Yellowstone

[Marsh W]

I'm leaving on a trip this coming Thursday (1/22/09) for Yellowstone National Park. I have two days on the ground there to shoot anything I want and I'm starting to freak out about what to plan for.

Any tips, tricks or magic offerings for shooting in this type of Winter environment would be really appreciated.

[R lake]

Plan for lots of snow , lots of cold weather, and snowmobiles.

[Jim Bryant]

Go online and check out the locations and weather conditions at Yellowstone.

It is essential you dress properly. Layer, no cotton material as it asorbs evaporation from your skin. Polypropylene material is the best, then a second layer of fleece or down material. Lastly a third layer of breathable wind and water resistant material such as GoreTex. Same as protecting your feet. Wear light undersocks under your thick socks and waterproof boots.

Keeping your hands warm is important. I wear Lowe Pro Photo Gloves and large ski gloves to insert chemical heat pack to keep your fingers functioning.

As for your cameras, cold weather is extremely hard on batteries. Make sure you keep them inside your coat.I normally wear a down vest and keep the spares in a pocket there.


My gear I keep in a camera backpack.

when it's snowing or raining I keep my gear inside of Aquatech covers, but they are really expensive. The one for my 400mm f2.8 runs $250.00, the 70-200mm is about $200.00 and the 16-35 cost over $150.00. But you can get by using a gallon ziplock bag, with a hole cut out to stick your lens through.

Now for some tech talk. Bright snow can fool a camera's exposure meter into thinking the scene is brighter than it is. That often results in an underexposed picture, especially if you shoot in the automatic mode.

To compensate for the bright snow, set your camera's exposure compensation to +1 and bracket around that setting, or even try setting it to +1 1/2.

For shooting in extreme conditions, keep your camera inside your jacket, only taking out when you plan to shooting pictures. If you camera does get cold, don't warm it up too rapidly when you go back indoors: condensation could get inside the lens or camera. Seal the camera in a plastic bag and let it warn up gradually for an hour or two in a cool place other than a hot hotel room.

Have fun!

[chopstickjayne]

Wow, Jim! Great advice here. I learned a lot reading your response. Thanks for taking the time to be so thorough with your information!

Jayne

[Jim Bryant]

To keep your monopod from sinking in the snow, attach a ski pole basket (the bottom part of a ski pole) onto it. This works like a snowshoe and keeps it from sinking.

[windrider86]

This isnt brilliant advice, but lord am I jealous. Last time i was there was a year after the big fire. Cant wait to see what you come home with!