We have been having some rather inclement weather of late (spoken with an
upper-class British accent)! Or as they would say here, fon tok maak (a lot of
rain), which then leads to a “nam tuam” (flood) and we had enough of that last
year. Fortunately the government has all this under control and like King Knut
(also known as Cnut and Canute) will order the tides to recede.
However, despite the inclement weather it can be a time to go
out and get some different photographs - but you must be prepared.
“Be Prepared” has always been the motto of the Boy Scouts
Association, and a concept that they have zealously guarded. In fact, popular
rumor has it that the Association took the American satirist Tom Lehrer to court
after he sang a ditty with that title. For those of you who missed it, the final
verse included:
“If you’re looking for adventure of a new and different kind,
And you come across a Girl Scout who is similarly inclined,
Don’t be nervous, don’t be flustered, don’t be scared.
Be prepared!”
So what has that got to do with photography? Quite a lot
actually. Look at the photograph with the column this week. It had rained very
heavily in Chiang Mai, and Doi Suthep was covered in mist as well as the rain.
This photo opportunity was just wonderful and I had the waterproofed camera,
spare memory chip, fully charged batteries, and I was ready to shoot.
I took about a dozen shots, and here have published the one
which I particularly like. It is a Cartier-Bresson style, the ‘decisive moment’,
with the subject in the raincoat about to step down the stairway. But to get
these shots it was necessary for me to “be prepared”.
Being prepared is having your camera ‘waterproof’. To do this
100 percent you can buy a Nikonos underwater camera at the cost of many
thousands of baht. These are a wonderful underwater camera but for this instance
- totally impractical, unless you want to stand at the side of the road in a
full wet-suit!
The second way is to purchase a fancy plastic underwater
housing for your own camera. Now these can range in price, depending on
complexity. Built like a perspex box to house your camera, you can operate all
the adjustments from the outside. These are not cheap either, and the cheapest
in the range is literally a plastic bag with a waterproof opening and a clear
plastic section for the lens. You open it up and literally drop your camera
inside it and seal the bag. These can be purchased from major photographic
outlets and I did spot one in a photo-shop for B. 750.
A third way is a waterproof disposable camera (yes, they do
make them). Good for about three meters, so perfectly suitable for rainstorms.
If you can’t get one of those, then even the ordinary cheap disposables are a
better option than getting your good camera gear doused. I must admit to having
dropped one of these overboard one day and the boatman retrieved it and the
final photos were fine - but that was in the days of film, and not fancy
electronics.
So you are left with an even simpler way of making your
camera waterproof. And cheaper. It consists of a couple of plastic bags, such as
you get with every item in 7-Eleven, and a handful of rubber bands.
Do the camera body first, inserting it into the plastic bag,
but leaving a circular hole in the front so you can screw the lens on
afterwards. Some rubber bands and the body is protected.
Now pop the lens into the other plastic bag, making circular
holes at both ends and fixing it in place with a couple of rubber bands. Use
large bags, so there is slack to move the focusing ring/aperture settings.
Your waterproof camera for less than one baht. Go out and get
wet and shoot! But it is a simple case of being prepared and just jumping in to
get the shots, don’t stage manage, and lots of luck! Look out for photo
opportunities, even when it is raining.
