Tip of the week: Weather can affect your photography when you least expect it. This past week I went to Florida with my family for a vacation. When taking photos of my daughter on the beach I realized that the high humidity had caused my lens to fog up as soon as we came outside. I snapped a few photos and then waited for the next ten minutes to allow for the fog to dissipate.  Something that many southerners are familiar with is the high humidity during the summer months. Some days are incredibly balmy, especially after a summer rainstorm. The extra moisture in the air will instantly form as condensation on a lens if the lens just came from a cool environment. When moisture forms on the front of a lens, the best solution is to let it dissipate on its own. This can sometimes take up to twenty minutes. For this reason, it is best to allow the camera equipment to 'come up to temperature' in a bag in the warmer air. This will help prevent most condensation forming on the lens when you are ready to take photos.

The haze created by condensation will lower contrast and sharpness in the resulting photographs. If you try to wipe it off the lens, the condensation will just reappear with smudge marks until the lens reaches ambient temperature. This same phenomenon can also be experienced during the winter months if coming from a cold outdoor environment to a warm interior. For this reason, I recommend keeping trying to keep gear in a bag until it settles to the ambient temperature. This can happen at any time if you are not aware of the temperature of the equipment vs the environment. Even the difference between an air conditioned car and the outside environment can cause the lens to fog up.