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Eagles and Cold-Weather Photography

1/6/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
It is Winter time in Iowa, but an unusually cold one. Today it was -22 degrees F and the wind is blowing. I think I heard that it was a -55F windchill. At least it's not also snowing; it would be quite a blizzard. Today I am trying to stay warm inside editing pictures, pictures that I took yesterday when it was a balmy -4F outside (minus an unknown windchill factor). I bundled up, stayed in the car with the window open and from one vantage point on the Winnebago River, took pictures of eagles, geese, ducks, turkeys and a Red-tailed Hawk. They didn't seem to be too much bothered by the cold.
I was concerned about what might happen to the image sensor on my camera in very cold weather and if it would change the quality of the recorded image, so I posed the question on one of the photography forums that I follow. The consensus is that cold does not negatively affect digital image sensors. However, the cold will cause camera batteries to lose their charge sooner, and the cold metal of the camera on cold fingers or your face while taking pictures could increase the risk of frost bite. In cold weather there are often heat-waves coming up from the ground that will slightly distort things in the distance, causing pictures of distant objects taken with a telephoto lens to be unsharp.

Another real concern is condensation that may form on or inside the camera or lens when bringing it in the house (or into a warm car) from the cold outside, just like it does on my glasses. Condensation forming inside the lens or camera could ruin it and cause all kinds of mechanical, electrical or optical problems. Before I bring my cold camera in the house I will either zip it tightly inside my camera bag or I will put it inside a "dry bag" used for keeping things dry while canoeing or kayaking and seal it up tightly (a large sealed zip-lock bag may work also). First wrapping a towel around the camera may also prevent any moisture that may form inside the plastic bag from dripping on the camera. Then, when I bring it inside I will wait several hours to let everything gradually warm up to room temperature before opening the bag. I guess I can't be in too much of a hurry to get to the photos that I just took or to recharge the batteries.  Surprisingly, the same thing happens in the summer when taking a camera from the hot-humid outside in to a cold air-conditioned building. So the same steps should be taken to stabilize the temperature before exposing the camera to the colder room to avoid condensation. Well, that is my photo-tip for the day. Here are a few more photos that I took yesterday (click an image to see them larger).
2 Comments
Dale Mills link
1/6/2014 12:49:19 pm

Nice shots, Bruce. I took the river road home today after Lime Creek meeting and two adult eagles were feeding on a Canada goose carcass on the ice right at the Averydale Access sign. They paid no attention to me at all, just as they didn't when I watched them from my canoe only 9 days ago. My January float MAY be only a half mile long--or less! Thanks for great shots always.

Reply
Bob Follmuth
1/6/2014 01:20:44 pm

Thanks the camera tip, Bruce. I was going to ask your advice about this exact thing after taking some pictures at a wam and humid swim meet this past weekend.

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