Dragonophile

I am well aware of air instability effects from my amateur astronomy days. That's one of the reasons that high elevation sites are preferable - less atmosphere to peer through. I know some of the professional astronomers use telescopes with computer software that can help dampen this atmospheric movement effect. Anyone know if such software might be incorporated into consumer cameras in - say - the next decade or so?

Here is my situation. I take pictures of ships and tugs over salt water at a distance. If the air is still, I can get good pictures over a considerable distance. If the air is very unstable, especially on hot days with heat ripples, then only very close pictures are acceptable. Are there any tricks to making pictures better? Next time out in bad conditions I am going to see if cranking up shutter speed will help or not. Mother Nature gives us challenges over and above bad lighting - which I continually fight with ships showing only their shadowed sides.

Especially interested in knowing if any desert landscape photographers have a trick or they just wait it out until conditions cooperate.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Shoot early in the morning before the air has a chance to heat up.

Dragonophile

OK, I will tell all the ships & tugs to only pass my location in the early morning. I am sure they will cooperate. [OK, sorry for the sarcasm, but I take pictures opportunistically based on vessel movements that I have no control over. If I were to take pictures only when conditions were ideal, I would miss out on many vessels. It's like telling a bird photographer to only take pictures when birds are stationary and posing.]

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

You asked and I gave you an answer. Not a sarcastic answer but one based on cause and effect. But then you give me crap for giving you a straight answer. Sounds to me like you don't have the necessary equipment to accomplish the task. I've photographer ships from Cape May NJ, the Chesapeake Bay bridge tunnel, Fenwick island, Assateague island and other locations on the Delmarva peninsula and the North Carolina Outer Banks and I don't seem to have the difficulty you do. I also shoot wildlife including birds in flight and stationary birds.

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

The best light and time of day make for the best possible captures, for All types of photography... I shoot wildlife and use to photograph all during the day. With experience I now shoot in about a 3hr. window to get the Best Light and Best possible results. This requires putting myself out there in that window, waiting for the action to capture the moment for that great image. I don't think there's any easy fix for your problem other than shooting during the best weather and light conditions.

Haydon

This can be answered in the same way a dedicated landscape photographer would approach an opportunity. Frequent the spot until the conditions are conducive. I've heard of landscape photographers returning to the same spot 40+ times before they are satisfied with their image. Morrison makes a good point using early morning light. It's not just for atmospheric conditions, it's for attractive lighting, shadows and colors. Unfortunately no one has control over the weather conditions. Your image can be partially enhanced by using the clarity and dehaze slider in Lightroom. Good luck.

Goober Loc: Southeastern PA

I have experienced this same problem on two occasions when shooting over ocean water using long focal lengths where the air disturbance rendered my photos unusable. I was photographing ships and lighthouses in Alaska and Nova Scotia, so very cold water and during clear weather and bright sun. Even though the water is very cold it is dark enough to absorb enough heat from the sun to result in air disturbance above the water surface. I highly doubt there is a fix for this problem as the effect on the image is significant. Shooting early morning may solve the problem but as you mentioned it doesn’t solve your timing issue of subject availability.

gwh1bass

Have had the same problem shooting baseball on hot sunny summer days in July from the near centerfield going for front on shots of the hitters, especially if the infield is all dirt. Heat wave disturbance creates blurry photos and there is nothing that can be done under these conditions.

bluezzzzz Loc: Stamping Ground, KY

Have you tried playing around with the various modes of Topaz AI Sharpen: Sharpen, Stabilize, or Focus?

In the past I have had shots taken from my car window that I thought would be dead on sharp, ruined by heat distortion, probably partially due to heat rising from the car manifold. So, I've avoided that situation lately, but have wanted to go back to those files and see if Topaz could do something with them. Just haven't tried that yet.

Marshall

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Yes that is a problem and is why I shoot at very close distances. In your situation its not an option...unless you avoid those times.

I suspect it will be addressed as AI programs proliferate and I don't think it will take a decade.

Meanwhile look at different photo editors, some are better than others and most have a free trial period. Good luck and happy shooting.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Former desert shooter. Early morning or after a rain cools things down or winter when days get a very cold 75-80 degrees.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

You have two options - change the atmospheric conditions, or only shoot when they are satisfactory.
Well, a lot of fakery can be done in Photoshop so, unless you are a photographer, that could be a third option.

drobvit Loc: Southern NV

Personally, when I shoot in the desert, atmospheric "disturbances" during midday are normal. If it's captured the way I see it, I'm fine with that. I'm not shooting for a travel brochure or magazine. A CPL does help if I want to tone down the "waves" but I like the realistic look. Adds to the "hot" atmosphere of the shot.

Dragonophile

Well, I shoot with a Fuji XT-3 and 100-400mm Fuji lens. You think that equipment is not up to the task? Oh... you probably mean my mental equipment isn't up to the task, don't you.

The fact you haven't experienced my problem tells me one of three things - either you have taken your own advice and shoot only in ideal conditions, you don't take distance shots of vessels OR you never blow up pictures of those vessels. I often get reasonable pictures in bad conditions, but it's when you examine them closely you see the problems. For example with good conditions, I can magnify parts of a container ship and read the name of the ship and names on the containers. On unstable air days. when I magnify these things, the names are wriggly or smeared.

Your advice was not wrong, but merely not addressing my question: is there anything that can be done to improve pictures WHEN the air is unstable. Of course shooting in ideal conditions is always preferable. I am an amateur hobbyist who contributes pictures of ships to an international website. I want my pictures to be as good as I can get them, but I don't want to miss out on picture opportunities as they arise.

Did not mean to offend you.

Dragonophile

Hmmm... That's something to think about.