I enjoy being outdoors in all sorts of weather conditions. I particularly like going out when the temperatures drop below 0ºF. Unique ice formations, steam rising from bodies of water and many other phenomena only appear in extreme cold. Here along the southern edge of Lake Michigan it is not uncommon to experience these temperatures a couple of times in a typical winter.

In this post I go over what clothing I have found to work well in these conditions. I also go over why I enjoy going out in this weather and what gear I use.

However, going out in these weather conditions is not to be taken lightly, particularly when you will be hiking through areas where you are unlikely to see more than one or two other people. If you are not properly prepared you can easily find yourself in a life threatening situation. I have spent years learning how to safely go outside for extended periods of time when temperatures are below 0ºF with wind chill factors of -30ºF, and how to do photography under these conditions. In this series of posts I will share how I do this in a manner which is both enjoyable and safe.

In this post I will use my most recent sub-zero excursion to illustrate how I dress to stay warm while out on the trail, taking photographs, for several hours.

One of the most important pieces of advice I can give is that you need to familiarize yourself with hypothermia. The second most important piece of advice I can give is to take your time learning how to be outdoors in extreme cold. It takes practice and some degree of trial and error to figure out what works best for your body given the conditions in your area. I began by going out for short walks in my neighborhood, where warm and dry conditions were always close at hand. It was not uncommon to discover that my warmest clothes were not nearly warm enough. As I learned from these experiences I slowly built up a well thought out and tested set of cold weather gear and practices, which in turn allowed me to stay out for longer periods of time under harsher conditions.

With that said, here is what I wore on my most recent photo hike to the Indiana Dunes on a day when the temperatures were -8ºF, with winds in the 20mph to 30mph range. I spent three hours on a 3.5 mile trail which passed through a variety of wetlands, dunes and ultimately took me to a beach at the very southern tip of Lake Michigan. Note, when I provide brand names it is for the purpose of allowing comparison to other brands and products. These are simply the items which I have found work for me, your mileage may vary.

From bottom to top…

Feet

• Heavy weight Merino wool thermal socks.
• Columbia Bugaboot III.

The main considerations here are proper thermal insulation and waterproofness, while retaining enough space to be able to comfortably wiggle the toes. I used to try layering socks with the expectation that this would lead to better insulation. However what usually happened was that the fit inside my boots was tight, and this restricted both air flow and blood circulation which led to more problems with my toes getting cold than when I stuck with one layer of socks and a roomier fit. I did purchase my boots a full 1.5 sizes larger than my normal shoe size, but ultimately width was the limiting factor. Buying even larger boots simply created too much empty space in front of the toes and interfered with my natural gait too much.

I find that the tread pattern and depth is mostly irrelevant. What is much more important is fit and the degree of waterproofness. Any moisture that works its way into the boot is going to lead to problems.

Legs

• Wool medium weight 250 base layer. I have found that LLBean sells effective and good quality base layers.
• Toomett fleece lined water repellent outdoor pants.

The pants are made with a wind resistant outer shell that is reasonably water repellent. By reasonably I mean I cannot kneel in a puddle of water for 5 minutes with out having some water soak through. But in sub-zero temperatures you are more concerned with wind resistance. It is simply too cold to encounter water in its liquid form, assuming that you do not foolishly walk out on to and subsequently break through ice. When it comes to cold weather pants I go for a loose, baggy fit. When hiking up and down sand dunes, and constantly squatting down to take photographs of interesting ice formations, you need room to move comfortably. You also want to trap a layer of warm air inside your outer layers and form fitting clothing does not provide this. Being out in extreme cold is not about fashion and looking good, function beats form, period. Rule of thumb, if it looks good on you it is probably inadequate for going outside.

Torso

• Wool medium weight 250 base layer. Again, I find that LLBean products work well for me.
• Regular T-Shirt.
• Heavy weight Chamois shirt.
• A full on heavy winter coat. I have a $300 parka from The North Face that has been worth every penny.

Your torso is the most important area to keep warm. This is where all of your important internal organs reside and the body regulates itself to keep them at the proper temperature. If your core body temperature starts to go down, the body will start to shut off circulation to what it considers less important parts such as hands and feet. So if your core is not warm, no combination of awesome footwear and gloves will keep your toes and fingers from going numb. Another important consideration, particularly when out hiking where you can generate significant body heat, is to avoid cotton as the layer closest to your skin. Cotton will soak up and hold sweat, holding against your body and eventually leading to heat loss. Wool does a much better job of wicking moisture away, and has the advantage of drying more quickly than cotton. Wool also retains its insulating properties when wet, unlike cotton.

Similar to my choice of pants, I go for a roomy winter coat. Even with three layers underneath, it is important to allow for airflow and freedom of movement. When dressed for extreme cold you should look like an over inflated blob. Again, if it looks good on you it is probably not practical for outdoor use. As a photographer I pay particular attention to the number and size of pockets. I like to be able to carry accessories like a pocket camera, extra batteries, candy bars, tissues, gloves and neck gaiters, etc. I also separate items into different pockets as much as possible. When I go to pull out that extra layer of gloves I don’t want to inadvertently pull out my car keys and lose them in the snow without realizing it. For this reason things like keys, money and cards all go into a separate pocket which will securely zip shut. I also use the same pocket every time I go out, that way when I am searching for something I know there is no need to even unzip that pocket to look, because the only things there are keys money and cards.

Hands

• Alepo Cashmir lined leather gloves (~$25).
• Heat Company Heat 3 Shell (~$170).

The hands are one of the most difficult body parts to keep warm. Particularly when you have to keep removing your gloves to operate a camera. It took me quite a while to come up with an effective solution, but what I finally settled on really works well. So well that on my most recent 3 hour excursion in sub-zero temps, my hands and fingers were comfortably warm the entire time. The key is a two part system. The Alepo brand gloves are surprisingly warm without being bulky and allowing for good manual dexterity. The combination of leather and Cashmir is very wind proof and retains heat well. The gloves are nimble enough that I can easily work all of the buttons and dials on my Nikon mirrorless camera while wearing them. Note that I do not operate the camera via the touchscreen. I have configured the programable buttons on the body of the camera in a way that allows me access to all of the settings I commonly use.

The Alepo gloves on their own are not enough when the temperatures drop in to the 20’s and below. Most of the time I simply wear an oversize pair of ordinary fingerless winter gloves over them for additional warmth, taking them off for those short periods when I am working the camera while still wearing the Alepo gloves. When the temperatures drop into the single digits and below I break out the Heat Company Heat 3 shells. Basically these are really outstanding insulating shells designed to fit over a pair of regular gloves. They are incredibly warm and were designed specifically for photographers so they have some nice features. One of the features I appreciate most is an elastic loop which fits over your wrist and attaches to the glove. Thus, when you pull the shell off to work the camera, you can just let it hang from your wrist. But features aside, I have simply never had cold fingers while wearing the gloves for hours at a time in sub-zero temperatures, the insulation is that good. They are not cheap, and I do not need to use them often. But when I do need them, they are worth the cost.

Head & Neck

• Fleece Neck Gaiter.
• Balaclava.
• FRR fur lined leather bomber hat.

The Balaclava allows you to cover your entire head and face except for the eyes to ward off frost bite. The neck gaiter provides extra insulation on the neck while keeping cold air from working its way inside your jacket as you move. The bomber hat is one of those ones with the ear flaps that you can pull down to cover not just your ears, but your cheeks all the way down to the chin. I am not a big fan of fur in general, and I tried unsuccessfully to find a hat that would work in extreme cold for years before turning to this particular style. But when you plan to spend hours at a time in sub-zero temperatures and high (30mpg and up) winds, the combination of leather and fur beats anything else I could find. Simply put, my head, ears and cheeks have never gotten cold while wearing this hat.

This is the third part of my series on doing nature photography outdoors in cold, sub-zero temperatures, weather. In this series I go over the whys and hows of this type of photography. In other posts I describe how to dress to remain warm and comfortable for hours at these temps as well as why you might want to do this in the first place. In this post I will go through some considerations regarding camera gear.

Before getting into that however, I want to reiterate how important it is to be aware of the potential risks associated with being outside for extended periods in extreme cold. Hypothermia can kill, and it is not all that difficult to go from everything being fine and dandy, to finding yourself in a truly life threatening situation. So please make sure that you familiar with hypothermia, its symptoms and risks.

Now, on to the camera gear.

There are two primary considerations I have when it comes to selecting what camera gear I will take when going out in extreme cold.

One consideration is that everything I bring has to be operable while wearing my Alepo gloves. These gloves are warm enough for use on their own for short periods of time, while providing enough tactile feedback to be able to work the buttons and dials which are found on Interchangeable Lens Cameras (ILCs). I do not use equipment which would require me to expose my hands and risk frostbite while handling cold metal objects. This rules out any gear which requires the use of a touch screen to operate. I know there are gloves which are supposed to be touch screen capable, but I do not feel that they are adequately warm for these conditions.

A second consideration is battery life. Most battery operated equipment will cease to function very quickly when the temperatures drop into the single digits and below. It is not that their batteries run out or lose charge. Rather the internal resistance in the battery increases as temperatures drop which prevents them from being able to output enough current to power the device. Once the battery warms back up it will operate as normal. One way around this limitation is to carry spare batteries and store them in an inner pocket, close to the body where they will remain warm. Then when a cold battery stops functioning it can be swapped for a warm one. The cold battery can then be put back in the inner pocket where it will warm back up and be ready when the other one gets too cold… In this way you can simply keep swapping batteries back and forth, though doing so does require you to access inner pockets and allow cold air inside your outer layers.

ICL Cameras Vs. Point And Shoots

Both of the above considerations lead to the general conclusion that a DSLR or Mirrorless ICL camera will be the best option for taking photographs in extreme cold. Their controls are generally large enough, and spaced far enough apart to be easily used while wearing less bulky gloves. Point and shoot style cameras tend to have much smaller controls and rely more on the use of a touch screen interface to be used with any type of gloves. Additionally, the batteries used in most ICL cameras can tolerate low temperatures much better than the typically smaller and lower capacity batteries found in point and shoot style cameras.

In my case I carry a Nikon Z6 II as my main camera. So far I have encountered absolutely no issues using this camera in temperatures as low as -10ºF for periods of up to 3 hours. In order to reduce the load on the battery I leave the large screen off as much as possible. I compose and operate the camera entirely through the viewfinder, which is my normal mode of operation even when the temperatures are moderate. I generally do not review my images while out in the field and I turn the camera off when I not in use. Only when I need to position the camera in a manner that precludes using the viewfinder do I resort to using the large screen. But even then I manipulate camera settings such as the aperture, shutter speed, focus point, etc. using the buttons and dials, not the touch screen.

I also usually carry a small Sony RX100III in a jacket pocket. I have found that with this camera I can pull it out, turn it on, frame and take a photograph, and then turn the camera back off before it shuts down because of low temperature power draw issues with the battery. Occasionally I will move the camera inside my heavy jacket just to let it warm up a little bit to give it a bit of extra juice. But even so it is not uncommon for the camera to suddenly power itself off while I am attempting to take a photograph with it at these temperatures. The reason I bother with it is that, for reasons I will get to in a moment, I try to avoid changing lenses on the Nikon while out in these conditions, particularly if there is blowing snow. Typically I have a moderate telephoto macro lens on the Nikon, so I use the Sony for quick wide angle shots. I find that the combination of the Nikon and Sony give me enough flexibility in terms of field of view to meet my needs.

Lens Choices

Normally I carry several lenses for the Nikon, and swap them as needed over the course of an afternoon. But in deep winter weather I try to minimize, and sometimes eliminate lens changes while out in the field. There are just too many bad things which can happen when trying to swap lenses on a camera outdoors in the winter. Even with gloves that allow for good tactile feel, you are still more likely to drop a lens or have difficulty getting the mount to line up. When the temps are really low, it is often windy as well. And there is likely very fine snow and ice which is getting blown around. This is not the best thing when exposing the sensor of your camera while swapping lenses. Even one flake of snow getting on the sensor is going to be visible on your images, and could result in a difficult cleaning job once the camera comes back up to room temperature.

For these reasons I think carefully about which lens I want on my Nikon before I head out. In my case, since I specialize in close-up macro style photography I usually go with either my 100mm f/2.8 Micro, or my 200mm f/4 Micro. While this is good for up-close work, it means that landscapes are limited to the moderate telephoto range. This is where the Sony RX100 comes in as it provides more flexibility for the occasional landscape image. Sometimes I will choose to go with the Z 24-70mm f/4 S zoom lens. It has near macro capabilities along with the wider focal lengths. The downside to using this lens, for me anyways, is that for closeup work you really need to get close to your subject which is not always possible in nature photography. The times I have swapped lenses have been when I have come upon a scene, usually the beach when there is substantial shelf ice built up, that really screams out for the widest angle lens I have. So I have risked a lens change to swap in my Z 14-30mm f/4 S wide angle lens, but I usually then plan on sticking with that lens for the rest of the days outing.

Tripods and Filters

For the type of photography that I enjoy, a good tripod is essential. So my camera basically lives on the tripod. It is absolutely worth spending a bit extra to get a good quality tripod, as this is one piece of equipment where going cheap is worse than nothing. Aside from the usual considerations of rigidity and stability, the leg locking mechanism is the one thing you really want to pay attention to in regards to use in cold weather. I prefer tripods with flip levers for releasing and locking the legs in position. They are easy to manipulate even while wearing bulky gloves, and I have never had them freeze up.

I generally stay away from using any sort of filters in very cold conditions, they are just too difficult to work with while wearing any sort of gloves.

Aside from tripods and the occasional polarizing filter, there are not really any other photographic accessories I use while in the field.

Acclimation

Keep in mind that your gear will be subjected to an 80º to 90º temperature differential in going from your warm home to outside. Metals and many plastics will undergo thermal contraction and expansion as their temperature changes. As anyone who wears glasses knows, going from a warm moist indoor environment into a cold and dry conditions is almost guaranteed to cause condensation. Particularly on glass surfaces such as lenses and view finders, and worst case on your image sensor if you remove a lens before everything has come to thermal equilibrium. To minimize the chance of issues related to temperature changes, I usually put all of my camera gear in the trunk of my car on the drive out to the trail head. That way everything will have cooled down to the ambient outdoor temperature by the time I head out on the trail.

At the end of an outing I usually put all my gear in the back seat to allow it to begin to warm up on the ride home. But occasionally I will hop into the car after hiking one trail, and then drive to another trail to do some more hiking. Then it is best to put your gear in the trunk so that it remains in equilibrium with the outside air temperature while in transit and everything is ready as soon as you hit the next trail head.

Other Bits and Pieces.

Chemical hand warmers. I have tried a variety of these, without much success. Although they get warm to the touch, they just don’t put out enough heat energy to warm up my feet or hands. Sorta how lighting a match to try and warm a large room. The match itself burns very hot, but it does not put out enough energy to add a meaningful amount of heat to the room. Personally I have found that if you are dressed appropriately you don’t need warming packets, and if you are not dressed adequately they will not makeup for the heat you are losing. So my best advice is to invest in the right clothing to stay warm using the heat your body generates naturally.