Jenny Creek, near the Savage River, in winter, remains free of ice and flowing, even at minus 40degree F temperatures. Denali National Park and Preserve is a winter wonderland in January, fresh snow and hoar ice blankets the land. Mt. Margaret, Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

From my trip to Denali National Park and preserve over the New Year, here’s Mt. Margaret and Jenny Creek, near the Savage River.

Not too many people get to see Denali like this, so it was a real treat to spend some time there. Wonderful trip.

Here’s to a great year.

Cheers

Carl

The full moon glows in the diffused light of a full lunar eclipse. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Welcome to 2012!

This image of the lunar eclipse was taken in December. What a cool phenomenon that was to see.

I hope you enjoy this shot, taken from Glenn Alps way too early in the morning.

Cheers

Carl

Snowshoeing in winter in the boreal forest of Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

A Holiday Season Special – Spring Equinox Celebration

OK, this one is so simple it’s ridiculous.

In the best of the holiday spirit, here’s what I’m doing. I’m offering a free trip to Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. This offer is open to any who who think they’d enjoy a trip like this. The more people that enter, the more people will win.

If fewer than 250 people enter, I’ll give away a trip for free to 2 people. If I get more than 250 people enter, I’ll give away 4 free spots on the trip.

Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. 6 nights in a backcountry cabin; days spent snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and/or hiking, enjoying some winter landscape photography, possible northern lights photography and the quietest, peaceful-est cabin you never been to. Here’s what you need to know.

The Trip

We leave Anchorage, drive 5 hours to Wrangell – St. Elias National Park. 5 nights in the cabin, March 18-23, and return to Anchorage on March 24. During the day, we can either snowshoe, cross country ski, or, depending on weather and snow conditions, hike.

We’ll have the van nearby so we can easily saunter down to the van, drive 10 miles down the road, snowshoe all day, drive back to the cabin and enjoy the comfort of a wood stove, hot food and a quiet like no other. Next day, we can do the same in the other direction.

The exploratory opportunities are literally endless here. Winter landscape photography opportunities abound. This is a massive landscape; Mt Sanford rises over 16 000′ right out the window. It’s also an intimate boreal forest, for some great shooting opportunities. There’s a decent chance of seeing moose in the area, and possibly caribou. The northern lights are a strong possibility; displays are typically strongest and most active right around the Equinox, so this timing is optimal for great northern lights viewing/photography. There are never any guarantees with the aurora, of course.

Price: Normally $1400.00 per person, this year 2, or possibly 4 people get to come out for free.

Dates: March 18-23, 2012

My holiday gift and thank you to everyone who’s supported what I do.

Requirements to enter

This isn’t really a contest, per se; 2 or 4 people will be picked at random. That’s pretty much all there is to it. Whether it’s a couple & 2 singles, or a group of 4, etc, doesn’t matter.

Please, no shysters. I’m offering this trip in the spirit of the holidays, and would like it to be treated as such.

And just a head’s up. I’ll be in the backcounty over the New Year, from Dec 27-January 10th and unavailable. So if you have any questions, send them along and I’ll respond as soon as I get back in from my trip to Denali.

To be eligible, simply fill in the following form.

ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED.

The more people who enter, the more people who win. In the giveaway spirit:

Please share on Google Plus:

Basic Trip Info:

This trip is not strenuous at all, and very customizable to fit your level, whether you’re a hardy experienced outdoors person, or more of a beginner. But, it’s not for everybody.

1. You’ll need to be in decent shape, capable of comfortably hiking a few miles or so.
2. The skiing isn’t technical at all, it’s not a heli-ski adventure. Nordic cross country skiing is all. We can either xc ski on trails or off-trails, but at least a little skiing ability will make your trip more enjoyable.
3. Snowshoeing, if you’ve never done it before, is straightforward. If you can hike OK, you’ll have no problem.
4. It can be cold. You’re welcome to spend all day inside the cabin by the fire, but if you really dislike the cold, this might not be for you.
5. We’re not backpacking, sleeping in tents.
6. You’ll need a sleeping bag, and clothing.
7. You can rent ski and snowshoe gear if you don’t have it.
8. If I receive 0-250 entrants, I’ll select 2 people for a free trip. More than 250 entrants, and I’ll pick 2 more.
9. No alcohol is provided.
10. You must be 18 to enter; but under 18 year olds are welcome if accompanied by an adult

Questions

1. I want to bring my family. Can I enter?

• I’d love to say yes. But each drawing is restricted to a single or one couple;  you can’t enter for more than 2 people. It’d simply get unmanageable to draw correctly.

2. Are the dates flexible?

• Unfortunately, no. The dates are set.

3. What happens if the first entrance drawn is a couple?

• Easy. Those are the 2 people who come along.

4. What happens if the 1st entrant drawn is a single?

• Easy.  If I receive, for example, 145 entrants, and then draw an entry for a single, I’ll then select another entry. If it’s a couple, then it’ll be 3 people free on the trip. If I get more than 250 entries, and select a single, then a couple, I’ll only select from the remaining single entries for the 4th person. That’s the only way I can see this working out yet staying fair and manageable.

5. When will the entry be drawn?

• January 18. At 10am, Alaska time (we’re 4hrs behind EST). That’s 2 months before the trip departure date.

6. What happens if I win and then can’t come along?

• Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee your schedule. But, if you’re drawn, and then can’t make the trip, let me know ASAP. I’m an upright guy, and I’ll do what I can to accommodate you.

7. What if I don’t have the right gear?

• You’ll need decent outdoor clothing. Ski gear and snowshoes you can rent if you don’t already have them.

8. Can I enter for someone else?

• Absolutely. But you must let me know that when you enter, not afterward. If you want to enter this, for example, as a holiday gift for someone else, you must enter their name in the appropriate section on the submission form.

9. If I win and change my mind can I give the trip to someone else?

• Don’t be crazy. No. If you want to enter for someone else, that’s fine, but you must let me know that when you enter. This is what they call “non-transferrable”.

10. Can I enter more than once?

• Now you’re pushing it. No. One entry per person/household. You can’t have you kids and your friends and your dog enter for you if you’ve already entered.

11. How will the winner/s be drawn?

• Excellent question. I had no idea initially. From looking around, this seems the fairest way. I’ll enter everyone’s info into the List Randomizer. Then I’ll use the Random # Generator to pick the first winner, and do it again as needed. This protects your info, and is the fairest I can figure.

12. How long do I have to claim if I win?

• 1 week. If you know you’ll be out of reach for more than one week after January 18, let me know before the drawing.

13. Where will the announcement be made?

• Right here on the blog, of course. And I’ll also post the info to the facebook, G+, Twitter feeds as well. I’ll email the folks who are drawn, and follow up with a call if I don’t hear back.

 14. Can we make the trip shorter?

• If you’re selected, and you and your partner don’t want to stay for 6 nights, and either cut it short, or plan for it to be shorter, that’s fine. If there are 3 or 4 people on the trip, it will be highly unlikely to change the schedule.

15. I have a few more questions; Can I contact you for more information?

• Sure; But, as I said above “I’ll be in the backcounty over the New Year, from Dec 27-January 10th. So if you have any questions, send them along and I’ll respond as soon as I get back in from my trip to Denali.”. Email me or call 770. 952 4549.

16. What’s the catch?

• There is none. This is NOT a requirement, but if you appreciate this offer, you’re invited to follow

1. Alaskan Alpine Treks’ Facebook page,
2.  Google Plus page
3. Follow on Twitter
4. Linked In.

If you’re not on any of those social media sites, you’re welcome, but not obligated, to subscribe to the email newsletter.

Below are a few photos showing the cabin, the forest, the landscape and so forth. These are all from this trip in past years. You can post any questions, comments, etc, below and I’ll get back with you asap.

Have a great holiday season, and here’s to a really great New Year. Thanks so much.

Cheers

Carl

PS: Remember to bring your camera!

Winter in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Wrangell Mountains, Mount Blackburn, Kuskulana River, Winter, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

I’d like to take a few minutes to say thanks so much to everyone for a really great year this year. We had some fantastic adventures, I met some wonderful people, and am so grateful to you all for coming out, as always. It really means a lot to me that so many people come out and share this amazing place with me. Thank you.

And I’d like to wish everyone the absolute happiest of holidays, and all of my very best to each of you for the coming New Year.

Travel safe, and travel well. Thanks again.

Cheers

Carl

Northern lights, over the Copper River, and Mount Sanford, Mount Drum and Mount Wrangell, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Part 3 of my complete guide on aurora borealis photography. So far, on Page 1, we’ve covered the initial stuff. Finding the aurora borealis, scouting your locations during the day to find potential composition sites, what clothes you need to keep warm and comfortable, the importance of bringing along a good headlamp.

Page 2 addresses the question of what camera gear you need when photographing the northern lights, and what camera settings are most useful. Page 2 also covers a broader range of issues you’re likely to run into, like how to find critical focus in the dark northern sky. Page 3, to wrap things up,  begins with some thoughts on composing your aurora borealis photos.

Topics

1. Finding the Aurora Borealis
2. Scouting
3. Clothing
4. Headlamps
5. Camera Gear
6. Photographing
7. Composition
8. Tips
9. Discussion
10. Resources

Composition points

The basic guidelines for strong composition for aurora borealis photography are no different to any other art form. But the elements you work with, and the conditions you photograph in, will present some challenging options. Here are a few thoughts on how to deal with some of those challenges. As always, the standard caveats apply.

• Include something in the foreground. The most stupefying aurora borealis display can be a great photo subject by itself, but it’ll almost always benefit by including something else in the photo.
• Do not include a foreground subject; abstracts can be great (see what I mean about caveats?).
• Experiment; shoot a longer lens. A longer exposure. A person in the foreground. Try zooming your lens during the exposure. Try moving the lens.
• Try using your headlamp to “paint” the foreground. Try using your vehicle’s headlights to really get whacky with it.
• Avoid cloud cover;  the idea situation is a clear night sky.
• Watch cloud movement and be prepared to move. I’ve packed up and driven 100 miles in the middle of the night to avoid a fast moving curtain of low cloud.
• Use clouds to your advantage, and try a composition that includes them.
• Watch the weather; and
• Watch regional webcams (aviation webcam sites are often a good choice), and
• Use available local knowledge. Call your friends across the state/region and ask what the sky looks like there. If the forecast looks good (i.e., clear) to the east of you, and bad to the west, drive east.
• Be patient. Doug, pictured lying prone on the Glenn Highway in the photo on page 1, came up here for a week, covered countless miles on foot, on the road, and in a bush plane, only to turn around and head back out the night his trip ended to photograph the aurora borealis. After getting up that morning at 5:30am, spending all day looking for photo subjects, returning to town in the evening, we then spent the night back out in the Chugach mountains hoping for the Aurora; this display came on around 2:00am and lasted maybe 20 minutes. We waited another 2 hours, and then drove back to town, 2 1/2 more hours, for 20 minutes of aurora borealis photography. A 26 hour day. Doug’s patient.
• Be willing to travel. You might have to drive 100 miles to get optimal conditions. That’s a better decision than sitting in your car, sipping coffee and listening to your iPod, wishing you were somewhere with a cloudless night sky.
• It’s your photo, not mine. So shoot it however you want to.

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Tips

That’s the nuts and bolts stuff, but most of that is pretty straightforward, and not surprising. Here are some tips I might offer so you don’t waste the amount of time and energy that I have because I didn’t know better at the time. Some tips are repeated from above, but repetition is reinforcement. (Key, if something is mentioned above, and repeated here, it’s possibly something you might want to closely consider).

• When not shooting, keep your camera lens cap on, and/or point the lens down, to avoid frost collecting on the glass; a lens hood helps. Don’t ask how I know this.
• Carry a cloth to clean your lens in your pocket for those times you forget tip #1 above.
• Do not set up where your camera lights, or headlamp, will interfere w/ other photographers’ shots. If someone else does this to you, pull out your bear spray.
• Don’t keep bear spray in the trunk of your car, it’ll freeze, and be no use to you.
• A cable release, rather than wireless; it’s nighttime, and if you want to do exposures longer than 30 seconds, you’ll need that cable release. Be careful with it when it freezes solid.
• Keep your shutter speed as low as possible, in general. But experiment.
• Do not breathe. Everything fogs up and the aurora will almost certainly disappear. Seriously, don’t breathe on your lens.
• Don’t just guess; know your subject. Learn something about the aurora, the night sky, winter landscapes, and cold air.
• Watch forecasts (see “Resources“ at the end of this article).
• Use 2 cameras and give it your best, with a 2 tripod set up, each w/ different focal lengths or diff shutter speed, compositions (maybe vertical/horizontal), etc. Don’t bother with a 3 camera setup.
• Crank up iso, turn off your NR, make some ‘verify’ shots first; sharp focused images are great, eh?
• Practice, practice and practice. When the aurora borealis fires up, don’t waste your time figuring how to screw in Nikon’s riduclous &#^$%@* screw-in cable release. Know how to use your camera, and how to adjust these settings. Standing on the snow at minus30 deg F in the dark is not the time to figure out how to change your image quality setting from jpeg to RAW. Know how to change your ISO, adjust exposures, re-situate your camera, etc. The aurora borealis, in all its silent ghostly beauty, doesn’t wait for you to find your RGB histogram.
• Be warm; cold is a distraction that you don’t want. Humankind evolved on the Grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa, not the polar subarctic regions. So pack those woolies.
• Know your subject; if there’s a good aurora borealis display tonight, there’s an excellent chance it’ll be out again tomorrow and/or the following night.
• Know your subject; the sun, seen from earth, effectively revolves every 28 days or so. This means a good aurora borealis showing may well yield another strong aurora 27-28 days later. Mark the date, watch the weather and make plans.
• Though I’ve seen the aurora right at sunset, and right before the dawn, the lights are generally most active b/n 10pm and 2am.
• Stay awake at night. I’ve never had much luck trying to sleep and awaken throughout the night and check to see if anything’s happening. Either I sleep through it, or I wake up, see the sky lit up like Krakatoa just exploded, and then spend so much time getting all my warm winter clothes on, my camera gear aligned, etc, that I miss the action. Regardless how fast you are, it WILL take 20 minutes to get outside, appropriately dressed. The aurora borealis can turn itself off faster than a light switch, so don’t dally.
• Get your rest during the day.

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Northern lights over the Mentasta Mountains, tundra, boreal forest and a small kettle pond on a moonlit night. Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Click the thumbnail to view a larger version of this photo. Use the clouds to strengthen the photo.

Discussion

Here are a few more topics that I’m somewhat ambivalent about; but considerations you’ll likely have to deal with.

• Moonlight: A full moon, or nearly full moon, can be fantastic for providing ambient light to match the aurora, lighting the foreground  and allowing faster shutter speeds. Conversely, a bright moon will lower the sky/aurora borealis contrast, and your photo can lose some detail. Silhouettes of trees, mountains, etc, can be a great subject to compliment the aurora borealis. I have no preference of a moonlit night or a darker night. I just dig seeing the aurora either way.
• Natural foregrounds: some folks don’t like shooting the aurora with any kind “manmade” stuff included. Though I tend to mostly avoid the “hand of man” in my nature photography, I’m open to including whatever elements work well for a photo. Either way is fine, with me. Doug got this killer photo with the highway under the aurora borealis. If it works, shoot it. If it doesn’t, either shoot it anyway, or move.

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A few handy aurora borealis resources

You’ll find all you want to know and a whole lot more via the following websites and links. The signups and alerts are a nice tool.

1. NOAAs space weather prediction center
• “the nation’s official source of space weather alerts, watches and warnings.  SWPC provides real-time monitoring and forecasting of solar and geophysical events which impact satellites, power grids, communications, navigation, and many other technological systems”. Updated daily here (i.e., check THAT page).
2. Geophysical Institute
• Great for forecasts out a few days or so, and not just in Alaska, but all across the polar circle. An immeasurable resource for learning all things aurora, as well as receiving forecasts and predictions.  To receive email signups for Aurora Alerts, go here. And here is a great page with info on exactly what the aurora is and the different auroral forms we see: homogenous arcs, rayed arcs, active aurora, rising vapor column and the corona.
3. Space Weather
• Another good site for following aurora stuff - they also have an Alert service, and can send you an alert by phone and/or email. They also have a host of information concerning sun spots, leonid meteor showers, and so on. Also, this is a general “space weather” website with tons of pertinent info for not just, aurora borealis photography, but anything solar related.
4. SOHO
• The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. A joint project between NASA and Space for Europe (ESA) “to study the Sun from its deep core to the outer corona and the solar wind.” The observatory was launched in 1995, and slowly moves around the sun, w/ fancy instruments that measure all kinds of crazy stuff. SOHO was designed to answer these 3 questions: “What is the structure and dynamics of the solar interior? Why does the solar corona exist and how is it heated to the extremely high temperature of about 1 000 000°C? Where is the solar wind produced and how is it accelerated?”; SOHO is also now the most prolific discoverer of comets in history, so it’s worth paying attention to, for solar buffs.
5.  Aurora alerts via Twitter
• A handy way to receive alerts on twitter. Follow Aurora_Alerts.
6. Buy this book
• The Aurora Watcher’s Handbook by Neil Davis (ISBN 0-912006-60-9)

• and DEFINITELY

• Add Alaskan Alpine Treks to your Google Plus Circles.

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So, remember all that stuff, and give it a try. And pray for luck.

I hope this helps.

Cheers

Carl

The aurora borealis (northern lights) light up the night sky above a tent. Campsite in the Mentasta Mountains, boreal forest, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

A full moon lights up the landscape, in full fall color glory, and the aurora borealis lights up the september sky in Alaska. Compare the ambient light in this picture with the one on the left here.

PS: I have no edited a copy of this article and made it available as a downloadable pdf. You can download the pdf here

Aurora borealis lights up the winter night sky over Mt McKinley, highest mountain in North America, also called Denali. The Waxing Crescent Moon is setting just above the horizon of the Alaska Range. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks

Page 2 of my complete guide to photographing the northern lights. We got started on Page 1 with a discussion on where you might find the aurora borealis, and then on scouting your locations during the day. Clothing to keep you warm in the cold polar winter and the importance of a good headlamp choice round out Page 1. We’ll start this page with a look at camera gear choices and considerations.

Topics

1. Finding the Aurora Borealis
2. Scouting
3. Clothing
4. Headlamps
5. Camera Gear
6. Photographing
7. Composition
8. Tips
9. Discussion
10. Resources

Camera equipment for northern lights photography

Shutter speed is everything. Faster is better. Yes, yes, I know, you can always get creative, try some slo-motion and long exposures and make some really neat photos. Great, but faster is still better. Try to keep your shutter speed under 30 seconds (maximum), if at all possible; I’ve had good luck with images in the 4-10 second range. I’ve shot with shutters speeds as low as 2 seconds, and high as one minute.Faster is better. You simply can’t beat shutter speed for aurora borealis, or northern lights photography.

So how do you achieve higher shutter speeds under a night sky? ISO is your friend. I’m comfortable with my D700 shooting at ISO 1600, but on my older, equally 12mp resolving D2x, I don’t like to go above ISO 200. That’s a 3 stop difference. If we look at how they plays out in this situation, let’s imagine my D2x is shooting at ISO 200, and the shutter speed yielded is 30 seconds. I have the D700, at ISO 1600 (you are shooting the northern lights with more than one camera setup, aren’t you? You should be; more on this later) yields an equivalent exposure at 4 seconds. That’s an awfully big difference

If we factor in the long exposure Noise Reduction recommended for this kind of time frame, that 30 second exposure turns into one minute between photos, and the 4 second exposure is 8 seconds, though I could also skip NR for a 4 second exposure. This means I could shoot 15 photos with the D700, to only one image with the D2x. That’s an incredibly vast difference in number of photos alone. It also gives me way more control over exposure, simply because I can shoot, adjust the exposure, or composition (more on this later) and shoot a corrected image, all while the D2x is still powering away on my first photo. Fleeting and active as the aurora can be, shoot as fast as you can.

The critical reason for a higher shutter speed though is this; the detail you will get in the resultant photos. A longer exposure tends to yield more of a ‘sheet’ of color, which can be cool, of course, but loses all the detail of a faster frame. 10 seconds and less is where you want to be, if possible. An additional reason is anything beyond 30 seconds, unless you’re shooting ultra, ultra wide, and the stars will begin to be recorded as miniature trails, instead of the fine sparkly dots you want them to be. As a general rule, 25 seconds or less, with a 24mm lens, is great. The longer the exposure, the wider the lens will need to be to keep the stars from trailing.

So, now you have your first step; jack up the ISO. Next, you want a fast lens; an f2.8 lens is typically considered (in nature photography) to be a fast lens. Most northern lights photographers I know of have at least one f1.4 lens. That’s 2 stops faster than a f2.8 lens, and again an immeasurable difference. Photographers LOVE to say how it’s the photographer, not the gear that matters. While I understand their point, they miss a greater point (for more on the subject - Your gear will critically impact your work). Faster is better. At the very least, get a 50mm f1.8 lens, a relatively cheap lens that’s very fast and sharp. It’s not quite as wide as you’ll want, but the shutter speed will be a boon.

Now you have a fast lens, you’ll really want a wide angle lens. This will be your primary northern lights workhorse lens. If you can’t afford an expensive fast wide angle zoom, like Nikon’s Herculean 14-24mm f2.8 lens, buy a 24mm f2.8 prime. It’s relatively cheap, reasonably fast, sharp, small and compact and easy to use. A great choice. A 24mm f1.4 lens is generally considered ideal.

By the way, I wouldn’t worry too much about sharpness here. Some folks worry about this, and particularly corner sharpness on the superfast wide angle lenses. Rarely is this going to be an issue, imo; you’re not shooting enough detail in the image to be overly concerned about this. Most any decent 2.8 lens or faster will be just dandy.

Note also that these lenses all become ‘less wide’ on many digital SLR cameras, the infamous DX bodies; If you shoot a ‘crop factor’ body, you’ll most likely want a wider lens. You’ll also want a faster lens, as most of those bodies don’t have the extreme high ISO quality of the full frame or FX bodies.

Active display of the northern lights over the Chugach Mountains, near the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger view of this photo.

In brief, you want a fast wide angle lens, as well as possibly a midrange zoom; 28-70mm is a great range. You’ll want to be able to shoot at higher ISO’s, so whatever camera you can manage that provides a high quality high ISO option is the choice here.

Next, you need a tripod and good ballhead. You can’t handhold this stuff. And you can’t “make do” with resting the camera on a rock or backpack or whatever other workaround we squeeze out when in the field. Bring a sturdy tripod and ballhead.

Make sure they’re both cleaned and functioning at absolute optimum performance; cold weather does weird things to equipment, and if you’re fussing with the tripod at home, it’ll be impossible to manage in the cold night air. Any water in your tripod, if you’ve been shooting elsewhere, will freeze up and the tripod will be next to impossible to maange. Factor in how cold your hands will be, and you’ll be in tears of frustration, pain, cold and loneliness (no one else will wait around and hang out if they have to put up with this). So clean, dry and re-grease your tripod BEFORE you leave home.

Bring a cable release. I generally don’t shoot with mine when I’m photographing the aurora borealis, but that’s because (a) Nikon’s screw-in cable release mechanism completely sucks, and (b) with shutter speeds in the 4-30 second range, I don’t really need one. But, if I need or want to shoot a longer exposure, then a cable release is a must have. So have it handy. Be prepared though; that lovely pliable cable release you own will become one stiff, expensive and very brittle (in other words, breakable) cable in arctic temperatures. So be careful with it, and carry a spare if possible (keep it your vehicle).

Remove your filters; without going into all the technical details, the northern lights and filters don’t jive, so remove ANY filter from your lens. Northern lights photography is not done with a UV filter on your lens. Or any other filter.

Bring extra batteries and CF cards, and keep them in an inside pocket of your puffy down jacket. Remember, supreme cold eats batteries, even the magical hundred forty dollar Nikon batteries; I bring 2 extra. I’ve never had an issue with CF cards failing, but I know some folks who have, so I highly recommend the SanDisk “Extreme” series cards if you’re shooting in cold temperatures; at the very least, have a few of those along. (Note: it’s not likely to be that kind of crazy cold temperature if you’re shooting the Alaskan aurora borealis in September; even in October that would be unlikely. But tonight it’s mid November, and the temperatures across interior Alaska are in the -20 to -40 and colder range, so stand warned).

My final note on camera gear (and this one I’ve not seen anyone else mention in similar articles around the web). Shoot with 2 cameras, 2 tripods, 2 ballheads, etc; Aurora borealis photography is not about perfect mobility in the field, so it’s the perfect time to try your hand with a 2 camera setup. I’ll set up 2 tripods and cameras, and shoot with both. I can have an ultra wide lens on one body, say 14mm, and simultaneously shoot with a 24mm, or 28-70mm or 50mm on the 2nd body. It takes a little practice, but there’s simply no reason not to try this. We can’t ever predict what the next display or burst of the aurora might be, so we’re always guessing and shooting. More options are generally going to be helpful. So get out both your cameras, and practice shooting with both together. You can try some long exposures with that backup body you carry about with you, while your main body is firing away every 8 seconds.

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Photographing

This section is to offer some input on issues when photographing the northern lights you’ll likely run into that you might normally not experience. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that all the experience we gain is really only helpful when we’re doing things we’ve done before. But even the most “experienced” people around will look like that fish out of water when thrown into a new field. So be ready to struggle a bit.

Finding Focus

Focusing is critical, and difficult. Your autofocus will likely not work at all in the dark night  air. So find a way to find infinity on your lens. It’s not where any rational sane, thinking person might think when viewing their lens focus display. So practice in advance, and learn exactly where the lens needs to be set to focus at infinity.

Why infinity? Because the aurora is far, far away. Even at f1.4, you’ll focus at infinity, and have the entire image in focus. Missing focus sucks. I’ve tossed away some of my best and favorite northern lights images because I hadn’t focused correctly; it doesn’t matter that the aurora activity peaked right then, firing off the greatest display I’ve ever seen. I caught the whole spectacle (perfectly exposed, I’ll proudly add), and wonderfully composed –  and to this day my photo is still out of focus.

Options to help focus correctly? None are foolproof, but one option is to use  Live View, if your camera has that feature, and zoom the display all the way in. Another is to focus on the moon, if it’s out. Your camera focus point should be able to find the moon at night, and focus accurately. Check it though. If your lens didn’t focus to infinity on the moon, try it again. Or, return to planet earth with the rest of us.

If the moon isn’t out, turn your headlamp on to its brightest setting and see if that provides enough light for your lens to focus on something at infinity (a 24mm at f2.8 will be at infinity focus on a subject only less than 25 feet away). If your headlamp doesn’t throw enough light, use your vehicle’s headlights. If your vehicle does not throw enough light for your lens to focus, please don’t drive at night. Seriously though, there’s almost always some way you can find to get the camera to autofocus. Failing that, manually focus and take some test shots. It’s a down and dirty workaround, but it works.

Another option I’ve heard discussed is to use the hyperfocal distance setting for your lens. At f2.8 and a 24mm lens, on a full frame camera body, that’s just over 22′; everything from approximately 12′ out to infinity will be sharp. For a lens like the 24mm f1.4, finding infinity focus, especially in the dark, is even trickier, and some folks suggest using your hyperfocal distance of 44′ at f1.4, then maybe even stopping down to f2.0, just to provide some cushion. I haven’t had much luck with this, because of the way the focal scales work on wide angles lenses. My 24mm lens has no way to focus (using the distance scale) at anything much beyond 10′, then it hits infinity. I doubt this is a good option.

You could always guess it, and try to manually focus on some object 44′ away. Good luck with that, in the dark. The deep snow you’re standing in will make pacing that distance out a real joy, and any other photographers in the area will just love watching you track up all that fresh unmarked powder snow in the foreground of their compositions.

Once you’ve found infinity, tape the lens barrel so the focusing ring doesn’t move. Some folks mark exactly which point on the ring is infinity, but this can vary a little with temperature. Lenses, like anything else, get weird in cold weather. So don’t try to preset focus and tape it in sunny Florida before you head to the arctic for your aurora borealis photo trip.

So now you’re ready to shoot. Your camera is tripod mounted, you’re standing at the overlook you carefully scouted earlier that day, the lens is wide open and glued to infinity, and you notice the beginnings of an eery glow in the dark night sky.

Test shot time

Crank your ISO as high as it might go. ISO 6400 is fine, for example, or higher. Turn Noise Reduction OFF. Shoot a nice long 30 second exposure (or similar depending on moonlight) and check the LCD (assuming the subarctic freezing air hasn’t turned your LCD, “Liquid Crystal Display”, into a No-Longer-Liquid Crystal Display). Check your composition and your focus here. Make sure the horizon is what you want, make sure the framing and balance of the shot is in the ballpark. You’re not checking exposure here, just the composition and focus. Deal with exposure later. Make adjustments to the framing and focus as needed.

Camera settings

Now you’ve got your composition framed, best you can in advance, and the aurora is starting to kick. Drop your ISO back down to a ballpark that works for your camera, lens and own preferences. I’d suggest ISO 800 is a minimum, but I’ve definitely photographed the aurora borealis at ISO 400 before, even as low as 200. It’ll depend on so many different factors, all I can offer here are some basic starting points. Measure out an exposure; whether you use manual settings or an auto-setting is up to you. I shoot on manual settings, but Aperture Priority, with Exposure Compensation, works too if that’s your gig. You’ll want control over the aperture, so I would NOT recommend Shutter Priority or full Auto.

Try a ballpark exposure, equivalent to f2.8 at 15 seconds (remember, Noise Reduction still off at this point). Now it’s time to closely review that histogram and adjust the shutter speed, and/or ISO, to get the best exposure you can. I definitely believe in slightly over-exposing the image a little, if possible, most of the time for aurora borealis photos. I can pull it back down in my RAW converter later, and that little extra exposure helps keep the file cleaner; i.e., less noisy. But it’s always a tradeoff with shutter speed, so I’ll make that call as it happens.

For your Image Quality setting, I (strongly) suggest shooting RAW, even if you usually shoot jpegs, but do what works best for you and your workflow. That means you should weigh any advice you read or receive against what you’re most comfortable with. Fiddling with this stuff, if you’re not used to it, is best done NOT when you should be shooting.

If my exposures are longer than 4-8 seconds, I might turn on long exposure Noise Reduction, but that will be dictated by the camera I’m using, what the northern lights are doing, etc. I’d rather a noisy photo of an awesome display than no photo at all. Personal preference and all that stuff, I guess.

I leave the White Balance control set to Auto for northern lights photography. I can play with it later in the RAW converter, but rarely do I ever have to. I like to keep it simple, in both pre and post-shutter work. Noise Reduction programs like Noise Ninja, etc, can be helpful, but that’s beyond what I’m here to write about today. A good exposure, a well composed photo, some patience, and a whole lot of luck go a long way to giving me the photo I want.

And in review: I shoot RAW files, auto WB,  manual exposure mode, and then alter exposure based on the RGB histogram. Some experts like to offer a ballpark idea exposure in their guides, but in my experience, it’s completely contextual; exposure depends completely on ambient light and aurora intensity, and so varies enormously. I’ll offer 2 sample exposures to make my point:

I’ve photographed the northern lights, exposed correctly, at

• ISO1200, f2.8 2 seconds. And
• ISO2500, f2.8 and 30secs.

so …..   Don’t worry about what your “How to Photograph the Northern Lights Cheetsheet” says – Check your histogram!!!

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Photographing the aurora borealis in September, surrounded by fall colors, Chugach Mountains, Glenn Highway, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

The aurora borealis is one of those experiences we can have that stay with us a long, long time. Not just in our minds and memories, but in our body, in our hearts, in our soul, in our very being; witnessing the aurora borealis stays with us in how we see the world around us. It’s a moving and powerful event, and I’m always grateful and humbled by the moment. It really is that incredible.

Photographing the aurora borealis, on the other hand, can be one of those frustrating and anxious experiences that similarly stay with us a long, long time; raises our blood pressure, causes depression, causes exhilaration, frostbite, tiredness, insomnia and too many other ailments to mention. It’s difficult, extremely challenging, and infuriating. It’s cold. It’s dark. The aurora borealis is often fleeting, ever changing, and virtually impossible to rigidly predict. It requires a clear, or nearly clear, sky. That means long hours of waiting, photographing, deleting, photographing, waiting, not photographing, shivering, mumbling, drinking coffee. It means fighting to stay awake, tearing your hair our wondering where is the best location to head toward, hours before even setting up a tripod. In short, it’s not easy.

This 3 part article is intended to help you plan for (and work around, best we can) some of the struggles and pitfalls that await. It’s still up to you, your camera and the gods of luck to actually bring home the images, but hopefully this article will help you with that. If you see any thing repeated in this article, figure that repetition probably suggests emphasis. Please feel free to add your own thoughts, questions, and so forth, in the comments section below.

A rising vapor column display of the aurora borealis (northern lights) light up the night sky over the boreal forest in the Mentasta Mountains, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Topics

1. Finding the Aurora Borealis
2. Scouting
3. Clothing
4. Headlamps
5. Camera Gear
6. Photographing
7. Composition
8. Tips
9. Discussion
10. Resources

Finding the Aurora borealis

The first issue is, obviously, finding the aurora borealis. Not always as easy as it sounds. I’ve posted a number of links and some accompanying information at the end of this article that offer some great information on forecasts and predictions. The bottom line is there are no rules, only imprecise, loose guidelines with many caveats;  but there are a few indefinite recommendations that might help you (don’t hold me to any of these; the aurora, like any natural phenomena, breaks all the rules, all the time).

• As a simple rule, come north (or south, for the aurora australis). The polar region is where you’ll most likely find the aurora borealis (though friends of mine did just happen to see the aurora in the night sky of Georgia just recently; what gives?).
• Look for spring and fall; generally, the equinox is the time the aurora borealis is most active. Displays can happen any time of year, but Sept/Oct and March/April seem to be the most common.
• If an aurora is forecast, look for somewhere with clear skies; clouds are not your friend when photographing the aurora borealis.
• Get out early. I’ve taken aurora borealis photos right at sunset.
• Stay out late (I didn’t say this is easy). The aurora borealis is most frequently active between (approximately) of 10pm, and 2am.
• Although the aurora borealis display can occur in any part of the sky, generally the sky to the northwest all the way clockwise to the southeast is your best bet; position yourself accordingly.
• Get out there; the phrase “light pollution” takes a whole new level of meaning when you want to see and photograph the aurora borealis. Get out of town, and keep whatever city light might interfere with your shooting to your south and far away. Then a little further away again.

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Next up, be prepared. Being prepared starts with one thing;

Scouting ahead

Go out during the day and find some potential locations to shoot from. Don’t wait until the sky is on fire and head out hoping to find an opening in the forest to shoot through. Realise, too, that in Alaska and most northern locales, in the winter, you don’t just pull over on the side of the road to shoot. The snow plows have been out, and the road is lined with a 3-5′ berm of packed snow; great for clambering up on and getting a little vantage point to shoot from, but not so great for trying to do a last minute 3-point turn or to pull to the side, out of the road, to shoot.

Do your homework earlier, in the light of the day, and at least have some idea of where you want to be and how you want to shoot the aurora borealis in the evening. I’ve spent too many hours driving down the road trying to navigate the icy road, looking for a place to turn around, trying to change my lenses, put on my jacket, and contorting and twisting my head outside the window so I can watch the incredible display overhead in the night sky. At 60mph, at -20F, the windchill from an open window is no fun.

I’ve been driving down the road on a dark moonless night, seen the aurora start up, then mercifully found a nearby place to pull over, jump out, setup my gear and shoot. Shoot what looked like, at night, a perfect location, a clearing (probably a frozen lake) right off the road that extended away to a spruce forest. Awesome foreground! Click. A nice long exposure to balance the aurora borealis with the dark foreground and one perfect photo of the aurora borealis and boreal forest; complete with a near perfect powerline and set of cables running smack through the center of the frame. I had no idea they were there, but my camera sure saw them just fine. So back in the car and on down the road to find a more workable location. Scout ahead.

Being prepared means being comfortable. Given that there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be photographing the aurora borealis in polar regions of the world, in the middle of a clear, cloudless night in winter months, the temperature will probably be cold. Maybe extremely cold. Possibly even really &@*#^$% cold. So bundle up. Below are my thoughts on dressing for aurora borealis photography.

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Clothing

• we’ll start at the head (though I usually don’t, when I’m getting dressed): a  good insulating hat, wool or fleece, is essential. Preferably one that covers your ears.
• a neck gaiter or “turtle”. Some kind of fleece or wool (scarf equivalent) neck band = Indispensable.
• “dress in layers” goes out the window here; you’re not (probably) going to be having to layer up and layer back down. Instead, you’re going to be layered up and that’s about it, as you likely won’t be moving around too much. Warmth is a function (mostly) of insulation. Don’t worry about countless polypro baselayers and fleece tops and whatnot stacked on top of one another; you want something puffy, like a down jacket, or synthetic fill equivalent. Puffy, bloat yourself up. You want to look like this guy. I basically go with a wool underlayer, maybe another shirt, and then the fattest, warmest downfilled jacket I own. Being warm is good. A windproof shell is handy to add if needed. Usually just the puffy works fine.
• Long underwear (I like wool) and fleece or down-filled pants; with a windproof layer over that.
• Thick warm socks.
• Insulated winter boots. Something with plenty of insulation around and UNDER your foot. Add an extra innersole if you need to. You’re probably standing on ice/snow. It’s cold, sometimes extremely cold. Make sure the boot fit is NOT too tight, compression is your enemy here.
• Liner gloves, with heavy winter mittens, work best, for me, w/ chemical heater packs as well. I keep those inside the mittens, and remove the mittens as needed to shoot, adjust my tripod, etc. Keeping my hands warm in winter shooting conditions is a mission, with no real easy solution. They get cold. My job is to minimize that best I can.

I sum all this up with the Golden Rule of the Three L’s; “Loft, Loose, and Lots” of it. Loft insulates, loose = no compression, and lots of it means don’t skimp. Here are some of the items I wear when the temperature drops; but realize much of this stuff is contextual and subjective. There are plenty of great options, and you’ll need to find what clothes work best for you; the same is true of camera gear. So let’s move on to the camera gear topic.

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A headlamp

Now that you’re warm, you’ll need to be able to see. Bring a headlamp; choose one that has a dimmer function, so you can lower the brightness of it. Too bright and your eyes have a hard time adjusting back and forth from the bright light to the dark night. You’ll need your night vision for shooting. Many headlamps have a “red option”; a red light that is a little friendlier to your night vision. Similarly, turn down the lcd brightness of your camera. Keep your night eyes up.

A word of warning; the cold eats batteries. Load some fresh batteries, and bring extra batteries with you. Lithium batteries will work better if the forecast is for extreme cold, but unless it’s super cold, regular alkaline AA or AAAs are fine. I’m also a sucker for an extra lamp, either in my camera bag or at least inside my (hopefully) nearby vehicle. Headlamps have a way of either being lost, or broken, en route. I use a Black Diamond Storm headlamp that can throw out 100 lumens, which is insanely bright, but I can also switch it to “red” or use the dimmer function and bring the light way down when I need to. It’s more headlamp than most photo situations call for, but I also use it for night skiing, etc, which it’s fantastic for.

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Snowshoeing on snow machine trail on Kennicott River, winter, McCarthy, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

The cold in Alaska, in the winter, is incredible. Its stillness, its silence, its depth, and the intimacy of really feeling alone in the frozen north woods is an experience like no other. it’s It’s almost as if the cold is some thing, some being itself, a tangible reality rather than a temperature. It’s a unique experience, and it’s not at all entirely bad – in fact, I love it. But I don’t love freezing my tail off. My friend Patrick Endres, longtime Alaska resident and a fantastic photographer says it best, “I like being in the cold, but I don’t like being cold”. It’s really an extraordinary experience, and I do look forward to the winter. But I don’t want to be cold; I want to be bundled up and cozy, and enjoy the cold from inside my insulation.

Photography in the cold is a tough gig; snowshoeing or skiing is rough when the mercury falls beneath minus 20, but doesn’t come close to trying to photograph in similar conditions, in my opinion. I haven’t found any activity that compares to photography; standing around, not moving much, trying to operate fiddly, frozen camera controls and tripods with fingers that refuse to move. I’ve crosscountry skied 10 miles and more at 45below, and I’ll take that any day over futzing with my camera at 30 below. When those mitts come off and my fingertips touch frozen metal, it burns like, well, like I don’t like it at all. So, if you’re headed to Alaska for some winter photography, such as for the Iditarod or to photograph the aurora borealis, hopefully this page might provide you some use.

Your winter clothing should align with the Three L’s: “Loft, Loose, and Lots” of it. That’s the key to warmth here. Big puffy down jackets, loose, not tight fit, and lots of clothes, head to toe = warm. Don’t skimp.

A good basic rule for cold weather clothing (and I mean, crazy, Alaska-winter cold, not 45 degrees F chilly) is a simple one; looser fits = better. Tighter fits, especially with footwear and handwear, are colder = NOT better. So keep that in mind when you order your boots, socks and gloves.

Comfort isn’t the bottom line here; at 40 below, comfort means warm. So buy your gear a little bigger than usual – a half size or so, if possible. Don’t go crazy, but don’t go with that sleek, skin-tight muscle shirt and form fitting, skin tight lycra pants you prance around in during the summer. Trust me.

The specific items list below is not meant to suggest these items are what you need, or even that these are what I think is best; it’s simply a look at what I have, or what I wish I had. Most of it works pretty well, and I’ve noted any items here that I think might not be the best choice. So, for now, my cold weather photography (i.e., not backcountry-travel) clothing goes a little something like this:

Head, neck and torso baselayer

I love my LoweAlpine Mountain Cap. It’s the single oldest piece of outdoor clothing I own, and I wear it every backpacking trip I make, and in almost all cold weather situations. It’s awesome. Other options are a wool beanie, which I have way too many of. The warmest one you can find is the one to start with. I like them too, but my Mountain Cap is #1.

I have a couple of those cheap fleece (or wool works too) neck gaiters. Just simple fleece, nothing fancy, but I love ‘em. Winter is not the same without my turtle. Definitely requisite.

For non-backpacking winter wear, I love my Ibex wool baselayer; I forget the exact model. It’s heavier than I’d want for a backcountry trip, but it’s warm and comfortable. Very warm. I also have wool baselayer tops by Smart Wool and Patagonia, and they’re great. I also have various polypro tops, and a Patagonia Capilene top – the newer (i.e., post-2010) capilene material seems a vast improvement over the older version. For a cold weather photography, anything similar to these should be fine. I also have a Patagonia R1 Flash pullover; great piece of gear, I have both a jacket and a pullover. I live in those things. But wool is my ‘go to’ layer if weight isn’t an issue. I like the feel of it more.

Note; some folks will say not to wear cotton here; but I don’t think it’s a big issue if you’re not moving around (and sweating). Cotton is OK if you’re NOT hiking around. If you’re hiking up and over yonder mountain, avoid cotton like it’s death itself. In fact, it just might be death if you have to be mobile.

Loft and lots of it

Over that I’ll just add a flannel shirt, wool or cotton, or whatever I have laying around. I might wear the Patagonia R1 flash jacket, which I love; it’s light, wonderfully comfortable, and durable (so far, anyway). But it doesn’t have to be anything fancy; it could be a cheap, warm wool flannel shirt.

Then I go for a fat, puffy down jacket – what you want is loft, and lots of it. The puffier the better. Puffier still is even better. For supercold I have a Mountain Hardwear Chillwave, which I’m very happy with. I have a couple of other lightweight Montbell down jackets (the Ex Light and the UL Tec jacket) which I highly recommend, but these aren’t full-on winter jackets; more like 3/4 season backcountry jackets. But I’d recommend their winter wear in a second. Definitely a “parka”, with an insulated hood, is the best cold weather option, rather than a hoodless jacket.

Dressed for cold, winter night photography, Alaska.

If it’s windy, I’ll add a shell. I have an embarrassingly high number of shells (and just bought one more), so I won’t bore you with details. But any windproof shell is a good choice; a waterproof one isn’t requisite at minus 20degrees, but certainly will be nice. Shells by Arcteryx, Marmot, Mountain Hardwear, etc are all nice. But my regular winter go to shell (it’s not waterproof at all) is an older Nike ‘stormfit’ jacket (left). It’s 15 years old and totally rocks. No longer waterproof at all, but warmer than warm, and pretty robust.

I have a few different pair of long underwear, both wool and synthetic (both fleece and Patagonia’s Capilene) to choose from; all of them are fine for winter frontcountry wear. The warmer the better, so I go with my Capilene 4 longjohns and an old pair of North Face 200 weight fleece pants over that. You could even go with a pair of synthetic or down fill puffy pants, like Mountain Hardwear’s Compressor, or Western Mountaineering’s Flash pants. A windproof soft-shell or rain pant works fine over that. Another great option for your shell layer is a simple insulated ski bib. The North Face Anchor Bib is ideal.

Longjohns, legs, toes and fingers

The best socks I know are my Patagonia Heavyweight Mountaineering socks; super warm, and they don’t get all floppy with wear like the Smart Wool expeditions one do. They wear well. Remember, not too small.

For winter boots, I have a pair of Columbia winter hiking boots, and they’re fine if I’m hiking, or snowshoeing, in most conditions. I also have a pair of Sorrel Caribou boots for my ‘when I’m not moving around so much’ photography. And they’re not really warm enough. A pair of Bunny Boots is probably the way to go, or extra big pac boots like Sorrel’s Intrepid Explorer or Baffin’s Endurance Boot. As you can see below, I need to get me some.

Barefeet are NOT recommended in snow.

Your choice depends on conditions and what you’ll be doing. The critical factor is to NOT buy some snug, well-fitted boot .. you want a looser than usual fit; you’re not backpacking in them, you’re mostly standing around, shuffling your feet in the cold, waiting to shoot something. Give your toes and your socks room to breathe, and your feet will be much warmer.

You’ll want boots with a removable liner, so you can easily dry it out when are done in the cold and head back inside. 2 pairs of liners are handy; one to hang by the fire and warm while you wear the others. Swap them out at night.

An extra foam or felt innersole can be great, too. The more insulation between your feet and the fiendish cold, the happier you’ll be. Remember .. buy large, not too tight.

And yes, that's me, barefoot in the snow, at minus 20deg F, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska. The things we do for a photo, eh?

For gloves I have a pair of Black Diamond Guide gloves, which are about as good as any I’ve tried, for warmth. But they’re not my ‘go to’ photography gloves, because I need something that allows a little more dexterity. These are great for backcountry travel, for skiing or snowboarding, etc. But for photography, they’re not ideal – too clumsy for me.

I have a pair of Outdoor Research Alti Mitts, and they’re great; very warm, as warm as any I’ve tried. Under that I wear a liner gloves, either a really lightweight fleece liner, or a heavier one like OR’s PL 400 series. What I don’t want is some liner gloves that are too tight. A little large is good. The fleece Mountain Hardwear Monkey gloves are great, too.

Some of my friends here in Alaska go with fur; a sealskin hat, beaver mitts, or a caribou-skin boots. Nothing is warmer.

I’ve also started using those chemical hand warmer packs, like HeatMax Hot Hands. I keep those inside my mitts; when I remove the mitts to fiddle and futz with the camera, not only do my hands get cold (“cold” doesn’t really describe it – ungodly frozen, like, so cold they’re on fire is closer), but the mitts lose the warmth inside them. So sticking my frozen fingers back inside those now cold mitts isn’t enough; they just don’t warm back up. I just have cold hands and cold mitts at that point.

Hands are definitely the hardest part of this stuff, imo. Our hands are a pretty strong argument that we did not evolve in the subarctic, but somewhere warm and comfortable; fingers are not real functional at 30 below. Keeping fingers warm, yet  using them, is a difficult task. Keeping warm isn’t too hard if they’re buried inside a big heavy insulated mitten. I’ve never been able to operate my camera when I’m wearing mittens, so I remove them, and my fingers hate me for it.

Robust

So the last thing I’ll mention about clothing here is a quick point about durability. I’m amazed, every winter, at how quickly and easily just about anything breaks, and that includes clothing. Jackets rip, gloves tear, and seams split oh-so-easily; when it’s cold like this, anything you touch will be way less forgiving than it might normally be, and the materials of your clothing will be similarly so. That being the cast, durability matters. Don’t skimp and buy some lighterweight ultralite fabric because it’s color catches your eye. Get some hardy, robust gear because it WILL tear open.

Beyond clothing

When all else fails, move. Blood flow is your best bet; everything else here is an insulative process, materials designed to best keep the heat your body generates against your body. The flip-side of that is to generate more warmth. For my toes, it means walking. Hike around. Climb – climb up the nearest small hillside, and you’ll warm up; few things heat us up like going uphill. Don’t overdo it, and raise a sweat; that’ll do you more bad than good. Pay attention to your body, and be careful. But move.

For your fingers, swing your arms; back and forth, not high, and front to back to front. 2-5 minutes; or even longer if need be. Don’t raise your hands above your heart, but swing your arms, with some vigor. Your fingers will thank you.

Yep, trying to shoot some landscape images, and the cable release in my hand, much like my beard, is frozen solid. Gently does it! Click on the image to see a larger version (and the frozen cable release) of this photo.

Just as important; stay well fed. Heat is energy, and energy, for your body, = calories. Stay well fed. Eat a chocolate bar. Eat a bagel. Eat another chocolate bar (make sure you keep these items NOT in an outside pocket, or on the hood of your car, if you don’t want to chip a tooth).

Stay hydrated. And don’t “hold it in”; if all that hot chocolate and coffee needs to be released, take the 23 minutes it requires to undo the 13 zippers and remove enough clothes to make it happen, and relieve yourself. Your body is wasting precious energy keeping all that fluid warm, and that fluid is sucking up warmth your body needs. Get rid of it.

Another option, sometimes, is to scurry back and forth between your vehicle or nearby shelter (house, motel, cabin, whatever); it’s actually pretty easy to stand around in the cold for too long, and not realize how much body heat you’ve lost, then all of a sudden hit a wall and not be able to catch back up. So, if the option is available and workable, head back inside for a 10 minute spell and stand by the fire. Then head back outside. Better to be warm and OK, and miss a photo or 2 than freeze your junk off.

And remember to stack the cabin firewood box when you leave.

NB: If you choose this last option, back and forth between a warm motel room and the cold outside, do NOT bring your camera inside. Leave it set up on your tripod beside the car, or on the porch. Bringing a warm camera inside a toasty warm cabin is a good way to toast your gear; condensation isn’t electronics friendly. If you must bring it inside, stick it inside a zip lock bag, and insulate the camera inside your puffy jacket, or leave on the floor in the corner where the cabin is coldest. And overnight, toss in a Dry Pack Moisture Absorbing Silica Gel packet to help keep it dry. This article isn’t really a “Camera Tips” offering, so maybe I’ll write another edition for dealing with your camera gear.

One last item: realize how much longer you will take dressing up to head out, and dressing down when you come back inside, than you usually do; cold weather winter photography isn’t something you’ll do well with if you have to hurry. For example, if you’re the type who likes to sleep til the last minute, then race out to shoot as sunrise lights up the sky, you’ll more than likely miss most of your shooting opportunity. All those layers and loft and puffy down and loose-fitting accoutrements will take way longer than you think they will to comfortably and properly adorn your body. So plan accordingly. Realise though winter sunrise here might be 10:00am, so you should be just fine.

All that said, there’s a blizzard on the way as I type this right now; Remember the Three L’s, and bundle up,

Cheers

Carl

Mount Blackburn in alpenglow, across the Root Glacier and Donoho Basin, winter time, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

Image of the Month for June, 2011. Mount Blackburn, in all the glory of a clear winter morning.

This is another of those photos I really wanted to shoot for along time. As grand a scene as Mount Blackburn is in the summertime, from Kennicott or McCarthy, it doesn’t get that really great alpenglow like this, because the sun rises and sets so far to the north during those months.

For years I thought about making the effort to shoot Mount Blackburn in the winter in rich warm light. Finally making the photo was a nice treat.

Cheers

Carl

Mount Sanford and the Copper River Basin, winter, dawn alpenglow, boreal forest and tundra, Wrangell Mountains, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of this photo.

Hey Folks,

From a trip to Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve last month, here’s a photo of Mount Sanford and the Copper River Basin.

The wind was fairly whippin this morning, and it was way colder than I like for it to be, but the light was nice. What a  mountain, eh?

Cheers

Carl