Share your winter photography tips and advice..

I plan on shooting quite a bit outdoors in the winter, and feel like there are a lot of tips out there from more experienced photographers that i could use to help me. Id like to hear about any good gear, clothing, anything really that could help out while shooting in the deep cold. I can share what I have learned the past few years while shooting with my old trusty Elan 7 and a few things ive picked up in the forums..

-Get those gloves with exposed fingertips and a fold-down mitten cover for the fingertips. Good for warmth and easy use of camera controls.
-keep spare batteries close to the body- the cold kills battery life
-put gear in ziplock bags before entering a heated environment to prevent condnesation
-be sure to bring a polarizer
-dont bother with any LCD panel.. they become uselessly sluggish when cold

its kind of late, so i cant think of much else for the time being..

There are two things you need to look after, yourself and your camera.

Yourself,

Check the weather before you go out and see if there is an extreme weather predicted, if so stay home.
If you are going out plan for severe weather even if it isnt predicted.
Make sure someone trustworthy knows where you are going, and when you will be back so that they can raise the alarm if you are late (best to write it down, peoples memories arent the best when they are stressed).
Wear a hat, most of your body heat is lost through the head
Look in outdoors/hiking shops and read up about base layers, mid layers and outer layers
Make sure that you take a thermos with hot drinks with you so that you can warm up when you need to.
Check that your phone is fully charged
Take a map, compass, gps, spare batteries if you are going off the beaten track.
It is easy to take off clothing you have if you get to hot, its impossible to put them on when you get cold if you dont have them.
The days arent as long now so be ready to start for home earlier, it is very easy to get lost in the dark.

Cameras,

Spare batteries in pocket to keep them warm
Heavy duty plastic bag (garden refuse sack) for changing lenses in or just covering camera whilst waiting for the rain/snow to stop
Good waterproof backpack (lowepro dryzones are excellent)
Work slowly, fingers have less dexterity when cold and gloved, change lenses etc at ground level.
If your camera is on the tripod you should always have one hand on the tripod too. The wind can blow up without warning and tripods do topple.

all the best, have fun, be safe

BearSummer