physically challenging, but the rewards are images that are unique. Few people go into the environment that is the home of the Polar Bear, Ringed Seal and Penguin, and fewer still are doing serious photography there. Just keep your batteries happy and yourself comfortable and you can focus on being creative .
If you are interested in traveling somewhere cold with me, contact PolarExplorers. We can go to the North Pole, South Pole or Greenland. I also like to go places that are warm with the Northwest Passage
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