Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2017/12/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Thanks, Don. I got cold just reading that!! I was surprised that we stayed as warm as we did in Siberia and Mongolia last year. It was 40 degrees below zero when I photographed the Ice Festival in the Gobi Desert. My batteries died after 3 hours but I stayed pretty warm! Silk underwear, glove liners, and socks seemed to help more than anything. I normally photograph people so thinking of landscapes and skies requires different lenses. I'll survey the widest I have - 12, 19, 21, 24 - and probably will take the fastest. The 12 is so tiny I can take it even if I don't use it much. Thanks, again. Tina On Tue, Dec 12, 2017 at 9:42 AM, Don Dory <don.dory at gmail.com> wrote: > G'day and I hope the snow where you live is more manageable than in > Atlanta, > Warmth, don't bring jeans, bring several pairs of the new technical pants > rated for the temperatures that you expect with the accompanying under > layers. Do the same for your three or more upper layers including a hat > that covers your ears and a scarf or balaclava that covers your face. The > newer versions of the above will pack flatter than down and dry much > quicker. You could do worse than buy some outfits from military surplus > for cold to extreme cold weather but the goods available at REI etc will be > properly rated for where you are going. If you are toasty warm then you > will take your eye out of the viewfinder and just enjoy the show instead of > rushing back to shelter. > > The suggestion for wide angle lenses is appropriate as the sky is a big > place, plus with a wide angle you get a longer exposure time before the > background stars start to blur; with a 21 I believe you get in the > neighborhood of 15 seconds. I also think that if you don't already have an > area-swiss mounting system on your tripod solution you should look into > one. With the appropriate mount on your camera you can quickly and with > little hand on metal time securely mount your camera to the tripod head > when your are cold and possibly more concerned with not sticking to your > gear than securing in tightly. Don't ask please. > > Fast lenses will be very helpful, remember everything is at infinity and a > fast lens lets you use a lower ISO giving you much cleaner images. I ran > into some issues with my A7R as my top ISO for clean images was 1250-1600 > and I didn't want star trails for some images: the northern lights will > pose similar problems as you want a long enough exposure to show the > beautiful forms but not so long as to show star trails for some of your > images. > > Also, take a look at some of the articles written about shooting the stars > over the Grand Canyon especially getting the milky way orientated how you > want it; you may be after the Northern Lights but if they aren't > cooperating then you can shoot the stars and the landscape around you while > you wait. > > Last, battery life in the cold is very, very short. If you can create a > warm pocket space then rotating the battery after every few shots will help > keep you shooting as a warm battery will take some more images before > succumbing to the cold. Ten charged batteries would not be too few if you > intend to stay out for hours in the cold. > > All the best and I will report the experiences of a friend of mine who is > in Iceland now sitting by a warm geyser watching the lights... > > On Tue, Dec 12, 2017 at 9:11 AM, Tina Manley <tmanley at gmail.com> wrote: > > > Thanks, everybody. I knew I could count on you for good advice! I will > > consider taking an M body as back-up. Tripod and monopod. Extra layers > of > > clothes. I'm going to try out my Voightlander 12 on the SL and see how > > that works! I know the 19R does great. I'm going to pack my camera > > backpack, weigh it, and start taking things out ;-) > > > > Tina > > > > On Tue, Dec 12, 2017 at 2:04 AM, Philippe <photo.philippe.amard at gmail. > com> > > wrote: > > > > > Xmas is close, very close. > > > > > > Wouldn?t it be high time for Tom to finally get his own SL body? > > > He?s been dreaming of one for so long ... > > > ;-) > > > > > > Against the cold, I don?t see many solutions but the onion technique. > > > I sometimes even wear silk gloves under my ski gloves ? makes it > > difficult > > > to feel the shutter release button though. > > > > > > I?ll ask a friend who made the trip with his nikons, and report when > he?s > > > anwered to me. > > > > > > Till then > > > > > > Amities > > > Philippe > > > > > > > > > > Le 11 d?c. 2017 ? 23:26, Tina Manley <tmanley at gmail.com> a ?crit : > > > > > > > > PESO: > > > > > > > > One of the items on our bucket list is to see and photograph the > > Northern > > > > Lights. We have planned a 25 day trip through Norway and Sweden > > > beginning > > > > January 24 until February 17. It is going to be cold and dark. We > > will > > > > stay in a cabin on an island some of the time, but there are a lot of > > > > transfers from boat to bus to train all along the way. > > > > > > > > In a nutshell, we need to travel with as little luggage as possible. > > > Right > > > > now, I plan to just carry my SL with the two SL lenses that I have > > 24-90 > > > > and 50/1.4. I have the M to L converter and a couple of M lenses and > > > the R > > > > to L converter and couple of R lenses. Battery charger, batteries, > > power > > > > pack, memory cards, tiny netbook, downloader, external hard drives, > > > cables, > > > > converters, power plugs. That should all fit in my Lowepro backpack > > and > > > an > > > > M Classic satchel. > > > > > > > > Clothes will be long underwear, jeans, turtlenecks, down coats, > boots, > > > > gloves, hats, thermal socks - all fitting in one roll-on bag. Small > > > > travel-sized tubes of toothpaste, soaps, etc. > > > > > > > > I've made my list and checked it more than twice. Am I forgetting > > > > anything? Have you photographed the Northern Lights? Any > > > recommendations? > > > > > > > > TIA > > > > > > > > Tina > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Tina Manley > > > > www.tinamanley.com > > > > tina-manley.artistwebsites.com > > > > http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/3B49552F-90A0- > > > 4D0A-A11D-2175C937AA91/Tina+Manley.html > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Leica Users Group. > > > > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Leica Users Group. > > > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Tina Manley > > www.tinamanley.com > > tina-manley.artistwebsites.com > > http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/3B49552F-90A0- > > 4D0A-A11D-2175C937AA91/Tina+Manley.html > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Leica Users Group. > > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > > > -- > Don > don.dory at gmail.com > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > -- Tina Manley www.tinamanley.com tina-manley.artistwebsites.com http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/3B49552F-90A0-4D0A-A11D-2175C937AA91/Tina+Manley.html