Getting low at winter

I was wondering if someone has found a way to get low-angle sharp images from waterfowl during the winter time when air is cooler than water. I have been disappointed couple of last times after coming home and checking my raw-files and I’m assuming that the softness I have witnessed is due the phenomenon I mention above and which must be a problem especially for us here in Northern latitudes.

How do you guys cope with this one? Do you stand up, move to south or do you wait until spring arrives again?


Thanks,

Mikko

I'm not sure I fully understand what you mean. Are you referring to conditions when mist rises off the cold water and creates a bit of washing out to your images, or just a general softness - perhaps caused by atmospheric conditions? Perhaps condensation on your lens from getting out of a warm car? In any case I don't personally don't find a difference, even if lying flat on the ice. Just low-angle business as usual.

With the recent cold spells moving south sounds like a great option!:t3

Daniel I can see both (washed colors and softness) and I'm assuming that this is because the mist / humidity raising from water. But I think this happens when water is warmer than air. This phenomenon becomes more visible with longer focal length, meaning especially when I use the combo 500 + 2.0 TC. And I can take reasonable sharp images with this same combination at the summer time so I don't believe that the combo itself is the reason.

As an example I was taking photos from a Wood Duck last Sunday. I took 300 images and didn't have one keeper. This was the second time it happened, both times when I have tried to get really low.


Thanks,

Mikko

Mikko,
Alas, moving south isn't necessarily going to help; we have the same problem down here on really cold mornings. Heat and moisture rising from the water surface into cold, dry air causes the moisture to condense just above the water surface; fog, basically, but not always visible. Of course, that often coincides with the cold fronts that push more ducks our way in the first place. As if that weren't enough, we get a lot of haze in the air in summer, plus, we often have warm, humid air over cooler water which also causes water to condense out of the air near the surface. Unfortunately, unless they're in flight, on the surface is where our subjects are. The fog isn't always visible, but it's there, and, winter or summer, it will cause a loss of sharpness. Changing the shooting angle won't help; the best we can do is get closer and shoot through as through as little air as possible. I know, easier said than done, but long lenses and long shooting distances just magnify the effect.

Having a slight breeze blowing sometimes makes for better conditions. Otherwise, if there's visible mist rising off the water, it sometimes isn't a bad idea to use it, to set a different mood for the shot; I've seen some nice images made that way. Sometimes we just have to work with what nature gives us.

Keep in mind too that my longest FL is "only" 400mm...Surely the reason I am not affected like you super tele + TC users...

Thanks again for your comments guys. I agree that getting closer might be the only option. But hey luckily it's February already... :bg3:

Mikko