Plant photography - a different approach Part 2 - Sunny and hot conditions
Fwd: Plant photography - a different approach Part 2 - Sunny and hot conditions : 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (1)
In Part 1 I concentrated about suitable clothing for wet and cold conditions incl. a combination of both.
Of course conditions can be bright and sunny. If one does not have the necessary 'protection', then photography will suffer or stop altogether.
In places like Ladakh, one needs to take care to protect the skin and head from ultra-violet - which can EASILY burn.
I ALWAYS (almost) wear a hat and plaster myself with not just heavy-duty 'sun-screen' but also 'glacier cream' (even stronger) on the nose - which is particularly vulnerable.
My PREFERRED sun-hat is one akin to that used by Edmund Hillary when he was on Everest. Such hats are found in New Zealand (which was his home country, so it was NOT a 'Britisher' as such, who first reached the top of Everest but a New Zealander and a Nepalese (not an India) -
both participants in a British Expedition.
This has a flap at the back for extra protection.
My favoured 'sun-glasses' are not the usual 'fashionable' ones but heavy-duty GLACIER GOGGLES, which have extra side-protection. These are not easy to find these days, as they do not look 'sexy' or whatever is viewed as a 'fashion item'. I can go to an "outdoor" shop in the UK and find 50 different sun-glasses - yet NONE are suitable to my mind!! But they look "cool".....
They need to be able to cope with u.v. light and extremely bright conditions. Cheap & cheerful ones, especially those which easily break, are a liability.
I make sure the hats have a cord (along with the glasses) so they are not LEFT BEHIND, LOST or in the case of the hat, BLOWN AWAY.
PLEASE NOTE I WEAR BOTH THE HAT AND GOGGLES IN DELHI and other 'lower' places. The goggles are good when travelling in auto-rickshaws when it is all-too-easy to get dirt in the eye, which then become sore or infected.
Whilst in no way 'bald', the hair on the top of my head is much thinner than it was. A few years ago in Ladakh, I was just below the Chang La (which can be accessed by vehicle) attempting to photograph plants. The conditions had been cloudy (in fact it had snowed earlier). I foolishly left my hat in the vehicle. The cloud cleared. I was exhausted and did not want to bother to return to the vehicle for a short excursion - I ended up with burnt skin on my head!
I NEVER wear shorts, as many foreigners do. This is more respectful and unquestionably so for females.
I remember on my first visit to Nepal, seeing a young American trekker in shorts, marching past me, rather dismissively glancing at my walking stick (for stability) and full clothing (it was quite warm). Later, I saw him again. He had slipped on the trail (the trails incl. steps at lower elevations are often slippery) and hurt his leg, whilst leeches had got to places no gentleman would wish leeches to reach.....
I attach a single image taken as a slide on the Rohtang - no waterproofs nor woolly gloves needed that day!