Visiting Churchill in Nov to shoot Polar Bears

[Michael Decker]

Never shot in cold weather conditions before...any advice for equipment, especially condensation and also recommendations for gloves would be appreciated. Thank you!

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

.375 Holland and Holland Magnum. :)

Should have no trouble here as many from BPN have photographed in the colder climes, I will see if I can find Jay Gould and get him to chime in, he has recently been in Antarctica.

[Mike Tracy]

Extra batteries for sure. The glove thing is something I have never figured out to the point I would give advice. For me I use the warmest ones possible in addition to chemically activated hand warmers when I am not actually shooting at that moment. Under those I have a pair that hunters wear that look like mittens that have a flap you can pull back to expose your fingers to the controls but also the cold. I would take a few different gloves and find what works best and keeps you warm. Don't skimp on boots, I found that out once the hard way in MT. when it was -20F. If your feet are cold you will be miserable beyond belief and thats all that will be on your mind. Even if you are in the confines of a tundra buggy you will probably be standing on cold metal.

[Sid Garige]

.375 Holland and Holland Magnum. :)



They say 270 grain is good enough but I am carrying 300 grains to Kaktovik next week. Will let you know how it works.. :)

[Mike Tracy]

They say 270 grain is good enough but I am carrying 300 grains to Kaktovik next week. Will let you know how it works.. :)

With good luck you won't have to find out. With bad luck just keep shooting (with the camera that is).

[Michael Decker]

Thanks for the help!

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Michael,

I live in central Ontario and am often shooting during winter months at -20 to -30 degrees Celsius. I have never experienced any problems with my cameras (Nikon) other than battery power is not as long as in warmer weather. The lithium batteries certainly have more life in them under such conditions. As for gloves, I did see a pair, Aqua-tech I think, I thought they would be useful, but never bought a pair. You could flip up the tip of the index finger (shutter finger) while the rest of your hand stayed in the glove. Pretty cool design I thought.

Hope your trip goes well!

[Michael Decker]

Thanks Andrew!! Just ordered a pair of AquaTec gloves. Looking forward to the trip. How do you deal with condensation returning from cold temps?

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Michael,

Sorry for slow response have been away for a week - I use a plastic bag for camera and lens when bringing camera back into a warm environment that way the condensation forms on the bag and not the gear. Any gear in camera bag that has cooled down in cold temps I simply leave it in camera bag and let it warm up slowly inside the bag. I figue that camera bags are somewhat insulated with the foam padding which will result in the inside temp of the bag warming slowly to match the warmer inside temp. Hope this is useful to you. Have a great trip!