Film in the Desert

That Guy · 01-19-2004

So I'm planning on a trip to the Southwest this summer. Yeah, I know; desert in the summer, I'm crazy. But you gotta love heat like that.

Anyway, I'm sure that Arches and Bryce will have plenty of landscape photo-ops. But temperatures will probably hover around 100 degrees during the day, at least. I doubt I'll have the AC on in the car, if at all. And about half the time, I plan on being in the backcountry. So I'm not sure what the heat may do to my film. Do I need to worry? Any advice on what to do? I'll be out for around a week.

back alley · 01-19-2004

heat can be a killer...i have used various coolers for day trips. small beer coolers to vinyl sandwich coolers, usually with a frozen gel pack inside.

joe

bmattock · 01-19-2004

I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It's hot, but it is a dry heat (grin). The best part of it is that in a dry heat, a little shade goes a long way. Keep your film or film container out of the direct sun, and you should be fine, really. If it really seems like it might get that bad, a cooler as suggested should easily do the trick. It's not like you're in a sauna down here!

I'd worry more about letting your camera bodies or glass sit out - there have been cameras that have burnt holes in rangefinder shutter curtains, etc. Metal bodies heat up in direct sunlight down here pretty quickly!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

Mike Richards · 01-20-2004

In my experience, Joe got it right. Last summer I used a vinyl lunch bag with a gel cooler and it kept my film cool all day, even inside the car. Had to re-freeze every night, but it worked.
Mike