PBS Program

[Shadowman]

I watched a great program on PBS Sunday night called Christmas in Yellowstone, I think it will be rerun on Thursday the 23rd. The narrator said that the temperature was below zero and I noticed the photographer do two things that struck me as odd. One, he placed his lens right in the snow so he could do a lens change and two, he carried the camera mounted on a tripod over his shoulder with a very large lens attached. Both practices are against everything I have read on caring for your equipment. I believe the links below will show what I am talking about.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episo...oduction/4292/

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episo...m-murphy/4456/

[n0ct]

I'm quite familiar with Tom Murphy's work from Yellowstone, having several of his books sitting on my table. He does an amazing job of capturing this amazing place in all seasons, but especially in the winter. I've also been lucky enough to spend approximately 7 weeks over the last 15 years skiing and shooting in Yellowstone in the dead of winter. It's an amazing place to experience in the winter with the bitter cold snow next to boiling water and mega fauna everywhere. At the temperatures that he's working at, the snow won't stick to anything like a lens. Once you've been outside for an hour or two, the camera is fully equilibrated to the often single digit (Fahrenheit) temperatures.

[Shadowman]

I'm quite familiar with Tom Murphy's work from Yellowstone, having several of his books sitting on my table. He does an amazing job of capturing this amazing place in all seasons, but especially in the winter. I've also been lucky enough to spend approximately 7 weeks over the last 15 years skiing and shooting in Yellowstone in the dead of winter. It's an amazing place to experience in the winter with the bitter cold snow next to boiling water and mega fauna everywhere. At the temperatures that he's working at, the snow won't stick to anything like a lens. Once you've been outside for an hour or two, the camera is fully equilibrated to the often single digit (Fahrenheit) temperatures.

Very interesting, I understand Tom Murphy was using a film camera in the video, is that what you use or digital? On his website he listed required equipment for treks, which included a laptop, batteries, etc. I doubt if digital electronics could last at those temperatures for very long.

[n0ct]

In the mid '90's, I used film and transparency, and then switched to digital around 2000. Battery life is reduced at those temperatures, but I never had a problem with batteries failing. They're small enough to keep inside a jacket, although I often carried a spare in my pack. I never back country camped in winter there, so I could always "thaw" things out overnight in the cabin or yurt. The real advantage in working outdoors in Yellowstone country is that the humidity is usually very low except near the thermal features.