There are times that Mother Nature creates a really good photographic environment. The soccer photo below was shot during a humid spring evening after a torrential rain storm at a high school soccer game under the lights.
I know it's tough to be out in the cold, or rain, or mud, capturing sports photos. But inclement weather conditions allows you to capture some pretty dramatic shots. So suck it up. The kids are out there playing. Get off your duff. Come out of the minivan. And take some pictures of your kids in bad weather.
I've posted about how I use the Gerbing heated gloves during my cold weather photography. The following note from the Chief Operating Officer of Gerbing was sent to me a few weeks ago which I posted as a comment on a previous post. Here's that note from the Gerbing COO....
A reply from Chris Haffly, COO
Gerbing's Heated Clothing:
Randall,
Thanks for writing, it is always great to hear from customers. I am also
glad to hear the gloves are working for your outdoor photography and able to
help you keep your hands warm when out in the cold.
I just wanted to let you know that we are implementing a change to our Core
Heat gloves next winter where we will be concentrating the heating
technology more on the palmar side of the fingers. We have been working with
doctors at Boston University who have been testing our gloves with patients
who suffer from cold hands. As a result, we have designed to make this
change which we feel will make the gloves even better for those who suffer
from Raynaud's and other conditions which cause your fingers to go numb.
The gloves I use to keep my hands and fingers warm while taking photos on cold days are from a company called Gerbing. Gerbing makes a whole host of heated clothing. Since I suffer from a condition called Raynaud's Disease (my fingers get extremely numb when exposed to cold for even short periods of time), the Gerbing heated gloves are a perfect solution for cold fingers during cold weather photography. Not only do these gloves keep my hands and fingers warm, but they also give me enough dexterity to fully operate my digital camera equipment without any sacrifice in speedy camera and lens operation.
These Gerbing heated gloves are powered by lithium ion batteries (one for each glove). Each battery has 4 heat output settings (100%, 75%, 50% and 25%). On the 100% setting the battery charge will last for about 2 hours. The charger will charge both batteries at the same time which is a very convenient time saver. Admittedly, these gloves are expensive ($180.00 for my camouflage version pictured above). But when you've got to get the pictures during cold weather, there is no better choice. Check out the video description of Gerbing's battery powered heated gloves below.