How To Protect Your Gear in the Rain.
This is a topic I’m asked about from time to time.  When you’re a working photographer that doesn’t solely work in a studio you’re bound to end up in wet conditions with gear that’s not designed to be there with you.  So what are you going to do?  Luckily I live in a part of the country that boasts close to 300 days of sunshine so I don’t often come across this scenario but when I do this is how I handle it:

-Use your lens hood to help keep the falling rain off the front of the lens.  As long as you’re aiming the lens straight or downward this does a decent job.  I use my lens hood all the time anyways to help protect the front element from getting scratched as it gets bumped around.
-Use a rain cover for your bag.  My F-Stop Gear bag cover saved me during the Cyclocross Nationals as I wanted a couple of extra lenses and batteries on hand but was standing in the rain for hours. That gear (and snacks) would have been ruined if it wasn’t for that cover.  If your camera bag doesn’t come with a cover no worries you can buy one through Amazon or B&H for $5-$20.  They fold up and stash in most bags pretty easily while not in use.
-Use a rain jacket for your camera and lens.  If you’re shooting with either Nikon or Canon and don’t mind spending a bit of money you have to go with the THINK TANK PHOTO Hydrophobia Rain Cover.  If you know you’re going to be standing out in a down pour for a few hours shooting, it’s worth the money.  I shoot all Sony and like with most awesome things for cameras, they don’t make a version that works with my camera bodies.  So what I use is anOP/TECH USA $3.25 rain sleeve.  It does the job and I like the price.  The bonus with this cheap option is it’s small enough to have stashed in my bag at all times unlike the Think Tank cover which is too big for me to keep on hand for a little bit of rain or a chance of rain.
-The last thing, which most people don’t think about, is keeping those little pouches of silica gel in your bag.  They’re used to capture moister and help keep things dry.

So that’s just what I do though there’s tons of options out there to use.  The main takeaway is, we have options to stay out there and shoot in the elements which gives us a different and sometimes more unique image.

February 21, 2015 | Categories: Action Adventure, Tips & Insights | Tags: adventure photographer, adventure sports, Austin, austin comercial photographer, austin engagement photographer, austin photographer, austin proposal photographer, austin sports photographer, f-stop gear, kayaking, op tech usa, photo tips, think tank, tips, white water | 2 Comments