This is Part I in a new series I'm starting here on my blog: Thursday's Travel Log.

Destination: Ice Hotel (Hotel de Glace), Quebec City, Canada

Photo Tips:

• Photographing during the day and night.
• Bring your tripod for nighttime and indoor photography.
• Be prepared to shoot HDR - as the contrast range can be wide. Use HDR Efex Pro or Photomatix to Process your pictures. Get a discount on both HDR program on the Creative Plug-ins page of my blog.
• Bring your wide-angle lenses - the wider the better. The rooms are relatively small.
• Try to avoid harsh reflections on the ice.
• Keep extra batteries in warm in your jacket.
• Pack a polarizing filter to reduce reflections and to darken the blue sky and whiten the white clouds.

Here's the polarizing filter I use:
Hoya 77mm Circular Polarizer HD Hardened Glass 8-layer Multi-Coated Filter

Travel Tips:

• Call in advance to make sure the ice hotel is not a puddle. It's usually open between January 6th and March 25th. That's when it's cold enough to keep the ice from melting.
• Yes, you can sleep in the hotel, but you'll be much more comfortable in the nearby lodge.
• Have happy hour in the ice bar. Very cool, indeed.
• Dress warmly and pack good gloves. I use these gloves:
Lowepro - Gloves - black - Lycra, Thermax Large
• Good hiking boots will help keep you from slipping and sliding.

If you like travel photography, check out my workshops:
USA Workhops
and
International Workshops.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. I was supposed to sleep in the Ice Hotel. However, when I saw the look on the faces of the guests who had spent the night on the ice beds, I decided to keep cozy in the lodge.