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| The main entrance to the Ocean City, Maryland boardwalk. Notice the Covid-19 warnings painted on the macadam. Kind of permanent, I would think. I hope not. A closer photo is just below. (click to enlarge) |
Last week two photography buddies and I embarked upon our annual "bird, wildlife, small town, backroads, Americana and whatever tickles our fancy" photography excursion. Also known as the "BWSTBAWTOF" photography trip. Lol. Our initial destination is always the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge located on Assateague Island on Virginia's Eastern Shore adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. On the way to the island, while there and on the way back home there are many opportunities for excellent photography as well.
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| I hope not a permanent state of affairs. (click to enlarge) |
We had a great time! Many times before I've said that even if I didn't make a single image, the friendship, camaraderie, shared experiences, conversation, eating freshly caught seafood and just hanging out with good friends would still make the trip great.
This was a Monday through Thursday trip. On my drive to Chincoteague Monday morning it was very foggy. On my route, I had to drive over the 17.5 mile (28km) Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The fog was so thick I could not see beyond the railings on the sides of the bridge nor more than a couple of hundred feet in front or in back of me. Driving the 17.5 miles, I did not encounter one other vehicle going the same direction or the opposite direction. With the darkness, thick fog and no other vehicles, it was really spooky. I was starting to wonder if I wandered into the Twilght Zone. A very unusual condition as that bridge-tunnel is very heavily traveled.
The weather was pleasant for three of the four days but on Wednesday, a northerly wind blew in and brought rain, sleet and even some snow flurries. That is the day we drove north to Ocean City, Maryland to see what photographically interesting subjects we could find. I had never been to Ocean City so it was an opportunity for me to make an initial assessment whether or not to come back when the weather was warmer and dry. Being a large tourist destination with a 'boardwalk,' I anticipated everything would largely be deserted in mid-December especially in the rain, sleet and snow. I was right. No stretch on that prediction. We saw a few people walking, mostly trying to stay out of the rain. Also, there were two businesses that were actually open. I was surprised. One was Fisher's Popcorn and the other a retail clothing and curio shop. Other than that, the place was pretty much deserted. Oh! There were the two rather 'homeless-looking' guys with wet tattered clothes, backpacks and various sundry articles hanging around under the roof in front of the men's bathroom. Nothing to worry about, however.
We walked around on the mostly abandoned boardwalk in the pouring rain. Did I mention is was about 34 degrees F? (1 C) Did I also mention the wind was blowing from the north making the rain, at times, sting like needles hitting our faces? I loved it! I thought the experience was invigorating after spending way too much time at home due to the pandemic.
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| Ocean City, Maryland boardwalk looking north. Rain, rain, rain! I thought the shak was a nice touch. (click to enlarge) |
My Fujifilm X-T4 with the 16-55mm f/2.8 lens hung from my neck, fully exposed to the elements for just under an hour. The camera and lens were thoroughly soaked. On occasion I would point the camera upward to photograph something tall, even the front of the lens got soaked. (I had several lens cloths in my pocket.) I don't think there was a dry spot anywhere. Also keep in mind, we were less than 100 meters from the ocean so I suspect there was some salt mixed in with the wind driven rain. Short of dropping the camera and lens directly in water, I don't think it could have been wetter. And...I let it become that wet as I wanted to see just how weather resistant they both were. That could have been disastrous as I still don't have a backup camera of any kind yet. (I'm waiting for either the X-H2 or X-T5, hopefully, in the first quarter of next year.) There was not even a hiccup.
The camera and lens performed flawlessly during the rain and even to today. Needless to say Fujifilm did a wonderful job weather sealing both pieces of gear from the elements.
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| A boardwalk with real boards. (click to enlarge) |
When we returned to our car, I took an old clean towel an patted the water off the camera body, lens surfaces (except the glass) to absorb as much water as possible without 'pushing' it deeper into crevices. Later that evening after returning to my hotel room, I placed the camera and lens near my room's heater so the warm, dry air would gently bathe both and ensure that any moisture that I wasn't able to remove was air dried. Since the 16-55mm lens' barrel extends, I kept it extended so as to allow the warm air to move into the space as best as possible.
The upshot for me is that I am absolutely not afraid to take my Fujifilm gear out in bad weather. This test was successful and proved to me that I can trust Fujifilm to live up to their promises. Thank you Fujifilm!
Here are some of the 'snapshots' I made while enjoying my walk in the cold, dreary rain. None are more than documentary/record images of our hour walking around on the mostly deserted boardwalk. Memories.
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| Fisher's Popcorn was one of only two businesses we saw that were open. I asked any of the young ladies inside if I could make their photo. Audrey volunteered. A nice smile to brighten a dreary day. Thank you Audrey. (click to enlarge) |
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| A 'fallen' Santa. (click to enlarge) |
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| It was about this time that the rain got heavier. (click to enlarge) |
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| Santa and the pirate. An unusual pairing, I would think. (click to enlarge) |
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| Patterns and colors. (click to enlarge) |
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| Not a deciduous tree in sight yet leaves are piled up by the wind. (click to enlarge) |
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| This is part of the side of one business. The entire wall was decorated in this fashion. Interesting. (click to enlarge) |
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| The Atlantic Ocean is in the background. Plenty of parking was available! (click to enlarge) |
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| This is the other store that was open. Also, along with the Park Place Hotel sign this two business was a nice departure from the dreariness of the day. (click to enlarge) |
My next few posts will also be about the photography trip, the wildlife, some of the landscape images I found and about our gear. Two of us are Fujifilm shooters and the third is an Olympus shooter. I'll relate some stories about how our gear performed and such.
Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
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Dennis, good to hear that your gear survived the wet weather. I think that gear is tougher and more weather resistant than I am. I like the reflections of the Park Place Hotel on the boardwalk in your last photo.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for me, my EM1.2 ended up in a lake, and it did not survive its bath. My 40-150 lens seems no worse for the wear, and I was able to get images off the memory cards, so not a complete loss.
Thanks Jim. I was really pleased that my gear endured the rain. I’m sorry about your Olympus. That is a tough camera but a complete dunking may be more that can be asked of it. I once slipped on some rocks and my Nikon D700 with a 20mm f/2.8 lens attached flew out of my grasp and into a river. I watched as the bubbles rose to the surface. Not a good sign. Both totaled. Luckily I had an all risks insurance policy and was able to replace both at no cost other than the annual premium. Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.
DeleteYes - we can have full confidence in the weather sealing of our Fuji gear. I have related this story before, but in 2018, whilst I was photographing throughout Myanmar, I fell into Inle Lake, in the dark early morning hours. I had all my gear strapped on my body, and if it were not for the hapless boatman, dragging me out like a drowned rat, I may have been in trouble. Long story, but my X-T2's, along with a 18-135 and a 35mm F2, were fully swimming around in the camera bag - they could not have been anymore wet than they were. I wiped them down, dried them out on the windowsill of my hotel, in the sun. I had those two cameras and those lenses for 2 more years before I sold them on. I literally took thousands more photos on those cameras and they never missed a beat. There was not misting in the lenses, no build up of mist - no moisture whatsoever got inside of them. I enjoyed your story. You are very blessed to have good friends to go and shoot with. We recently moved towns and I don't know anybody here to shoot with. I would love a friend like you have to go out and do street photography. I still go by myself, but it gets a bit lonely.
ReplyDeleteGreat story. Thank you for sharing it. If you are ever in SE Virginia in the U.S., email me and we can arrange to get together to make some photographs.
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