bronaldo
Active member
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Reducing heat shimmer?
- Thread starter bronaldo
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No.
arbitrage
Well-known member
Not really...but here are a few things that can help get less of it in a given location....
If you are shooting from shore over a body of water, the haze usually starts to get stronger over the land than over the water. Get right to the edge of the water and you may have no haze. Stand just a few feet back from the water and you can have shot ruining haze because you are shooting through the stronger haze over the land.
Height....especially over water but can apply to land....if you shoot from a higher angle you will often get less haze ruining the shot. I've had this so extreme that if I was shooting my camera on the ground (via the LCD flip screen) and was getting haze ruining shots, I could just raise the camera a foot off the ground and have sharp shots.
If you are shooting from shore over a body of water, the haze usually starts to get stronger over the land than over the water. Get right to the edge of the water and you may have no haze. Stand just a few feet back from the water and you can have shot ruining haze because you are shooting through the stronger haze over the land.
Height....especially over water but can apply to land....if you shoot from a higher angle you will often get less haze ruining the shot. I've had this so extreme that if I was shooting my camera on the ground (via the LCD flip screen) and was getting haze ruining shots, I could just raise the camera a foot off the ground and have sharp shots.
bronaldo
Active member
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Agree - no
I try to get out 2 hours before sun rise and shorten game drives in the heat.
I try to get out 2 hours before sun rise and shorten game drives in the heat.
Doug Herr
Well-known member
If you're inside a vehicle, move the camera farther away from the car, even a few inches can help.
Apart from shooting early morning when heat shimmer may be lower - there is little that can be done.
Good question and good answers, too. I guess the world is the world. We can get closer if possible so there is less air between us and the subject. Apply some dehaze in post but that only goes so far. Maybe embrace it as a visual depth cue that something on our flat photo is farther away because it looks more and more like the sky or the general value of the surrounding area with less and less contrast as it recedes.
bronaldo
Active member
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It has seemed to me in the past (and I am no expert) that atmospheric distortion is not always constant. I have shot bursts in some cases where most of the shots show atmospheric distortion, but a few are clearer.
Height and angle can make a big difference too, as noted above. I have often seen much less distortion shooting a bird that is higher above water (flying or perched) than one which is on or close to the water.
Height and angle can make a big difference too, as noted above. I have often seen much less distortion shooting a bird that is higher above water (flying or perched) than one which is on or close to the water.
JoPoV
Active member
Only existing technic to cancel out atmospheric distortions is adaptive optics.
But this works towards the sky, needs a big laser and is used in the largest terrestrial telescopes currently in use and under construction.
But this works towards the sky, needs a big laser and is used in the largest terrestrial telescopes currently in use and under construction.
DBS
Member
Atmospheric distortion (refraction) happens when there are differences in the density of air. Humidity and air temperature are the primary causes of different densities. Different types of terrain / greenery can change the localized temperature and humidity. Heat sources such as car engines can also change the local air density.
Best chance for minimizing distortion is to avoid shooting over multiple types of terrain. Examples of things to avoid:
- pavement vs. greenery
- grass in the shade vs. grass in the sun
- grass vs. shrubs / trees
- land vs. water
- smooth ground vs. rough ground
Best chance for minimizing distortion is to avoid shooting over multiple types of terrain. Examples of things to avoid:
- pavement vs. greenery
- grass in the shade vs. grass in the sun
- grass vs. shrubs / trees
- land vs. water
- smooth ground vs. rough ground
fcotterill
Well-known member
“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”
Mark Twain
In woodland areas, and particularly African savannas such as Kruger NP and Zambezi valley, the open areas warm up rapidly on hot days, especially on the darker basalt soils. The heat haze is often the worst over bare Rock.
However, if one is careful of shooting distance, the shady riparian fringes along rivers are more protected with the majestic evergreen trees (Diospyros and Xanthocercis especially). The understorey is productive for longer, as there's no haze in the shade. Dappled shade often makes for interesting effects.
Mark Twain
In woodland areas, and particularly African savannas such as Kruger NP and Zambezi valley, the open areas warm up rapidly on hot days, especially on the darker basalt soils. The heat haze is often the worst over bare Rock.
However, if one is careful of shooting distance, the shady riparian fringes along rivers are more protected with the majestic evergreen trees (Diospyros and Xanthocercis especially). The understorey is productive for longer, as there's no haze in the shade. Dappled shade often makes for interesting effects.
Yes, I agree with these comments. We are advised to "get low" for (example) shorebird shots, but getting low in situations where there is warmer air in contact with cold water can produce turbulence that will interfere with sharpness. In those situations I raise up a few feet and shoot with a downward angle. Not as satisfying aesthetically but you minimize the amount of "shimmering" air between you and subject.
Great replies above, but just to add the obvious for year round shooting. You may not be able to do much for atmospheric distortion for distant shots but when doing things like shooting from a vehicle or shooting out an open window on a house or the like there are things you can do to minimize local heat turbulence that can ruin photos. Specifically:
- Shooting from a warm place to a colder place or vice versa can cause local heat turbulence so shooting out of something like an open car window works best if the temps inside and outside the car are roughly the same. So in the winter drive around with with windows down and a relatively cold car (bundle up) and in the summer don't drive around in an air conditioned car and then roll down windows when you see an interesting wildlife subject. Either of those can lead to a lot of heat related air turbulence as the warm and cold air interact.
- Same applies to shooting out open house windows or similar.
- If shooting from a car it's best to get out and away from the vehicle (if safe for you and your wildlife subjects) and if you do, don't shoot across the hot hood of the car or across the heat rising from a hot muffler.
That does nothing for distant heat waves and atmospheric distortion at a distance but can help reduce local atmospheric distortion related to heat differences.
- Shooting from a warm place to a colder place or vice versa can cause local heat turbulence so shooting out of something like an open car window works best if the temps inside and outside the car are roughly the same. So in the winter drive around with with windows down and a relatively cold car (bundle up) and in the summer don't drive around in an air conditioned car and then roll down windows when you see an interesting wildlife subject. Either of those can lead to a lot of heat related air turbulence as the warm and cold air interact.
- Same applies to shooting out open house windows or similar.
- If shooting from a car it's best to get out and away from the vehicle (if safe for you and your wildlife subjects) and if you do, don't shoot across the hot hood of the car or across the heat rising from a hot muffler.
That does nothing for distant heat waves and atmospheric distortion at a distance but can help reduce local atmospheric distortion related to heat differences.
Go out early…turn the car heater or A/C off, open windows, and dress appropriately if using the car as a blind in either winter or summer…and get closer are about the only solutions. I had not thought about arbitrage‘s comment bout haze over land and getting right to the water edge…but he’s right.
Doug Herr
Well-known member
There's also the bubble of air inside the lens hood to consider when the lens temperature differs from ambient. The hood on one of my lenses has a door that can be opened to rotate a polarizing filter. If I don't remove the hood entirely I leave the door open to maximize air circulation, and positioned toward the ground to reduce the chances of strong light sources causing flare.
arbitrage
Well-known member
Doug's comment reminded me of Steve's video which is worth sharing as it can help mitigate unexplained atmospheric distortion in cold weather:
One of the challenges of nature photography is nature is messy and we cannot control everything like in a studio. Something to add is heat shimmer isn’t just a summertime thing. On cold sunny days the ground absorbs heat from the sun and the air above the ground becomes very turbulent. Sometimes even getting closer won’t eliminate the problem. On days when there is a lot of heat shimmer I just enjoy being outside and soak in the experience. I know the odds of capturing a killer shot are slim but I still enjoy every moment being outside and walking through the woods and fields. I usually end up doing macro and close focus stuff those days.