It’s been quite a while since I’ve gone out with my camera with no other purpose than to see what I can see. When I pick up the camera these days, it’s almost always because I am working on an exercise or assignment for my course. An added bonus this time was the chance to meet up with another local photographer—we’ve been connected by social media for a number of years but have just never met IRL. We came close to meeting once, when we were both at the same invitation-only event and didn’t know it.

Yet another reason to push myself out the door—as if I needed another—was to use my new Fujifilm X-T3. I had bought it a couple of weeks back and it was time to press the shutter in earnest. I am still happy with my little X-E1 and it has served me very well, but I wanted to be able to take advantage of the new tech available in the Fuji system.

The weather was uncharacteristically foggy for this time of year, so what a great opportunity to see familiar parts of Ottawa in a less-familiar way.

All images taken with my Fujifilm X-T3 and Fujinon 18-55mm zoom.

Living in most parts of Canada means that you're either going to have to make friends with cold weather or resign yourself to spending large parts of the year indoors. Unless all your work is done in a studio, the same holds true for Canadian photographers -- and the start of this winter has been unusually cold.

I've had my Fujifilm X-E1 for almost a year and have been interested to see how it performed in the cold. A number of people have raised concerns about the lack of a weather seal on the X-E1, but I can't say that I've found it to be a problem. I never use my cameras unprotected in a downpour and am careful of blowing sand at the beach, so I take the usual precautions -- some sort of cover in the rain and an hour in a sealed plastic bag when coming in from very cold temperatures.

I recently spent an hour and a half taking pictures with the X-E1 and the 18-55mm zoom at the Mackenzie King Estate in Gatineau Park. The estate is an interesting place visually in all seasons and just 15 minutes from where I live, so it is a good option for blowing off the cobwebs. This day, however, the temperature was hovering around -17C with a brisk wind. After 90 minutes, the camera was still working as it should and there appeared to be plenty of battery life left (although I've been fooled before by the X-E1's battery status indicator : it can drop from a "full charge" reading to almost nothing in a matter of minutes. Not helpful.).

I'm happy to report that I didn't end my little cold-weather safari because of the camera, but because the light was fading and my hands were freezing.

As a sidebar, I'd be interested to hear how other photographers keep their hands warm in cold temperatures. I got tired of the mitts-on-mitts-off approach and now use Lowepro gloves. The gloves are a big improvement as they combine a covering for the hands with enough flexibility to adjust camera controls (the raised bumps on the gloves helpfully provide extra grip and tactile feeling on the controls). At the same time, they're still not warm enough for really cold weather over extended sessions outside. Manfrotto used to manufacture an interesting looking pair of gloves, but they seem to have been discontinued. Any other ideas or approaches?

So, it's 2014. Stay warm, keep shooting and have a happy and healthy year!

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