Bryan Hansel Photography

Participant Guide Menu

Workshop-Specific Gear

Some workshops need extra equipment beyond the basics on the Gear page. Find your workshop below and read just that section. Each one covers the lenses, accessories, and special items I recommend, along with any required gear (such as crampons for winter). If you’re not sure which section applies to you, check the workshop name on your registration email or ask me.

Shadows of November and Gales of November

Required: cleats or crampons. Both workshops take place while the North Shore is changing from fall to winter, so you may find either season’s conditions, including ice along the shore. We may not need cleats or crampons, but if we do run into icy shores, you’ll be glad to have them. See Winter Workshops: Cleats or Crampons Required for specific requirements and recommendations.

Clothing. Early November on Lake Superior brings a wide range of conditions, from cool, damp days (averages run about 39°F for highs and 25°F for lows) to snow and ice, and wind chills near zero, sometimes in the same weekend. Because we want stormy, moody weather for photography, the worst conditions I’ve seen at this workshop were sunny and 70°F. The best were winds gusting to 30mph, temperatures in the low 30s, massive waves, and driving rain. Pack for the cold either way. The wind off the lake is the biggest factor: at the water’s edge it feels much colder than the forecast, and we’ll often be standing still there for long stretches, including before sunrise.

Dress in layers you can add or remove:

  • Base layer: wool or synthetic. Avoid cotton, which stays wet and cold. A polar explorer friend of mine once told me that the secret to staying warm in the polar regions is wearing multiple base layers. It works.
  • Insulating layer: a fleece or a down or synthetic jacket. I typically wear a fleece and a down jacket under my rain gear. It’s nice to be toasty warm while waiting for sunrise or sunset.
  • Outer shell: a windproof, waterproof jacket and rain pants. Waves can throw spray, especially during Gales of November.
  • Hands: warm gloves or mittens, plus thin liner gloves you can work the camera in. Bring a spare dry pair and hand warmers.
  • Feet: waterproof boots with good traction and warm socks, with an extra pair in your bag. Shoreline rocks are often wet and can be icy, which is why cleats or crampons are required (see above).
  • Head: a warm hat. Deer hunting usually opens on this weekend. We’ll be in areas where hunting isn’t allowed or hunters are unlikely, but it’s worth bringing a blaze orange hat too.

For more on cold-weather clothing, see Winter Workshops: Recommended Clothing and the Weather page.

Filters

  • Shadows of November: A solid ND filter is required. The goal is moody, long exposures, so you’ll need a 5-, 6-, or 10-stop ND. A 3-stop medium grad can also be handy and recommended.
  • Gales of November: No filters are required, but I recommend at least a 3-stop medium grad. The ND filters above also work well in this workshop.

For more on filters, see the Filters page.

Grand Marais Fall Equipment Notes

For photography gear, bring a wide range of lenses from wide angle to telephoto. Make sure that you bring a polarizer. It’s an essential filter for fall color. Bring rain gear, camera rain cover and a rain umbrella! The umbrella is handy when or if it rains. Also, bring sturdy hiking boots or hiking shoes. We will hike into several location and the trails are rocky and rugged.

Destination Workshop Equipment Notes

For photography gear, bring a wide assortment of lenses and the normal gear that you’d bring. Bring rain gear, a camera cover, and a rain umbrella. The umbrella is handy when or if it rains. We stay in the field during rain. Also, bring sturdy hiking boots or hiking shoes. We will hike up to 4 miles round trip and some of the trails can be considered moderately rough. See the equipment list for more details.

Consider bringing a super telephoto zoom, such as the Sigma or Tamron 150-600. This works well if we run into any wildlife, and it works surprisingly well at sunrise and sunset. You will also want a wide lens for the stream photography.

Infrared Workshops Info

For infrared photography workshops, consider whether or not to convert your camera. If you know you will do infrared often, consider it. If your mirrorless camera can use their magnetic internal filter system, I’d recommend getting a full spectrum conversion from Kolari, and then buying the internal filters you want. If you’re just trying infrared and may do it now and then, then get a filter. Don’t convert a camera.

IR Filters

The standard IR filter over the years has been the Hoya R72. The hardest part is deciding what size to get because until you try the filter on a lens, you won’t know if your lens is going to work well with infrared. Kolari offers a Hotspot Database that you can consult. You want to make sure that your lens doesn’t have a bad hotspot before committing to use it for infrared. If it’s listed as good in Kolari’s database, it’ll likely work well with the R72.

Once you figure out if your lens will work well for IR photography, you can buy the filter in that size. The other approach is to buy a filter in 82mm, and then buy step-up rings to use it with other thread sizes. As far as step-up rings, it really doesn’t matter for brands. Brass are more expensive but are less sticky. KASE makes good ones, but any $10-15 step-up would be fine. Here’s a listing of step-up rings on Amazon. Breakthrough Filters makes great brass step-up rings.

Camera Conversions

If you know you will do infrared often, consider a camera conversion. If your mirrorless camera can use Kolari Vision’s magnetic internal clip-in filter system, I’d recommend getting a full spectrum conversion from Kolari, and then buying the internal filters you want. For the class, I’d recommend either a 590nm or 720nm. The 590nm is more versatile when it comes to false color, but the 720nm is the classic for white foliage and blue skies. Also get the Hot Mirror filter to be able to use the camera for visible light photography.

Macro Workshops

What to Expect

Macro photography is slow, deliberate work, and that’s part of what makes it rewarding. We’ll spend most of our time outdoors searching for wildflowers and other small subjects, working close to the ground, and making careful adjustments to get the shot. A successful session might yield a handful of truly strong images. Patience is the most important skill you can bring.

Plan to get low. Much of the workshop will have you kneeling, crouching, or lying flat on the ground to find the best angle on a small subject. Wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty or wet, and consider waterproof or water-resistant pants — morning dew will soak through quickly. Knee pads make extended sessions significantly more comfortable and are worth bringing if you have them.

Macro Gear

The following advice will help you prepare for your macro photography workshop. You don’t need every item listed here, but you do need a way to focus close — either a macro lens, close-up filters, or extension tubes. Choose at least one.

Essential (pick one or more close-focusing options):

  • Macro lens (105mm or longer recommended)
  • Close-up filters (macro diopters) for a telephoto lens
  • Extension tubes

Recommended:

  • 5-in-1 reflector (approx. 20–24″)
  • Light diffuser: photography umbrella, scrim, or Visqueen sheeting
  • Spray bottle (for water droplets)
  • Soft brush (for cleaning subjects)
  • Clothespins or small spring clamps or a Wimberley Plamp
  • Sturdy tripod that can go to ground level

Optional:

Optional Lighting:

Macro Lens

A dedicated macro lens is the easiest and most capable option for close-up photography. Unlike close-up filters or extension tubes, a macro lens is designed from the ground up for close focusing and delivers the sharpest results with the least fuss. I recommend 105mm or longer. Shorter focal lengths require you to get very close to your subject, which can disturb insects, cast shadows, or simply be difficult to work with on small wildflowers. A 105mm or 200mm gives you comfortable working distance between the lens and the subject. If you don’t own one and aren’t ready to buy, close-up filters or extension tubes are solid alternatives.

Close-up Filters (Macro Diopters)

If you don’t have a macro lens or don’t want to buy one just yet, you can use close-up filters, also known as macro diopters. They screw onto the end of a lens and allow it to focus closer. Combining close-up filters with a 55-200mm or 70-300mm lens can create a serviceable macro setup.

When shopping, look for achromatic close-up filters rather than single-element ones. Achromatic filters use two elements to reduce color fringing and produce noticeably sharper results — the price difference is worth it. When ordering, make sure the filter’s thread size matches your lens. Here’s a link to an Amazon search for achromatic close-up filters: http://amzn.to/1EEhYZA

If you plan on doing a lot of macro photography, you’ll ultimately be happier with a dedicated 105mm or 200mm macro lens.

Extension Tubes

Extension tubes fit between your camera body and lens, allowing you to focus closer than the lens normally would. They’re light, relatively inexpensive (sets run $30–$100), and pack easily, which makes them a good backup option when you don’t want to carry a full macro lens.

I like using them with a 24-120mm lens at around 90-105mm. The main tradeoff compared to close-up filters is that they have a steeper learning curve, but they can produce excellent results once you’re comfortable with them.

When purchasing, make sure you buy tubes made for your specific camera mount — Canon, Nikon, Sony, and other mounts are not interchangeable, and mirrorless and DSLR mounts differ even within the same brand. I use the Meike brand:

Here’s a link to an Amazon search for these tubes: http://amzn.to/1G7r2NP

Should I Buy Close-up Filters or Extension Tubes?

Either approach will work as an alternative to a dedicated macro lens. Close-up filters are easier to learn and, if you choose a high-quality achromatic filter, produce good results. Extension tubes have a steeper learning curve but can produce sharper results and greater magnification at a lower cost. If you’re just starting out with macro, begin with close-up filters. If you enjoy tinkering and want to get the most out of gear you already own, extension tubes are worth the learning curve.

Camera

Before you come to the workshop, check your manual to see if your camera has a focus stacking feature. Focus stacking combines multiple images taken at slightly different focus points into a single sharp image. This is useful in macro photography where depth of field is extremely shallow. If your camera supports it, practice the technique at home before the workshop so you’re comfortable with the menu settings in the field. A good search term is “[your camera model] focus stacking tutorial.” If your camera doesn’t have this feature, don’t worry because we’ll cover other approaches to managing depth of field.

Macro sessions can drain batteries faster than typical shooting, especially if you’re using live view, focus peaking, or focus stacking. Bring at least one fully charged spare battery, and make sure your memory cards are cleared and ready before you arrive.

Light Diffusion: Umbrella, Scrim or Plastic

Making macro images on a bright sunny day is difficult. A white photography umbrella, like you’d use for portraits, helps block the sun and lets just enough diffused light into the photo to give a nice soft glow. I carry a Wescott 32-inch umbrella with me for macro. Here’s a link to it at Amazon: http://amzn.to/1EEiTJw

Instead of an umbrella, you can use any scrim-like material, such as the translucent part of this reflector: http://amzn.to/1LO2B6T

For a budget option, consider using Visqueen, a brand of polyethylene plastic sheeting used in housing construction. Often contractors will have left over Visqueen they will give you for free. Look the opaque, 6-mill style. I like to use a big enough piece to cover the subject and camera.

Tripod for Macro

When buying a tripod, look for one without a center column, or one where the column can be repositioned parallel to the ground. Both options let you get low enough for macro work. If you already own a standard tripod with a fixed center column, you have a few options: some columns can be reversed to suspend the camera below the tripod, some tripods allow wide leg angles that get the camera close to the ground, or you can skip the tripod entirely and use a beanbag for ground-level shots. If you’re unsure whether your tripod will work, bring it and we’ll figure it out together.

Beanbag

A beanbag allows you to set your camera almost completely on the ground and helps provide stability on uneven grounds.  My favorite is the Kinesis SafariSack. You can get the SafariSack with plastic bead filling or filled with buckwheat. Although much heavier, I prefer the plastic bead filling. Here’s a link to the SafariSack at Amazon: http://amzn.to/2nBbLQq The SafariSack also works great when balancing your lens out of your car window to shoot wildlife. If you buy direct, save 15% with the code “hansel15”.

Off-Camera Lights

A small light can make a real difference in macro photography, such as adding a highlight to a dewy petal, filling in shadows under an overcast sky, or simply giving you more control over how your subject is lit than natural light allows.

Two worth considering: the Boling BL-P1 12W RGB is a compact, general-purpose light with full color control and a wide color temperature range (2500–8500K), useful for a variety of lighting situations. The SmallRig RM 03 Macro LED is designed specifically for close-up work and can target light precisely at a small subject or area. Either can be handheld or mounted depending on your setup.

5:1 Reflector

A reflector allows you to bounce light back onto your subject when it is under an umbrella or scrim. You can buy a big studio-sized reflector like that shown in the above photo or you can buy something more portable. I like a reflector that is about 20 inches. The Etekcity 24″ 5-in-1 Portable Multi-Disc Collapsible Photography Photo Reflector is an ideal reflector for macro photography.

Amazon.com link: http://amzn.to/2nBhZ2M  

Printed Background Cards

Bringing a few printed background cards gives you an easy way to add a clean, blurred background behind your subject. Print a few 5×7 or 8×10 photos of soft, out-of-focus color — greens, blues, and warm earth tones work well — and hold or prop one behind your flower while you shoot. The result is a natural-looking background that eliminates distracting elements without any post-processing.

Making your own cards at home is straightforward. Find a colorful subject — a flower, a painted wall, a patch of grass — and photograph it intentionally out of focus at a wide aperture. Aim for smooth, even color with no recognizable shapes or hard edges. Print on matte photo paper to avoid glare, and consider laminating the cards or slipping them into plastic sleeves to protect them from dew and handling in the field. Make a small set in varied colors so you have options when you’re out shooting.

The clothespins and clamps listed in the Miscellaneous section work well for propping cards behind your subject, though a second person holding the card is often easier in the wind.

AK Diffuser makes them two sizes. Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/4vAsBOO

The image below was shot with a background card from AK Diffuser

Miscellaneous Equipment

If you have extra clothespins or small spring clamps around, bring some along. These can help hold plants out of the way while you shoot your flower. Ideally, we don’t want to harm any plants while photographing our subjects, and clothespins help us Leave No Trace. A Wimberley plamp may be useful.

A small, soft paint brush or makeup brush can be useful if you need to clean any dirt off your subject.

Use a spray bottle to add water droplets to your subjects. This gives them that morning dew look that looks great in shots.

Night Sky Workshop: Equipment Notes

For photography gear, a fast, wide-angle lens is highly recommended. For full frame, the perfect setup is a 14-24 f/2.8 (or 16-35 f/2.8), 20mm f/1.8 and a 35mm f/1.4. If you don’t have those lenses, a wide and fast lens will work.

Also, bring sturdy hiking boots or hiking shoes. We will hike up to 1.5 miles round trip on trails considered easy to moderate. See the equipment list for more details on shoes and clothing.

Sunsets on the Gunflint can be buggy even in August. Consider bringing a bug shirt or a bug head net.

  • Bring bug spray and head nets!
  • Bring a headlamp.

For photography gear, bring wide and fast lenses. What you bring doesn’t have to be exactly what I use. As long as you have a f/2.8 or faster lenses that goes as wide as 24mm on full frame or 16mm on cropped sensors, you’ll be fine. It is nice to have a wider lens. As an example, my typical night sky gear includes the following cameras and lenses:

  • Full-frame camera
  • 14-24mm f/2.8
  • 20mm f/1.8
  • 35mm f/1.4

If you shoot a cropped sensor camera, the list might look like this:

  • APS-C camera
  • 11-20mm f/2.8
  • 14mm f/1.4
  • 24mm f/1.4

Sometimes condensation can be an issue at night. To help prevent it, bring hand warmers, like you’d use in winter, and a rubber band or wrist sweat band to hold the warmers on your lens. There are also electronic versions that are powered by a USB power bank.

There’s more info about lighting for night photography in step four. See below.

Night Sky Workshop: Lighting Equipment

The following equipment is what you may see me use during demonstrations on the workshop or when I’m setting up shots with lighting equipment.

Lighting Equipment for Night Photography

I’ll provide this lighting equipment for the photography workshop, so this is a reference for the equipment I use for natural low-level lighting for Nightscapes. All the links go to Amazon.com.

Learn more here:

Lighting

My favorite for low-level lighting. If you are going to buy one do-it-all light, this is the one.

Lights that work fine, but not my current choice:

Extra Lights

Umbrella

Light Stand

Miscellaneous

Lightning Trigger

A lightning trigger can help you capture lightning. I use the Pluto Trigger. It requires a smartphone, but it offers many other features that will help trigger your camera in unique circumstances.

Night Sky Pano Workshop: Milky Way Panoramic Gear Info

Introduction

This gear guide is specifically for the Milky Way Panorama workshop. You won’t need this equipment for other night sky workshops. Only the Learn Panoramic Photography to Capture the Milky Way Photo Workshop covers Milky Way panos.

Lens Recommendation

  • Ideal focal length: 20-24mm
  • For June shoots: Bring a lens that can go as wide as 14mm
  • Recommended lenses: 14-24mm f/2.8 or 16-35mm f/2.8

Note: Really wide lenses make stitching the panorama together more difficult. The sweet spot is around 20 to 24mm, but in June, we often need wider than that to capture the top of the Milky Way.

Required Gear

To ensure a smooth workshop experience, the following items are required:

  1. Ballhead with Arca-Swiss Quick Release
  2. Indexed 360° rotating base
  3. L-Bracket for your camera
  4. Nodal Slide
  5. Sturdy tripod

The above photo shows the required gear for this workshop. A tripod is missing. Clockwise from the upper left: 1. Indexed 360° rotating base, 2. Ballhead, 3. L-bracket, 4. Nodal Slide.

Ballhead

  • Recommended brands: Really Right Stuff, Kirk
  • Must have an Arca-Swiss compatible quick release plate
  • Allows for quick leveling of the rotating base

Note: If your quick release plate isn’t Arca-Swiss compatible (e.g., Manfrotto), you’ll need an adapter. Ballheads allow you to quickly level your rotating base, saving time during night shoots.

L-Bracket

  • Choose one designed for your specific camera model
  • Recommended brands: Kirk, Really Right Stuff
  • Ensure it has center markings on both horizontal and vertical sides

Note: You can search Amazon using terms like “L-bracket [Your Camera Model]”. Make sure the one you get marks the center of your camera body on both horizontal and vertical sides.

Indexed 360° Rotating Base

Note: These items often go in and out of stock. Make sure the base you buy is indexed with detents that you can feel as you turn the clamp. The reason for this recommendation is that you need to be able to rotate the camera for each individual shot in a controlled way. By using a Indexed 360° Rotating Base, you can feel a click at each point you need to shoot a shot.

Warning: Make sure the Indexed 360° rotating base that you buy is indexed with detents that you can feel as you turn the clamp.

Nodal Slide

Note: This item slides back and forth in your Indexed 360° rotating base to put the lens’s anti-parallax point over the center of rotation. This will be explained during the class, and we will find these points as a group.

Optional Gear

Note: Extra bubble levels can be useful as not everyone’s gear levels perfectly. With extra levels, you can determine which way your gear is off and balance it accordingly.

Gear Assembly

The above photo shows all the required gear assembled except that ball head would be attached to a tripod. From top to bottom: 1. Camera with L-bracket attached, 2. Nodal Slide, 3. Indexed 360° rotating base, 4. Ball head.

  1. Attach ballhead to tripod
  2. Clamp indexed 360° rotating base into ballhead
  3. Attach nodal slide to rotating base
  4. Attach L-bracket (with camera) to nodal slide

Note: All connections should use Arca-Swiss compatible quick release systems. The indexed 360° rotating base clamps into the ball head because it has a quick release plate on the bottom. The nodal slide easily clamps into the rotating base because the base has a quick release clamp on top. The nodal slide has a quick release clamp that clamps to the L-bracket.

Winter Workshops – Cleats or Crampons Required

Please, study the section on cold weather in the participant package. I recommend that you bring more batteries than you think you’d need, because the cold saps batteries. It sucks when a participant’s batteries give out in the early afternoon.

Also, consider bringing an airtight backpack or plastic bag to put your camera and lenses in when bringing it into the hotel after being outside the entire day. This will prevent condensation from getting into the electronics.

Hiking crampons or cleats are a required. I’ve seen one broken wrist on a workshop when someone forgot their cleats. I offer a detailed look at winter traction here: Winter Traction Devices.

To meet the requirement, you need to have either crampons or cleats that have pointy spikes. The latter are often called microspikes. My recommendation is a hiking crampon(if you already own mountaineering crampons then use those).

Hiking Crampons – My recommendation

Cleats with spikes

Snowshoes for winter workshops. We will also use snowshoes, which you can rent at the Lake Superior Trading Post. Phone: 218-387-2020.

Winter Workshops – Clothing

You may find the following video useful as you prepare for your winter photo workshop. This activity is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Clothing for Winter Workshops

Temps can range from -30 to +30°F so make sure to bring a wide range of clothing. We will be outside even if it’s -30°F and a blizzard out. While it may sound daunting if you haven’t spent time outdoors in sub-zero temps, wearing the right clothing makes the cold bearable and enjoyable.

A key concept to keep in mind during winter photography is thermoregulation, which is
keeping your body temperature within a range around normal body temperature of 98.6°F (37°C).
Your body has mechanisms designed to help you maintain your normal body temperature. When
you’re hot, you sweat. When you’re cold, you shiver.

Clothing affects body thermoregulation. If you have a ton of warm clothing on and you start sweating, you’ll likely continue to sweat and soak your clothing making it more difficult to stay warm. If you have too little of clothing on in the winter, you’ll likely shiver and get too cold and perhaps end up with some of cold related medical issues. You need to select your clothing to help your body’s thermoregulation succeed. When in the field, you need to adjust your clothing to help maintain normal body temperature.

One way to help your body maintain the proper temperature is to use a method of dressing known as layering. Layering is the use of several different pieces of clothing known as “layers” to give you flexibility in how much clothing you have on at any one time. The clothing system consists of three parts: a base layer, mid-layer (or insulation) and a shell. Each of those components accomplishes a different function.

When using layers in the field, if you get too hot, you can start to shed layers until you’re just right. If you’re too cold, you add layers until you’re just right. One common problem with photographers is that we’re often put into two different types of clothing situations in the same outing. We may stand still in one place for a long period, which requires warmer clothing, and then hike on to the next photo location, which requires fewer items of clothing. Those two situations put two different types of strains on our bodies and you need to be proactive to avoid any problems.

While standing around waiting for a photo, you’ll need to add layers, and before you get overheated and start sweating on the hike, you need to remove layers. I like to keep an extra layer of clothing handy in my backpack and then put it one while standing around. Before I set off on a hike, I’ll often remove clothing even if it feels slightly cold, because I know I’ll soon be warm. The other way to do it is start hiking and when you feel your body just starting to heat up, but before you start to sweat, remove a clothing item. Through practice, you’ll find exactly what you need in each situation, but before you do that, just add and subtract layers to stay just warm enough so you don’t soak your clothing with sweat.

Gloves

You need to be careful with your hands, because if you touch metal in below zero temps with bare skin, you could end up with a cold injury (remember not to stick your tongue to your tripod as well), and exposure to the cold air and wind can drop the temperature in your hands quickly making them extremely uncomfortable and more susceptible to cold injuries. You need a glove system that allows you to access and control all the functions on your camera while keeping your hands protected and warm. For that, a three-layer system works well.

In that three-layer system, I recommend wearing a thin synthetic or wool liner glove under your other gloves. The liner acts like a base layer, but more importantly you always keep the liner glove on and it’s thin enough to accurately push buttons, turn knobs and spin dials. One consideration when choosing your gloves is whether your liners will fit comfortably under your next layer, so bring your gloves with you when shopping.

For the next layer of gloves, you’ll need something that provides insulation and helps stop the wind. Windstopper fleece or other types of softshell gloves work well for this. Don’t write off insulated leather work gloves. Even the inexpensive brands lined with Thinsulate from home improvement stores provide lots of warmth for the weight. The downside with leather gloves is that it gets wet more easily than fleece or soft shells.

With practice, you can learn to manipulate all the parts of your camera with both the liner and insulation-layer gloves on. This is something you can practice while sitting on the couch at home. Once you’re in the cold, it’s much harder and more frustrating to learn to manipulate the controls with two layers of gloves on your hand.

For shell gloves, look for something that fits over your other gloves and can be quickly removed, such as a Gore-Tex over mitten. An example is Outdoor Research’s Mt. Baker Modular Mittens. Over-mittens, such as these, trap the radiant heat near your hands and prevent convective heat loss. A nice feature to look for is a lanyard attachment. With a lanyard, you can clinch the strap around your wrist or forearm and let the mitten dangle when you take it off. This is much easier to do in winter, especially when it’s windy, then trying to tuck it into a pocket or stuff it under your armpit or between your knees. The only disadvantage to using a lanyard is that over-mitts work well as extra insulation under your knees if you need to kneel and a lanyard makes it inconvenient to use in this way.

If you get cold hands using hand warmers in your gloves works well to keep your hands warm. Some styles of gloves and mittens feature zippered pockets designed for the chemical hand warmers packs. Typical hand warmers, such as Grabber’s, maintain temps of 135 to 156°F and last up to seven hours. At less than a dollar a pair, it’s good insurance to carry these in your backpack for the colder days.

NOTE: If you have a touchscreen on your camera, you must buy a pair of gloves that works with a
touchscreen. Taking your gloves off in sub-zero temps is not an option.

Balaclavas

On your head, I recommend wearing a balaclava and synthetic or wool hat. If you’re a glasses wearer, you need to buy a balaclava that directs your breath downward instead of towards your eyes and glasses; otherwise your glasses will fog and ice up. Balaclavas that work for glasses wearers usually have an opening for both your nose and mouth. If you don’t wear glasses, you can use whatever variety of balaclava you like.

Snowshoes and Traction Devices

There are two pieces of specialty gear that are required for the workshop: snowshoes and ice cleats. We’ll use the snowshoes to hike up frozen river canyons and we’ll use the ice traction devices along Lake Superior’s shore. See above.

Waterfall Workshops

For north shore waterfalls, you’ll want to cover both wide and long lenses. On full-frame cameras, I’d suggest having lenses from 20mm to 200mm. If you plan on doing the night photography session, then I’d suggest a wide and fast lens.

The most important filters for this workshop are the polarizers. If you are going to purchase one filter, I’d suggest the Bryan Hansel Waterfall Polarizer. This is a 3-stop ND filter combined with a polarizer. It is the filter that Singh-Ray and I developed specifically for shooting waterfalls. A regular polarizer combined with a ND can also work well. When you buy filters direct from Singh-Ray use the code “hansel10” for a 10% discount.

For sunrises, the Singh-Ray 3-stop reverse ND grad is what you’ll use. If your focus isn’t on sunrises and sunsets, then you can skip this filter. But, if you shoot lots of sunrises and sunsets, then I’d suggest picking one up. It’s the filter that I use for 90% of my sunrises and sunsets.

This time of year can be rainy or snowy, so bring lots of clothing and don’t forget your rain gear. An umbrella is a relief on rainy days. A camera rain cover is a worthwhile investment.