Winter will soon be upon us with lots of great photo opportunities. There are several things that will make it possible for you to remain comfortable and to create great images in cold weather.

Let’s take care of your comfort first—learn how to dress properly. If you’re cold, you’ll not be able to do your best work. Dress in layers and consider carrying chemical hand/foot warmers that can help keep your hands and toes warm.

You also have to take care of your equipment—if you’re outside in the cold and enter a warm building, it’s very important to prevent condensation on your camera and lens. Always carry a large plastic bag and place your camera inside it before you walk in the door. (This will allow the condensation to build up on the outside of the bag and not on your camera.)

There are several things you’ll need to keep in mind when photo- graphing outside in the winter. For one thing, getting the proper exposure requires some thought. A lot of people don’t really understand how a light meter works. Did you know it’s trying to read 18% gray all the time (as on a gray card, for example)? You have to remember to adjust your exposures, especially in snow.

In snow, your light meter is actually more of a “lie” meter. You will find when shooting in snow, it’s best to overexpose your images from 1/3 to 11⁄2 stops, depending on how bright the sun is and what your subject matter is. Since most of us shoot digitally, you can preview the image on your camera and change the exposure to ensure your compensation is correct.

If you are using a tripod, I suggest buying pipe insulation and using it to cover your tripod legs. When you have to pick it up and move it, the insulation will protect your hands.

A major problem shooting in wintertime is that batteries lose power much more quickly in the cold. Keep your spare batteries in an inside pocket of your coat to keep them warm. If it’s really cold and you know you’ll be out for a long time, consider turning off your camera’s auto-focus in order to preserve power. I also use “gaffer” tape on the back of my camera to help keep my cheek warm and prevent the camera’s battery from losing power quite so quickly.

A remote switch-extension will prevent you from fumbling around and removing your gloves or mittens when trying to find the shutter release button (remote switch-extensions do use more battery juice, however). Personally, I love remote buttons because they keep your hands warm all the time.

If you have “live view” on your camera, try using it instead of putting your eye up to the eye piece. Breathing cold air onto the eye piece will fog it over.

Have fun and don’t let the cold weather stop you from getting out there and shooting!

Larry Broder (naturallightphotography.org) can be reached at kodi44@earthlink.net. He is a member of the f/32 Photography Group, an organization that meets the second Wednesday of each month at the Reuters Center on the UNCA campus at 6:30 p.m. The diverse individuals of WNC who are members of the group known as f/32 are young and old, professionals and amateurs. The common bond is a mutual love of photography and what it can show us about our world. Find out more at f32nc.com.