You did it! The trip is booked! But......
(free photo stock image. Looked for one with a nikon, but this was the best that I could do.)
Over the last few posts I have been discussing the ability to travel and the questions that I have in regards to traveling with my gear, because this is not something that I have done on a regular basis. Up to this point in my life my traveling with my gear has been limited to just within a few hours of home. So this meant I would put my gear in my truck and just go. There was no big concern about theft, loss or damage of my gear as I had total control of what was going on with my gear.
Now I am able to travel without much stress on a plane, and with that said, this is where the control is lost. Especially if you have to check your gear with your luggage. I have come to the conclusion that this is just not the way that I want to go. First of all my luck is not great. I have had my baggage lost on multiple occasions, and I really do not want to lose time due to not having my gear. Especially if I am traveling for the sole purpose of using my gear.
Once past the how am I going to travel with my gear question I move on to "How do I take care of my gear in different climates?" question. I am sure that there are people that are reading this and feel that I am over reacting about this thought, but it has become a very real concern for me. Before living in South Carolina I lived in Hawaii. Hawaii was amazing! The sun was shining and it stayed at a pretty steady 80 degrees, and never really dipping below the 70's. If it was raining I would wait in my vehicle for about 10 minutes, and the rain would pass and I could get out and continue to photograph whatever my subject for the day was. However South Carolina has thrown a huge game changer for me. For example in South Carolina it reaches at its peak about 105 degrees during the summer, but than there is the humidity to factor in and that raises the temperature to 115-125 degrees. (That's the highest that I have seen so far this year.) The heat is a concern in regards to my sensor, but considering that I am not out in the middle of the day shooting it is not a huge concern. However the big concern is the humidity.
I realized that this was a concern when I was out working in the backyard and realized the opportunities that I was missing to practice shooting the small insects and animals that I was running into while out. So I ran to the house and grabbed my camera. In my opinion I did not think that there was much of a temperature change from the house to the yard (as this was early spring) but I did not consider the humidity. When I got back out to the yard I began to take photos, and realized that they were soft, and seemed to be out of focus, yet in the view finder they were sharp and seemed to be the exact way that I wanted them to be. I took photos for roughly five minutes and they continued to get worse. When I finally stopped and looked at my lens the glass was covered with condensation. I also noticed that it was starting to develop on the body and the outer portions of the lens. So I immediately took the camera back inside. My saving grace was that when I went outside I did not switch the lens so this kept the inside of the camera and the sensor protected. However it affected the glass, and caused it to spot and I worried that the weather sealing may not have been able to hold. Several hours in I realized everything was ok, but it was a huge shock.
In another instance several years ago a fellow photographer and I were deployed with our unit to Iraq. At the time I was barely dabbling in photography and opted not to bring anything more than my point and shoot. I honestly did not think that I would have the time to shoot much anyway. Not to mention it is a desert that has been ravaged for years with war and I did not think that there would be much to really photograph that would be of interest to me. However I was sadly mistaken.
(Sunrise in Tikrit, Iraq)
The place in of itself was not great to shoot, but the buildings, Saddam's castle in Baghdad, and the sandstorms were amazing! Sounds strange to most but the sandstorms were one of my favorite things to watch roll in. But the damage the would cause to a camera was horrible. The fellow photographer that took their camera had to send all of their lens and I believe their camera body in to be cleaned when we returned and they were afraid that the sand may have damaged the sensor. It had already done a number on several of the motors in the lens which later led to having to replace them completely.
(Soldiers standing in formation outside during a sandstorm)
As you can see in the picture above a sandstorm for us was no joke. This photo was shot in the middle of the day, and yet due to the sand being so thick in the air it changed it to a very dark and orange environment.
So what do you do to protect your gear in various climates. Here are some suggestions from what I have learned.
l. When traveling into a new climate make sure that you are prepared for anything. The best way to prepare is do some research into the area. Determine what type of climate that you are going to be dealing with. Is it humid? Dry? Hot? Are there potential storms I should be concerned about? Cold?
2. Prepare for that type of climate. If you are dealing with a humid environment realize that your best way to deal with this is to slowly expose your gear to the environment. For example when you reach the location just unzip your bag and let the air slowly start moving into the bag, after 15 minutes carefully check your gear without opening the bag to far and with out removing it from the bag. If it appears to have climatized you can open your bag and go about your planned day, however I do not recommend changing lens in this type of environment.
3. If you are using your gear in a harmful environment protect it. You can use rain hoods, or in my case while I was in Iraq I kept my point and shoot in a ziplock bag and during sandstorms would shoot with it in the bag.
4. Inspect your gear often in a controlled environment. As soon as you are done shooting for the day take your gear to your hotel, home or where ever you may be staying and check it for dirt, water damage etc. This can be done more frequently if you are worried about your gear. If you notice that your gear is not standing up to the challenge of the area stop using it!
5. Clean your gear often. I say this with a word of caution. I am not saying that you should do a full on cleaning as Nikon or Canon would do if you sent it to them, but I am saying to do the basics and do not go out of your comfort zone. Clean the outside and all of the contact points and mirror if you have one. But do not clean the sensor of you are not comfortable or do not know how. You will cost yourself more money in the long run.
If you have more tips or suggestions or maybe some things that I did not mention please comment below! I would love to hear from you!
0 comments:
Post a Comment