Working With Fog

[Electricseashell]

Originally Posted by Dnoces

I took the shot from inside my car with the window down....

My kind of shooting I think this would be difficult outside of the car as the moisture which is what fog is.. gets on the lens. Anyone know how to shoot in the fog?

[PhotosbyChuck]

Originally Posted by Electricseashell

My kind of shooting I think this would be difficult outside of the car as the moisture which is what fog is.. gets on the lens. Anyone know how to shoot in the fog?

If you know you'll be shooting in weather, you can greatly reduce condensation by keeping the camera at about the same temperature as the outdoors. For someone with a P/S like you, I'd say you might also consider a Ziploc bag with an X slit in one side for your lens. Rotate the bag so that the open side is under the camera.

[JKlebPhoto]

I ran into the temperture problem in Louisiana last year. We were on Lake Calciseau (sp) in May, the lodge we were staying in must have thought AC was free because thet weren't afraid to use it. All my gear was in a waterproof bag in the room with me ready to hop on the boat before daylight the next morning. We made it to our first spot by the time the light was getting good. The guys I was with started catching fish as soon as we gat set up. I pull the camera out to get the shots and everything is foggy, really foggy. The camera body feels like it's been in a freezer. I wipe off the lens and eyepiece and they fog again as soon as I do. Needless to say I'm a little pissed at myself for not thinking of this. I took about 45 min. for it to warm up enough to not fog up. I sure didn't want to take a lens off with the wind blowing the salt water all over the place, and it wouldn't have helped much anyway. After the first hour or so the fishing died out for the rest of the day and my chances of good shots of these guys pulling in fish. I did get a few shots of left over Katrina destruction, I only had about ten more hours to kill on the water to do it. The next day I made sure to hide the bag outside the night before so I didn't have the condensation problems. Unfortunately the weather was so bad I barely pulled the camera out that day. On and off rain and near gale winds. The stuff I do as favors for friends!

[r_fredrick_smith]

Originally Posted by Electricseashell

My kind of shooting I think this would be difficult outside of the car as the moisture which is what fog is.. gets on the lens. Anyone know how to shoot in the fog?

The key to fog shooting is good exposure. Fog tends to fool the meter in the camera and so if you go with the basic meter reading from the camera the fog will be rendered as if it was 18% gray, but it isn't, it is much closer to the white end of the spectrum. So you need to adjust your exposure. I usually always try to meter off a gray card in situations like that. Naturally with digital you can chimp. As for moisture and the camera, well you deal with that the best you can. Often, though, fog is not a major deterrent like rain and hail can be.

Cheers,
rfs

[Electricseashell]

Thanks for the tips.. and the sharing of what was most likely a horror story.. from the wrench Ninja