Heat Distortion in Images
Shooting wildlife or landscape
You may have seen this in videos, especially in westerns, shimmering air while the camera looks over a vast patch of parched land. This is the worst kind of nightmare for nature photographers, though cinematographers love it.
Sun heats up the land, and air coming in contact with it also gets heated up. Heated air rises up. As the density of the air is different at different places, you tend to get a shimmering effect. Landscape photographers, as well as wildlife photographers, have to deal with this problem every single day.
The problem seems to be exaggerated when you shoot with telephoto lenses and particularly over vast tracts of open land. Also, you are likely to face this more often when shooting under the mid-day sun. To be honest, there is nothing that you can do in concrete terms to counter this, only avoid it as much as possible. Here are some tips on how you can work your way around this problem.
Shoot when the sun is not directly overhead
The air is coolest when the sun is closer to the horizon and vice versa. If you plan your shots so that you are shooting more during the dawn and dusk times, you are not likely to be affected by heat distortion.
Avoid shooting with telephoto lenses
Telephoto lenses are likely to be affected the most. Try to avoid really long lenses during the day. Try the wide angle lens and attempt a different perspective. Alternatively, try to get as close to the subject as possible to cut down the impact of heat distortion. At times however, there is really no way to get a shot unless you use telephoto lenses.
Avoid vast patches of dry land
Easier said than done but avoid dry patches of land when setting up your camera. The drier the patch of land you are shooting over, the more likely it is going to affect your images. Some photographers prefer to shoot from over their car bonnet.
Wildlife photographers often use their vehicles to hide behind them to shoot images. It’s a risky thing to do, no doubt, especially if big games are around, but it is effective. The car bonnet, especially if it’s midday can also cause the air to heat up and create heat distortion.
Shooting on cooler days
Shooting on cooler days is a good way to avoid this problem. You could also shoot on overcast days when the temperature is more amiable to use tele lenses.
Working with heat distortion
Heat distortions are not always a bad thing. Sometimes they do make for some pretty interesting images. If it is entirely not possible to avoid, either use it or reschedule to come back later for the shoot.
