So here I am in Montreal. I knew that I was going to be in freezing weather so I ask around to see if there was anything I needed to do to my camera or more importantly my lenses since they had glass. Turns out that around 20F degrees you should try to keep your camera bundled or near your coat as much as possible. Cover the lens when you're not shooting and if your camera body is made of metal be careful about exposing those part to your face.
Jen O'Sullivan told me that you should watch out for condensation. Extreme cold is also very low in humidity, so as your film moves through the camera, electric discharge can happen causing lighting bolts to expose on your film or ignite your gear. Ever see Inglorious Bastards? Remember how they took down the movie theatre at the end? Yep.
If you are going to be in around 0F degree weather then you should look into getting your gear 'winterized'. According to Paul Howell you should...
"replace the lubricant with a special winter graphite lubricant, if your 35mm or MFF has a metal body use a camera case, tape any exposed metal that might come in contact with your face when focusing, use a soft touch shutter release as it is easer to operate with gloves. Use a wooden or graphite tripod, if you camera has a built in motor winder you want to wait until you can defrost your camera and let it warm back up to room temaputer before rewinding so you need to watch your film count so you shoot to the end and auto rewind. Use a polorizer and if shooting in the snow use an incident meter as reflective meters are prone to under exposure in the snow."
Well hope this helps bring some light to the subject. I'm off to do some more shooting and I'll have some new pix for your to check out. Until then stay warm and toasty!
-Santiago Valencia
