The best winter pictures have nothing to do with your choice of camera, film, or digital equipment. Hats, parkas, and boots are necessities. Many outdoor photographers wear thin knit gloves inside heavy mittens and remove the outer gloves to operate their cameras. You can also buy photographer's gloves with finger openings from LowePro, or just snip off the fingertips of an old pair of gloves. Carry extra batteries.
Alkaline batteries work well in cold weather, but carry a spare set in an inner pocket.
Today's cameras rely on electronics, so between shots, keep your camera inside your jacket to help extend its cold-weather performance. Fool your light meter. Your camera's light meter uses a gray scale for average picture-taking conditions that wants to read white snow as a light gray. Or, just move in close to remove background snow from your shot. Water-resistant models don't have a flash, but they're great for shots of skiing, sledding and tobogganing.