Clicking wonderful highland during winter is a dream for any photographer and it’s a tricky delight too. Winter landscapes are different during winter months when you compare same place with summer months. Same clouds, same sun, same place looks totally different during winter months and it gives feeling of fairy tales and you start believing that you are in wonderland for sure. Hands up : Capturing winter fairy tales and wonderland is not so easy. Extreme cold weather, high altitude end up with bad dreams sometime if you are not prepared well. Extreme cold weather conditions are really not friendly for your camera equipments and yourself as well. This is not compete guidebook for winter photography but you can definitely use this as reference point for your winter trips in highland. This reference note I have created based on my decade travel & photographing ladakh & highland during winter months.

1. “I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you
know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” ― Lewis Carroll
PHOTOGRAPHY IN WINTER, LADAKH

2. WINTER WONDERLAND OF HIMALAYA - LADAKH
Clicking wonderful highland during winter is a dream for any photographer and it’s a tricky delight too. Winter
landscapes are different during winter months when you compare same place with summer months. Same
clouds, same sun, same place looks totally different during winter months and it gives feeling of fairy tales and
you start believing that you are in wonderland for sure.
Hands up : Capturing winter fairy tales and wonderland is not so easy. Extreme cold weather, high altitude end
up with bad dreams sometime if you are not prepared well. Extreme cold weather conditions are really not
friendly for your camera equipments and yourself as well. This is not compete guidebook for winter
photography but you can definitely use this as reference point for your winter trips in highland. This reference
note I have created based on my decade travel & photographing ladakh & highland during winter months.

3. PREPARATIOS
Most important, if you are not healthy, safe and warm you
can’t think of going for winter photography trips in
highland of Ladakh. Here are some of the basics tips how
one should prepare him/her self for winter trip to keep
warm. You have to get ready to fight with subzero
temperature, In highland of Ladakh temperature might
drop below minus 30-40 degree celsius easily.
WARM CLOTHES & Winter Gears
• Insulated Jacket
• Insulated Pant
• Gloves
• Head protective gears
• Warm Socks
• Thermals and fleece to add extra warmth.
• Good quality shoe, Insulated will be good.
• Gaiters if you are planning to walk in snow.
• Good quality water bottles
• Get extra if you need anything specials.
• Tents, Mattress, Sleeping bags for such
temperature

4. CAMERA GEAR PREPARATIOS
I must say, it’s complete personal choice and all depends
on you what kind of photography are you planning to
perform. It does not mean that you spend extra money
to just buy on expensive camera gears.
Here is a small list of my choice, when I travel in highland
• Digital Camera (Nikon D700 FX) and try to keep
spare body if possible Nikon D90 to avoid quick
lens change in such dusty and cold weather.
• GoPro for fun shot.
• AF-S NIKKOR 16–35mm f/4G ED VR for my
extra wide landscape shots and interior of
monasteries.
• AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D (Portrait)
• AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 G ED (Landscapes &
Portrait)
• AF-S VR Zoom- 70 - 300 mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED
(Wildlife, Bird and remote landscape and portrait
as well)
• Filters, CPL, UV, ND, GND as per your need.
• Very Good Tripod
• Camera Remote
• Memory cards as per your need
• Extra batteries to keep in mind you might not get
electricity to charge them.
• Snow cover for camera if you don’t want to
spend money on special cover any plastic bags
will work.
• Clean cloths to clean camera equipments as and
when need.

5. HEALTH IN HIGH ALTITUDE
You are not mountain a goat. That’s why it is
much more important to keep yourself healthy
to enjoy your trip. If you aren’t healthy and fit
there is no way you can enjoy your trip, some
simple tips to keep you fine and fit.
• Keep yourself warm with proper clothing, layering is
always good instead of having only one big jacket.
Layers of clothes help not to go out your body warmth.
You can take off one layer if there is temperature
change and you feel warm enough to remove one
jacket off. Best way to layer is, Thermals, T-Shirt, Fleece,
Down Jacket / Wind Stopper / Rain or Snow Jacket.
• Water is life and drink a lot, I suggest at least 3-4 litters
daily thats minimum, there is a say in mountains “ drink
a lot and pee a lot, thats the ways to acclimatise fast.
• If you are flying in to highland from sea level, please
take two days rest before adventure out.
• If you are with BP or heart troubles, please consult your
doctor before adventure out in high altitude.
• Normal headache is ok, if you feel something unusual,
speak out quickly to get help.
• Moving from warm to cold and vice-versa is really not
healthy. make sure you are taking enough time for this.

6. HEALTH IN HIGH ALTITUDE
You are not like this young monk of highland
and that’s the reason why one must keep
healthy to enjoy trip. If you aren’t healthy and
fit there is no way you can enjoy your trip,
some simple tips to keep you fine and fit.
• Read basics for AMS - Acute Mountain Sickness, will
help you to understand better if you get AMC. Please
give more info click here http://www.altitude.org/
altitude_sickness.php
• AMC is not instant, it takes time to hit you.
• Make sure you and not climbing fast, take it easy,
maintain your heart beats and breath properly.
• Coverup your head and toes (feet) properly and don’t
sleep with down jackets your body needs to breath
as well.
• Avoid both, don’t drink cold water from river or
mountain stream, its good to have boiled water.
• Temperature changes very rapidly, keep your warm
clothes handy.
• Avoid over dose of alcoholic drinks. you are not out
for weekend party.

7. CAMERA HEALTH
This is much more important to keep your
camera system health to enjoy trouble free
photo-shoot.
• Make sure your batteries stay warm, otherwise cold
temperature is known to deplete battery performance by
50 to 70 % easily. If you are not using camera, remove
battery and keep in to your pocket or to your body to keep
warm and get maximum performance.
• If your camera is magnesium alloy body, its proven to catch
cold very quickly and might face issues with shutter jam,
please cover your camera properly.
• Never hold your tripod with bare handed if it is made out of
metal, otherwise it not so easy to remove your hands from
metal that easy, unless you have hot water around.
Advisable to hold tripod with gloves. Warping around some
tapes or piece of cloth is wise idea to handle metal tripods.
• Avoid changing lens in open cold weather.
• Use snow / rain cover to protect your camera from sudden
snow or rain, if you don’t have one, use large size plastic
bag to have home made.
• Filter ring is made out of metal and get stuck in cold
weather, be extra carful if you want to change it.

8. CAMERA HEALTH
This is much more important to keep your
camera system health to enjoy trouble free
photo-shoot.
• Make sure your gears are well covered when you
are shooting in clod weather, but it is equally
important to cover them even if you are not using
them. Even-though it’s dry area, but it might get
fog on lenses and mirrors and damage your
equipments.
• If your equipments are weather sealed, that is
added advantage.
• I use trekking bag-pack for carrying camera and
equipments in winter photography, why ? I can
cover camera and equipments with my extra warm
clothes easily.

9. PLANNING YOUR TRIP
Planning your winter photography
adventure in well advance. Why ?
• Getting winter gears is really not easy to find and buy in
India. You really don't want to take risk to travel in subzero
temperature without preparing yourself.
• It’s always better to consult people who has traveled
enough in that region, just don’t believe on internet
weather forecast website to understand weather.
• Find local contact to understand weather conditions better.
• If you are going into remote area, make sure you have
enough food to survive for extra days if something goes
wrong. try to stay around some civilisation or habitation if
possible to get some help quickly if anything needed in
emergency.
• Go in group and get right people in the group.
• Stay away from being extra adventurous, if you are alive,
you come next season.
• If possible don’t go with kids in such wilderness and
extreme cold weather.

10. PLANNING YOUR TRIP
Planning your winter photography
adventure in well advance. Why ?
• Keep your medicine kit ready with basic drugs and some for
altitude sickness.
• Train yourself for basic first-aid.
• Consult your doctor if you are having any specific need of
medicine.
• Respect local culture and customs.
• Take care of local ecology and make sure you don’t disturb as
much as possible. Don’t tease wild animals.
• Bring lots of good sprite and happiness along with you.
• You are out in wilderness don’t act as you are on luxury trip
and try to accommodate as per local conditions.
• Don’t practice wrong with locals that means don’t take
pictures if they don’t wish to and don’t pay extra money them
to get pictures.
• Our good habits help very well just not us but our fellow
traveller to get better treatment and respect from locals. Keep
some dry fruits and food to support you in odd hours.

11. PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
Some tips to make your pictures better
during winter photography trips.
• Every time you are can’t be lucky as others and
sometime you are more lucky than others, so never
complains about weather and respect it.
• Clear Sky, Clouds and sunrise are added advantages
to for your photography and use it as soon as you
find right moment.
• Clear sky and moon creates dramatic change in night
photo-shot, grab that opportunity.
• Study the place before you start shooting.
• Froze lakes, semi frozen rivers and waterfalls are
amazing gift of harsh winter and grab that
opportunity.
• Shooting under snowfall is not so easy and mostly
you see only white around, but take this as
opportunity and do handwork you will have great
rewards.

12. PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
Some tips to make your pictures better
during winter photography trips.
• If time and budget permit, try to visit same place
again and again, I am sure you will be surprised to
see different photography opportunities for same
place.
• Winter Street photography is amazing, push yourself
hard to go out from cozy tent or room or sleeping
bags.
• Don’t disappoint your self by seeing others pictures,
every moment is different and can’t be created
again. What all you capturing is unique in its own.
• Apply your mind before buy any expensive
equipment, everyone has their now style of
photographing objects, for example I love to shot
landscape with telephoto lens than extra/ultra wide.

13. PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
Some tips to make your pictures better
during winter photography trips.
• Keep your camera lenses clean and possible clean
equipments everyday once you are done with
shooting.
• If possible keep a portable laptop to review your
images everyday, that helps if you are doing some
mistake. camera LCD is too small to judge right
pictures.
• If this is your first trip to such highland and harsh
winter, better to go with export.
• Never try to push locals for anything extra as they
are not superman, weather is harsh and tough for
everyone.

14. PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
Some tips to make your pictures better
during winter photography trips.
• Camera setting is not extra ordinary in winter and
can be learn easily.
• Snow whiteness is proven to make your camera
sensor / meter fool, some adjustment with exposure
and white balance make your image wonder.
• ND, GND and CPL or PL filters are good to get
details in snow.
• Use tripods during long exposure shots and possible
use remote to fire your camera shutters. If you don’t
have remote, don’t worry just set shutter time delay
to avoid handshake.
• If you are making time-lapse or long exposure, make
sure you cover camera proper so cold does not catch
cold on equipments and damage.
• Some lenses may not autofocus properly in subzero
temperature, use manual focus system.

15. PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
Some tips to make your pictures better
during winter photography trips.
• For night and star trails photography a little
knowledge of astrology will be helpful.
• For stars trail photography, north or south side is
good to get right trails in pictures.
• Galaxy or Milky way is not rocket science to
photograph, some study and homework make it
easy.
• Add some reference point such as mountains or
small house in picture.
• Moon light came be used creatively and
understanding of lunar movement can help creating
better pictures.

16. QUICK BITES
• Trip preparation is key of success.
• Preparing Camera equipments is key for amazing
pictures.
• Understanding health in altitude is key for enjoying
adventure.
• Going with right group is always good of first timer.
• Create notes.
• Last but not least, carry large load of positive
attitude and sense of humour.
You might want more information and want to
discuss specific topic for winter photography ?
Don’t hesitate, I’m just an email away
manisholiday@gmail.com
!
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