Shooting the Thai Countryside
published by: Keith Taylor
Well, our last week in Bangkok ended poorly, and our final morning began very, adequately. Today my wife and I are visiting this tropical isle of Koh Chang for some weeks of relaxation along with couple extremely short times of work (all being well). Prior to leaving we thought i would setting off out partying environmentally friendly . time with just a few friends to favorite bar, Cheap Charlie’s on Sukhumvit.
The evening took a distressing turn when my spouse went clubbing with friends with the seedier districts from the city and, for being an old fuddy duddy, I decided to remain seated at the bar through an Australian expat. My aunt left her handbag when camping, containing her Canon 600D, an extra Canon LP-E8 battery plus a range of SD cards. Total value: around $1,000.
And so i got drunk and left it along the bar.
Overnight of panic puctuated with out enough sleep led me to call the bar every ten minutes today until someone finally acquired. The bag possibly there is! Thank the best Lord. Presumably the contents are intact, too. The girl’s on the telephone explained the bag contained a camera, and this seems unlikely a thief would go away the camera but receive an a small number of SD cards plus a Canon LP-E8.
Here’s the challenge. We leave for Koh Chang in about 60 minutes and we’ll collect the bag in order to riding on the bus station, however batteries are not charged since we spent four hours travelling the metropolis shooting stock photography yesterday afternoon. I know the chief battery is very dead, nonetheless won’t appreciate how much juice the spare has until it’s inside its final stages.
This couldn’t survive a problem, nonetheless the 12 hour bus ride to Koh Chang takes us through probably the most beautiful countryside in Thailand, for currently shooting contributions to have a coffee table book about life via the side of one’s road (an unusual concept, I recognize, it really is looking pretty good up to date). This ride are definitely the perfect possibility for catch a glimpse of traditional Thai life because of the window, also it can be lost due to flat damned battery.
This, though, is when many knowledge about cameras starts. Any photographer recognises that distinct tricks the anesthetist can employ to squeeze the previous drops of juice in a dying battery, the sensation you get this 12 hour trip I’ll have to use every 4g iphone of which to be sure I get no less than a handful of good shots. The actual is to try to turn your feature-rich, power hungry dslr in to a sleek, efficient manual camera. Here’s how you will do it right…
No Auto-focus
Auto focus and image stabilization tend to be other great features of modern cameras, although the motors from the lenses can burn via the battery faster than you can easily blink. Manual focus is important to conserving battery lifespan.
No LCD
Canon’s Live View is my favorite feature on the 600D (especially since my eyesight isn’t the thing it was formerly). It’s my job to frame and concentration my shots via the LCD screen, it really is so far the largest power drain even on a camera battery. It will require a hell from a number of juice to power the screen, nevertheless the viewfinder draws no power in the slightest.
No Preview
Even though you may shoot over the viewfinder the 600D is as well as to automatically flash each shot about the LCD a couple of seconds. In all probability it doesn’t draw a whole lot of power, but every little helps. Soon we will be switching preview off.
Make it a point of Your Shot
After many years of dslr camera use photographers have fallen into the practice of pressing the shutter release halfway before shooting. Ahead of time awakens many different dormant processes, draining power in case you it isn’t for those a photo. After framed and focused your shot, just press the shutter release entirely.
Shut it Down
Today my 600D is about to power down after two minutes of inactivity, but it surely doesn’t go far enough. Even on standby your camera draws power. It’s called ‘vampire drain’, plus your TV, DVD player, PC and everthing else a person depart on standby does exactly the same thing. If you find yourself not shooting, switch your camera completely off.
These techniques might not adequate to stretch a dying Canon LP-E8 spanning a 12 hour trip, though with a little care and several luck I will be prepared to shoot a handful of contributions for that book before that blinking red warning light finally takes over. Wish me luck!
If you find yourself in need of a Canon LP-E8 Battery this one is available on Amazon.com and I highly recommend it.
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