When the temperature heats up, make sure you keep your camera cool. That’s advice from a 25-year-veteran of the shooting world, Yamil Sued, who has been known to photograph shooting matches in the desert when the thermometer measured 134 degrees on the ground! While at the Bianchi Cup in Columbia, Mo., Yamil graciously explained to The WON, for the purposes of Shoot to Thrill, how he keeps his cameras from melting down.
Easy. He buys a cooler. He says it doesn’t have to be an expensive cooler. A styrofoam cooler will work. He puts white towels in the cooler, and sometimes, he places a white towel over the cooler, to deflect the heat of the sun. When not using his camera, he puts the camera back into the cooler.
Simple advice. Easy advice. But, hey … had you thought of it yet? To see Yamil’s work, go to http://hotgunshots.com/
I'm a Commercial, Editorial, Architectural and Sports Photographer based out of the Phoenix, AZ area. I have been doing this for over 25 years and Photography is my life. This job is what I live for and it's what I love to do. ~Yamil R. Sued
The Women's Outdoor News, aka The WON, features news, reviews and stories about women who are shooting, hunting, fishing and actively engaging in outdoor adventure. This publication is for women, by women. View all posts by The WON
For Dust, Rain, and Carp Slime, I use these Disposable Bags called “Rain Sleeve”., you get two for $6 and they are great!!
http://optechusa.com/rainsleeve.html
I survived the Deluge in Tulsa back in 2008 with it and the constant dust at the Piru, CA Range with them, so they work for EVERYTHING!! and for $3, you can’t beat them!!
Y
Thanks for the tip, Yamil! I’ll have to try this the next time!
The cooler is also the best place to store camera gear in a parked car. Vehicle interior summertime temps can melt plastics etc. The cooler also protects your camera from prying eyes. An innocuous cooler is far less interesting to thieves than bags displaying top camera brand names. The cooler also protects against winter frigid temps.
This works for firearms too.
Wow! Thanks, Tim, for the additional tips for Yamil’s post. Ready to judge the caption contest?
I had a camera “meltdown” at the Bianchi when my video camera got too hot and shut down. I really appreciated the advice from Yamil on how to keep that from happening in the future and thanks, Barb, for passing along his simple but effective tip!
And Yamil is not only a great photographer for action shots – he’s a very good action shooter too! I’m sending his “cooler” idea off to our video guru (Marilyn) who runs all the cameras for our Babes with Bullets programs. And yes, heat on cameras – whether a video or still – is a problem especially where we live out in Arizona! Thanks Yamil – see you at the range…
If you haven’t done so yet, check out Yamil’s website. Great action and studio photos there.
Super tip! I agree with Tim – also keeps things less visible to prying eyes. Another reason – when worst comes to worst – you can dump out the camera equipment and haul your fish home 😉
Usually- I melt down before the camera does…
Now does Yamil have advice for protecting the cameras from carp slime?