How to Keep Shooting Despite the Hot Weather

Art Model, Chloe Ann © 2017 Terrell Neasley

"If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?"

~ Steven Wright

I don't know where you live, but Las Vegas was 115°F yesterday. That's 46°Celsius for those of you who relate more to that temp scale. Here in the desert during the summer months we come to expect that, but it doesn't mean we are comfortable with it. I call it vampire heat because just being in the sunlight can turn you into an ash replica of yourself. And also because my mom says the heat can suck the life right out of you. So does this mean that you need to suspend all outdoor shooting for the next 3 months? Are you now restricted to solely studio work during this time? Well, lets see...

Both Mirrorless cameras and DSLR's have a standard operating temperature max of about 104°F. So at 115°, that sensor is cooking. Cameras that don't have weather sealing will have a tougher time in these temps, especially where humidity is a factor. And don't even think about doing video at these temps. Try to do 4K and your goose is cooked. And by goose, I'm not referring to the relatively large well-known waterfowl. I'm talking about your camera over heating with permanent damage.

So let me share with you FIVE good options on how to keep shooting despite the hot weather.

Art Model, Chloe Ann © 2017 Terrell Neasley

1. The most obvious thing is to keep the camera out of direct sunlight. Just shielding your camera with your own body or covering it with a towel can go a long way. Keeping the sunlight off of it is the culinary equivalent of simply taking a boiling pot off the fire. Yeah, it might still be hot, but the boil suddenly stops. SHADE is your friend. And while I'm at it, remember this tip. Treat your camera like you would your kid. DO NOT leave your camera gear sitting in the car while you go grab something out of the grocery store. It doesn't matter if you'll only be in there a minute. Take your gear with you. On this matter, it has less to do with preventing theft.

In Vegas heat, the plastic molding of your camera body can actually melt inside a car as the interior temperature rises to 180°F. You can actually ruin the lubricants inside your camera as well as causing seals to expand beyond the factory specifications. Then you are left wondering why your lens has such a rough feel when you zoom out. Or why your shutter assembly suddenly fails. The heat affects your sensor big time. The reason you get noise when shooting at high ISOs is because of the heat produced at that level. Well you can be at ISO 100 and still get noise like that in high heat environments.

Art Model, Chloe Ann © 2017 Terrell Neasley

2. I've done model shoots at practically all hours of the day even in this desert heat. What I do is simple. I seek out shaded areas in the two C's of Shade. Canopies and Canyons. Its not that hard to find trees that afford enough cover from the sun. You can Google Map it and find adequate locations to help you. When I first moved to Las Vegas, I ran my art nude workshops in the shade. Some participants were a bit out of shape to handle too much heat. I had some who's age required less strenuous environments. I even had an actor who performed in "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Venetian. Getting a really dark tan was not in the script! Finding a strip of trees will be easiest in places that still get water such as in the low grounds of canyons. But canyons themselves can also serve shade just due to the steepness of the rocks. As long as the sun is not directly overhead, there'll be shadows coming from one side or the other.

Art Model, Chloe Ann © 2017 Terrell Neasley

3. In Vegas, its coolest earlier in the morning. So schedule shoots to be completed BEFORE 9am. By 10, the temp is already in the high 90's if not already 100. Its going to stay in the 100 range until 5 or 6pm before it begins to cool. I've seen it to be over 100°F after 9pm on the Strip. People don't realize how much glass, steel, and asphalt are collecting heat during the day and giving it back off at night. So schedule shoots early in the morning. Oh, and don't forget extra batteries. Heat can really tax the battery power. In fact, don't leave batteries in your camera when you are not shooting. Take them out of your camera. The last thing you want is for a battery to explode INSIDE your camera. You're welcome.

Art Model, Chloe Ann © 2017 Terrell Neasley

4. Along with early morning shoots, try your hand at some night time shooting. You can get adventurous and paint with light or use the full moon as your only light source. You might also consider speedlights or on-location studio lights with Vagabond battery packs. B&C Camera has some 500ws Phottix Indra500 TTL Battery Powered Studio Lights that also have High Speed Sync up to 1/8000th of a second. You can buy them for about $1300 or you can simply RENT them from the B&C Camera Rental Department. See...Too Easy!

Art Model, Chloe Ann © 2017 Terrell Neasley

5. Or you can get the hell out of Vegas! Do a day trip to Mt Zion National Park. Its still high 90's there, but compared to temps in the 100-teens, 90° feels a bit nippy. Actually, you don't even have to do that far. Wanna know what the forecast is this week for Mt. Charleston? MID-80's!! So the name of the game is elevation. But let me even keep you even a bit closer to Vegas. Check out ICE BOX CANYON! You can expect anywhere from a 10 to 15° temperature drop back in that canyon and in some cases 20. Again, Google Maps some of these areas and go scout them out during the time of the day that you'd like to conduct your photo shoot. So there you go. 5 good tips to keep shooting despite the hot weather. Be smart, but most of all, be safe. Happy Shooting!

Art Model, Chloe Ann © 2017 Terrell Neasley

Bonus Tip: Consider keeping a ice pack or cooler handy. You can even put a frozen water bottle in your camera bag just to keep the temperature down. You don't need to put the bottle right up against the camera though. Be careful because the sudden temperature change from the cooler to the ambient air can cause condensation. If that happens, let the camera sit in the ambient air for a bit til the condensation evaporates. And be sure to take care of yourself as well. Sunscreen. A wide-brim hat. Light-weight clothing covering exposed skin. And most importantly... HYDRATE!!! Even if you are not thirsty, drink water anyway.

B&C Camera Rentals

Art Model, Faerie

“A camera is a SAVE button for the mind’s eye.”

~ Roger Kingston

In Part II of my Photographer's Block series, "Get Some Gear" was Tip #5 and that covered renting photo/video gear as an option to help you break free of Photographer's Block. I thought it might be a good idea to cover that in a little bit more depth.

B&C Camera is an independently owned brick and mortar camera store, owned by German photographer, Joe Dumic. It is one of the fastest growing stores in the western U.S. and is steadily evolving. The Camera Rental department is what I'll obviously focus on in this post. Joe continues to add more and more camera gear to the rental inventory. You can now get the newly released Sony A9 to rent if you want to try it out before you buy it. Testing gear is one thing. Businesses and professional shooters will rent out a lot of gear at one time. I remember when Matt Damon came to Las Vegas to film his latest "Jason Bourne" movie last year. You'd think those guys would have brought everything they needed, but nope. They came to B&C Camera for gear.

Art Model, Faerie

If I had to guess, I'd say film crews need more lighting gear than anything. Especially out-of-towners who don't want to pay the extra airline baggage fees for lighting equipment. Locals will spend more on camera and lens gear when they get a gig which calls for an upgrade on what they may currently already own, particularly lenses. You can get anything from 8mm to up to 600mm glass. Special events come to Las Vegas all the time. That's when you see the 70-200s of all brands began to disappear off the shelves. The Super moons will make demands of the Tamron 150-600 for both Canon and Nikon models. And its all easy as pie to rent. So how do you get some gear? Glad you asked.

“The eye should learn to listen before it looks.”

~ Robert Frank

The first thing you have to understand is that B&C Camera is a retail camera store who happens to do rentals. So Joe has to secure his inventory with credit card deposits usually for the replacement cost of the rental. We get plenty of people who come in with cash deposits as well. They may need an extra speedlight and will do a cash deposit of $400 or so. You you'll need a credit card and you ID. But first, you online and choose some gear! You can reserve it right there on the spot for the date you need it for. Be smart and make your reservations as soon as you know you'll need the gear. There are multiple availabilities on a lot of rental gear, but not for everything. There's only one A9 at the moment, for instance. So reserve it before some other smart photog beats you to the punch.

Art Model, Faerie

You can see how much the deposit is when you make your reservation. You don't pay anything at the time of reservation. All that's done at the store when you go pick up your rental. So make the reservation online. One the day of pick-up, bring your ID and credit card. The credit hold will go on the credit card. Debit cards are not advisable and they won't usually take them for deposits. For whatever reason, banks don't release the deposit hold very quickly. It can take up to 30 days and that will usually piss some people off. Coming up to the store to complain won't help. Its got nothing to do with the store. Its a bank issue. So bring a credit card.

Art Model, Faerie

You'll usually get an email notification alerting you that your rental is ready for pick-up. Someone will test out the gear you are renting, make sure the battery is charged, and bag everything up, making the process more efficient. All you have to do is sign all the rental paperwork. At this point, they'll run your card for the deposit authorization which will then put a hold on those funds. So if you're renting a camera and a lens, the total deposit might be $2000. You need to have at least that amount on your credit card available to you. Lets say you have $2500 available on your credit card. When they run your deposit, $2000 will be held on that card and you will then only have $500 available to you until you bring back the camera gear and the hold falls off. It may take another day or two for the bank to release that hold, but in any case, you are not charged anything. It won't even show up on your statement.

After that, you simply pay the daily rental fee up front. You rent for 3 days at $50 per day, then you'll be charged $150 right there on the spot. But get this... Saturday, Sunday, and Monday count as ONE day... a weekend rate. So if you reserve it for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, you only pay for ONE day, not 3. Just have it back on Monday before 7pm. So make your reservation online, bring in your credit card and ID, and sign all the paperwork. After all that, you're walking out with your gear with high expectations! Some things to keep in mind, though. You may need to also rent some extra batteries. And if you're getting a high resolution camera, you just might need some extra SD cards. The Sony A7rII is a 42-megapixel beast with large file sizes. I shoot with 32Gb cards. Maybe you'll want 64Gbs. So keep all that in mind. Happy Shooting!

Art Model, Faerie

10 Tips on Photographer's Block Part II

Art Model, Covenant ©2017 Terrell Neasley

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.” — Pablo Picasso

Now that you have given close and careful consideration to the Four previously posted Realization Points, let's get into some of those actual tips on dealing with Photographer's Block. There are a myriad of different taskings you can assign yourself. I have written more than a hundred just for the explicit purpose of speaking or writing on this before. But I want to challenge you just a wee bit differently here in this post. The goal isn't so much to just give you all the answers and have you mimic programmed robots that execute commands. The objective is two-fold, but they run together. I want to prime your pumps, so to speak, and get you into the habit of thinking. In the majority of these examples I give, it still leaves open room for your input, creativity, and values that are important to you. Here are the first FIVE, I'll challenge you with in this post. You can let these digest a bit before I do the last FIVE later on.

Tip #1 on Dealing with Photographer's Block: Volunteer

One of the best cures for dealing with your own troubles is to help someone else out of theirs. Find a "Give Back" project and open yourself to it as much as you dare to. I won't tell you what to do and it doesn't even have to be in a photographic capacity. Volunteer somewhere that you feel is meaningful and that you know you can make a contribution. The specifics don't matter so much. Photography doesn't matter that much either. The reward should be purely intrinsic and your intentions completely altruistic. Start there and spend some time in this endeavor. When you are ready, pick up the camera and consider documenting this cause, but only when you begin to see the story in it.

I've spoken regularly about my efforts to help out NowILayMeDownToSleep.org which offers remembrance photography services primarily for little babies that don't make it long after birth. These are professional portraits done that mark a child's time on this planet much better than a birth/death certificate can do. Its likely the only portraits that will ever be done. I reached my limit with this program after about 5 years. Trust me. Its good to know your limitations. Now this is a give-back program that already involves a camera. However, there have been several more causes that I've taken up whereby I brought the camera in later. So you search yourself and look for opportunities to give back.

Art Model, Covenant ©2017 Terrell Neasley

Tip #2 on Dealing with Photographer's Block: Act like there is no block

Yes, it sounds crazy, but think about it for a minute. First, staying positive about the situation is the absolute best thing you can do for yourself. Second, conducting yourself and your affairs as if there IS NO block is the ultimate in self affirmations that will help you actually BELIEVE there is no block. But lets take those two points of fact out of the picture for a minute. The third reason is that you can easily FORGET that you are blocked by allowing yourself some distractions. When you take the pressure off, you can bring in some much needed reprieve by catching a movie or spending some time with someone important to you. Before you know it, you're not blocked. See? Not so crazy.

"When I am stuck … I just search for excitement, but not too hard. It is when I find myself playing more than trying that I find my way out of a block." - Aris Moore

Art Model, Covenant ©2017 Terrell Neasley

Tip #3 on Dealing with Photographer's Block: Get Desperate

Right. I know what you're going to say. This sounds like the opposite of Tip #2. Well, that's chiefly because it is. These are not systematic tips that you are supposed to methodically utilize one right after the other. If only one of these tips helps you, then that's all you need. Getting desperate is a trick I used to play on myself during my military days. When a task seemed insurmountable, but absolutely had to get done, I'd change the stakes. Which is to say that I'd imagine much more dire consequences if I failed at my mission. Failure became an unacceptable option simply because the mission perspective changed. I'd do the same thing in high school. I may have an assignment due for which I procrastinated til the last minute. Getting my ass whooped by my mom became the unacceptable option that made me desperate enough to put something on some paper and get an assignment turned in. You'd be much surprised to learn that many of my final grades on last minute projects where over a B. So if you have to, Get Desperate!

Art Model, Covenant ©2017 Terrell Neasley

Tip #4 on Dealing with Photographer's Block: Get a mentor

As self-promoting as this may be, you need somebody like me. I'm an ass-kicker. I'm going to be in your face and I will hold you accountable. That's not to say I go all out drill sergeant on you, but think of me like that big brother that honestly cares about your success and well-being. Because, I do. Finding a mentor like that is priceless. Well, let me not say priceless, because I do sometimes have quite a specific price. But once you got me, you got me. I've got several students that have paid me to teach them photography in my week long one-on-one courses. Its a rare thing to never hear back from them again and some have become very close to me. I'll get a call back from any one of them asking about advice and counsel and it doesn't have to even be photo related. Get a mentor like me.

Art Model, Covenant ©2017 Terrell Neasley

Tip #5 on Dealing with Photographer's Block: Get some gear

I work at B&C Camera on an on-call basis...maybe a day or two a month. We have a Rental department that is absolutely exceptional. I spent the first part of the day yesterday prepping rental equipment by getting people's rental reservation gear tested and ready to be picked up. Its been a while since I had worked there and there have been a plethora of new additions in all sorts of cameras, lenses, LED lighting, audio and video equipment, action cameras, you name it.

You can reserve 135mm Zeiss Batis glass which is perfect for those indoor sports gigs, the Hasselblad X1D-50s, Rode or Sennheiser Wireless Mics, Profoto studio lights, a DJI Osmo X3, or a million different items in the Canon, Nikon, Sony, line-up. And there's plenty of  the latest Tamron and Sigma lenses to even mention. So I'm not even saying you have to go out and buy your own gear. Just go online and reserve it, then pick it up at the store. Wanna play with a Nikon Tilt-Shift lens? Reserve it. Go get it. And see what it looks like. Then see what you can do with it! Get some gear!!

Art Model, Covenant ©2017 Terrell Neasley

The Answer for Procrastination

“Procrastination is like masturbation. At first it feels good, but in the end you’re only screwing yourself.”

~ Unknown

I know many of us declared at the beginning of this year that you were going to finally get to that "Dream" project that you've been putting off for a few years so far. Well! You're in luck. There's still plenty of time left in the year to get your butt in gear and get to working on that gig so you can start some new promises for 2014. So yeah, this is a reminder that you now have about 40 days left on the table to get busy and get hot on that project. I know you have to work. I know the holidays are coming up. Busy, Busy, Busy, as a little bee. That's cool. Everybody's busy. But honestly. How long does it take to conceptualize your dream, plan it out, secure a location/model/prop/equipment and get it in the books? The answer is not long once you commit to the idea.

Let me help you out a bit. Start here: Tell yourself, "No matter what, I WILL get this project done!". Then sit down for a minute. Got no time? Sure you do. You're human. That means you require food and water. At some point you're gonna have to go to spend a little time in the bathroom...a few minutes at least. Sooo, can you see where I'm going with this. No? Fine, I'll spell it out. Take a pad and pen into the bathroom with you the next time you have to "spend some quality time" in there. While you are sitting down for a few minutes, this is an excellent time to conceptualize, write down ideas, and think about how you're going to pull this thing off and what you'll need. You don't need to spend a whole day in the bathroom, just enough time to get pen to paper and get those ideas out before your legs go to sleep.

See, that's a guaranteed few minutes every day! You don't need much more than that. And once you've got it written down, you can commit some time while you go about your regular day. On your way home from work, you can call up that fave model of your's and ask about her availability. Gotta pick up groceries from the store? Great. Stop by the hardware store right next to it and get the materials for the set you have to build. Or maybe its as simple as getting some gear. B&C Camera has a bunch of cameras, lenses, and lights you can rent for the weekend. You can easily reserve what you need ahead of time, pick it up Friday (after 3pm) and return it Monday (before 3pm) and only have to pay ONE day's rental fee! How cool is that. So if you require a macro lens, they got it. Prefer a wide-angle lens instead...they got it. What about some lighting? They got a 2-light Elinchrom wireless trigger kit complete with softboxes and stands that you can get for about $40 for the entire weekend. If you're not in Vegas, check out some online rentals like LensRentals.com or BorrowLenses.com.

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

~ Walt Disney

Need some ideas? Okay. Do that thing you normally do, but this time shoot it at night. Just try some long exposure stuff for a change. Add some light painting. Take that flash off TTL and use some of its other functions. Ever drag the shutter with it? Ever do any high-speed sync work on it? How about some stroboscopic techniques? Ever do that? Try some macro work. Do something in that remote location that you came across while hiking last year, next to that goofy looking tree your friend took a picture of you in. Work on that self-portrait project you've been saying you were going to do. Try to emulate a lighting style you saw in that movie poster your girl/boyfriend likes so much. Here's another one. Freeze the action on a quick-moving subject. Like a dancer spinning around, where you capture every single strand of hair frozen in space with no blurring. You now have 40 days left to get your project done. Don't procrastinate any longer than you already have. If you think I'm speaking to you, I am. Get started. No more excuses. Go Shoot.

Looking for Something Different to Shoot?

“I shutter to think how many people are underexposed and lacking depth in this field.” 

– Rick Steves

Art Model, doll ©2013 Terrell Neasley

Including myself, I've got at least 4 other photographer friends who are looking at that next big thing or trying to find something else to work on with a camera. Coming up with new ideas can be tricky, especially when you are used to shooting one specific genre of photography. Its even harder when you are trying to find a new and interesting angle in that same genre. I put myself in both categories. I want to do new and I also want to give a little punch to my nude work.

Art Model, doll ©2013 Terrell Neasley

So here are a few things to consider, even if you are looking to dust off that old camera and remove the lens cover for the first time in ages. First, look at photos! You can review online sites such as Flickr or 500px, pick up your favorite paperback magazine, or check out the latest "how-to" books, find great work and study them. Spend time catching up with other artists in your field and see what they are doing. Look at the images you like and ask yourself what elements or concepts about the image got your attention. I'm not saying you have to copy or jump on the latest bandwagon, but often submerging your mind in imagery can act like a primer to get the creative flow to pumping.

Art Model Faerie, demonstrating
long-exposure, light-painting, and stoboscopic flash,
©2012 Terrell Neasley

Second, in addition to different genres of photo, you can try your hand at new concepts in photo. Its one thing to go from fashion photography to sports, but what about doing long- exposures or light painting? This is one of my areas of concentration lately. What about branching out even further and trying some time-lapse work? Ever work with flash? ...possibly so. But have you used REAR-CURTAIN SYNC? Ever clicked over to the STROBOSCOPIC feature? If these ideas aren't as forthcoming, then try this: Whatever it is that you normally do, MOVE IN CLOSER! Try a prime (fixed focal length) lens, like a 35mm or a 50mm and come in closer to your subject for a different perspective.

“If your photos aren’t good enough, then you’re not close enough” 

– Robert Capa

Art Model, doll ©2013 Terrell Neasley

Fellowship with other photographers. Join a club, meetup group, or just find a gaggle of photogs to hang with and go shooting. Chances are, you are not in this alone. You MUST know at least ONE other friend who is an aspiring pixel-punisher. Team up and go someplace to shoot, whether it be local or a day-trip. Find some place neither of you have yet visited and explore. B&C Camera is an excellent place to learn. Several photo regulars who are experts in their fields come to "shoot the breeze" over coffee, bagels and cream cheese on just about every Saturday afternoon. Hanging out at the camera store and talking with other like-minded individuals is bound to trigger an idea or two. At the very least, you'll develop friendships that can help build your foundation in photography. I say this because this was an excellent source for me when I moved to Vegas and transitioned from film into digital photography for the first time. So I'm passing this nugget of a resource on to you.

Art Model, doll ©2013 Terrell Neasley

An often overlooked idea is to RENT SOMETHING! You can rent a new lens like a wide-angle or even a fish-eye lens to give you a different perspective on your work. You can rent a completely new system or brand if you think you might want to eventually buy or just rent on the occasions you need it. I'm considering the Sony RX-1 to purchase later this summer. So I plan on renting it for $150 for a week's use to see how I like the performance of the camera as well as judging how well I can get used to having a fixed 35mm lens and no viewfinder. This is a full-frame camera for a quarter of the cost of a Leica equivalent. I can even try both and compare the systems. BorrowLens.com or LensRentals.com are excellent sources for this. If you are local to Las Vegas or visiting, be sure to check out B&C Camera rental gear, ready for immediate pick-up.