Wildlife photography in a hot and dry climate has its own problems.
Temperatures over 40°C (104°F) are common in Arabia for much of
the year. In direct sunlight the temperature of camera and films
could get much higher.
We always carry towels and blankets with us in the car when on
a photography trip. Even when outside the car, we often cover
the camera body in a towel. This also protects against other serious
enemies, sand and dust. A few grains of sand can stay unnoticed
inside the camera body and severely scratch a great many rolls
of film. If the worst comes to the worst the sand and dust can
jam up the camera totally.
By the same token, do protect yourself against the harsh environment.
Wear sun block, a hat and drink plenty of water.
Another problem is what kind of film to use in a hot climate.
Our experience of slide films is that Kodachrome 64 and 200 give
disappointing results. The colours are washed out and look bleak.
Various Ektachrome films are even worse, although we had reasonable
results recently with the new Ektachrome 100 Elite.
We suggest that you try Fujichrome Velvia. It adds just enough
brilliance to ground colours and the vegetation to make pictures
more interesting. The film should be rated at ASA 40, not 50 as
the film cartridge says. Otherwise many pictures will be too dark.
This is achieved by manually setting the camera’s film speed dial
at 40. The same effect can be obtained by a + 1/3 compensation
on the camera’s light meter dial. For very pale surroundings or
white birds, a 2/3 or even + 1 compensation will usually be necessary.
Do try out a roll of the film and have it developed before you
go on a trip if it is the first time you try Velvia. The photograph
of a European Bee-eater reproduced here gives an idea of the vivid
colours of Velvia.
At a rating of 40 Velvia is, of course, only half as fast as Kodachrome
64, which many photographers rate at 80 (or give a -1/3 compensation).
Except for scenes with lots of action this is not really a problem
in Arabia because there is usually a very high light intensity.
For a faster film Fujichrome 100 Sensia or Provia are good choices.
These films should be rated as stated, that is ASA 100. Compensation
is only necessary for very dark (- 1/3) or very pale (+1/3) situations.
Fujichrome 400 is too grainy for our liking (as is Kodachrome
200 and Ektachrome 400).
For print film we have much less experience, but it seems that
print films are more tolerant of extremes. Whatever film you choose
make sure that they are kept in a cool place when travelling,
preferably in a cool box.
On a recent photosafari to a hot and dry country we gave two Fujichrome
Velvias to a well-known bird photographer who only used Kodachrome.
Reluctantly, he used the two films. Upon return he wrote that
they were the best he had taken on the entire trip! He, too, is
now hooked on Velvia. We hardly use anything else. Try it!