Into every life, a little snow must fall.
Gwen and Scott came from Michigan for their Whistler Mountain Wedding at the Roundhouse Lodge. They got here at the beginning of a huge pacific storm front that would eventually drop over 160 cm’s of much needed snow on the resort. They actually loved the weather, blowing snow and all and it really meant for an adventurous wedding.

We initially thought they could have the wedding at our usual spot at the Inukshuk behind the Roundhouse, but we were met with a five foot high wall of snow.

Even in heavy snow storms, there are a couple of really nice locations around the Roundhouse for portraits.

After the wedding, we all went for a ride on the Peak2Peak gondola.

Here was the view out the window. For the first time ever for me, it was so windy that the whole bus sized gondola car was blowing from side to side.

The liftee at the Blackcomb terminal serenaded Gwen at Scott as we rode around. That was pretty cool.

We did a couple of photos in the village, where the weather was a little bit more accommodating.

Tech Stuff

Wedding planner Linda Marshall snapped this shot of me, just about the time I shot the photo of Gwen and Scott looking out the window.

Shooting in heavy snow can make for some interesting problems. First up is that as soon as you go inside, everything will fog over hopelessly. Lenses will be totally opaque, and your cameras and lenses will be covered in condensation. This is where professional quality cameras like the Nikon D3 and professional Nikon lenses really come into their own. They are really well sealed and will put up with an amazing amount of dampness. Pack a few cowboy bandanas to wipe them down, and by the time the gear warms up to room temperature, you’ll be okay. The think to remember is, don’t take the lenses off the cameras, or you’re get condensation inside the camera, which really will cause you some problems.

The other thing is don’t even think of using your flash. All it will o is light up the snow between you and the subjects, and you won’t be able to see a thing.

Cameras: Nikon D3 x 2
Lenses: Nikon AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8

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