Large format in the Amazon Rainforest

[Scott Chandler]

Hello

I will be spending June 2010 in the Brazilian Amazon shooting large format colour film. Any general advice? Any advice on non-obvious equipment or supplies to bring?

My housing and food is being taken care of by some local residents. I'm not entirely sure of the living conditions but I don't believe there will be electricity or much access to it. I'll be about a 15 hour river boat trip to the nearest town. I've done research for transportation and vaccinations and all that.

Some of the details, I can provide more if needed: I'll be taking a Toyo field camera, three lenses, 10 film holders, and probably 300 sheets of film. I may up that to 400 if budget/space permits. I have a Lowepro Dryzone 200. Any advice on transporting and storing film? I'd like to keep as much photo-related gear in the backpack which will be with me at most times (to avoid theft or nosy people opening up a box of film without me knowing). I'll have my other standard camera stuff with me of course (loop, meter, dark cloth, change bag, etc.), as well as a Canon G10 for exposure tests or snapshots.

Mostly I'd like to know about film storage while in the field, especially in a humid climate like this one. I was thinking of buying a Pelican case to store film and holders, but I don't want another piece of luggage in addition to my backpack and dufflebag, and the backpack is waterproof anyways.

If anyone has done similar work I'd love to hear from you, or if anyone has any kind of suggestions or resources to check out that'd be extremely appreciated.

Thanks and happy holidays.

[GPS]

Don't forget a head sweat band. Don't put accessories on the forest floor (ants get everywhere in no time) - hanging them in a bag is better, if possible. Watch about where you put your head in the green vegetation (tree snakes, spiders) and your feet too (the same).

[Mike Tobias]

Silica jel packs, if you don't have them, get tons of them. Keep them with your lenses (to avoid fungus), but ESPECIALLY around your film to keep it dry. I'd also recommend taking more film, having taken trips where I thought I had more than enough, sometimes it still gets ruined through stupidity/accidents. And zip-loc bags, double bagging everything you don't use on a regular basis (or just want to store) is a very good idea.

Mike

[GPS]

Lock&Lock plastic boxes are excellent against humidity for film and film holders. You can open them at home in a drier environment to get the wet air from the forest out.

[Toyon]

What about the rain, dripping foliage, insect/snake/frog squirts? You'll need some kind of rain cover.

[William McEwen]

Read this book: In Trouble Again by Redmond O'Hanlon. He's an explorer, not a photographer, but I think the book will help a lot. The book is extremely funny, and it will give you detailed information about day to day life trying to keep everything dry, outwitting ants, etc., and why before peeing you must wear an apparatus on your, ahem, well, you'll find out.

[Steven Tribe]

Satelite phone (can be hired). At least 4 people (1 preferably a doctor). Special insurance which will include helicopter rescue. Check life insurance covers. Flexible return flight booking. Light trap if insects are your thing (can be hired).

[Heroique]

Hi Scott,

The Amazon’s rainy season is generally from November through April, so your visit in June brings you into the country as the sun reacquaints itself with the land.

My principal adversary in the Olympic Rain Forest (Washington state) is contrast when the sun finally breaks through the clouds – an issue, of course, in any dry-season Rain Forest big enough to bewilder Hansel and Gretel, especially when you’re carrying transparency film. How you address it depends, of course, on your aims.

And it’s why this helpful Thread (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=42855
) naturally occurred to me since I had asked about difficult lighting under the broken canopy of the Rain Forest nearest me.

All the suggestions – many about unique exposure methods – may very well apply to your Amazonian adventure.

:)

[Scott Chandler]

Thanks for your suggestions, keep them coming.

I did consider the weather, and figured it would be best to avoid the rainy season. However, I do prefer even, overcast light when shooting outdoors but I know I can't make the trip until May 1st at the earliest, and June will allow me to be more prepared as I'll be wrapping up another project end of April. As well, the site I'll be primarily photographing will be an open area without canopy, though I do want to explore the surroundings as well. I'll be shooting on 160NC, so contrast won't be as huge a problem as if I were using transparency.

I believe there was another thread on here discussing silica gel packs and the consensus was that they're not very useful, they become saturated too quickly. I wonder if the gel packs combined with the waterproof Lowepro bag will be just enough?

[jwaddison]

Silica jel packs, if you don't have them, get tons of them. Keep them with your lenses (to avoid fungus), but ESPECIALLY around your film to keep it dry. I'd also recommend taking more film, having taken trips where I thought I had more than enough, sometimes it still gets ruined through stupidity/accidents. And zip-loc bags, double bagging everything you don't use on a regular basis (or just want to store) is a very good idea.

Mike

I'll second all of that. I spent a lot of time in the Peruvian Amazon years ago, and even if it's not the rainy season, it's a hot and humid climate.
Also, take some bug dope, with the highest concentration of DEET you can find. Although you won't need it much during the day, you will find it very useful at night, even to prevent being bitten while sleeping.
Never ever go barefoot especially in the river. There are some nasty parasites. Don't go into the river at all if the water is not moving. Most of the bad things are in the still water.
Not a lot of light reaches the ground under the canopy of a mature rain forest, so if you plan on going there I'd take some fast film (400).
Pay a lot of attention to the locals regarding snakes, crocodiles and other nasty creatures. They can spot them long before you do. If they're not worried you shouldn't be.
Try and learn some Portugese before you go, and take a small dictionary.
Ask your doctor for a prescription of the strongest general purpose antibiotic he can prescribe (not some general tummy-ache antibiotic). The chances of needing it are slim, but it's worth it's weight in diamonds if you do and it's not available locally. Infections of any kind are not fun in that climate.
Most of all, have a good time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.

[Francisco Disilvestro]

Good suggestions here, If you can keep everithing dry (as in your Dryzone 200) I would be more worried about the heat than humidity, so keep the bag where you put your film always in shade.
About your 15 hour boat trip, Is it a large boat with cabin or a small open one? If it is a small open boat, assume that everything will get wet and will be exposed to strong heat.
Besides vaccines and bug dope, bring pills against diarrhea and vomit. Also quinine is recommended against malaria
Bugs will be the most annoying thing by far, especially one very small (smaller than mosquitoes) which I don't know the exact name in English or Portuguese. In Venezuela (where I live) they are called "Jején" and they can pass through regular mosquito nets. You'll need a very fine screen. Anyway ask the locals what would they recommend.

[Charles Young]

Hey Scott,

Where exactly you going? Mamirauá reserve?

I recently took my LF kit to the Amazon and had no issues at all with humidity, animals, sickness etc... but I'd suggest taking some DEET for early morning and twilight shoots, because that's when the mosquitoes are out (not at daytime or night). Just keep your stuff on the bag and make sure it has a rain cover in case you're travelling on a boat with no cover. The amazon is surely humid but it's not gonna dissolve your equipment!

some shots from my recent trip: http://www.brazilianlandscape.com/gallery/2009_Tapajos12

Cheers and enjoy!

Charles

www.paisagembrasileira.com

[Greg Gibbons]

Hey Scott,
...
some shots from my recent trip: http://www.brazilianlandscape.com/gallery/2009_Tapajos12

Cheers and enjoy!

Charles

www.paisagembrasileira.com

Beautiful shots Charles! What camera did you use? Seems to me like using LF is impractical for a lot of those.

I'm going to go to either the Amazon or Costa Rica soon, and trying to decide whether to take the Crown, or just a Mamiya. Suggestions?

[Francisco Disilvestro]

A medium format system will be more practical than LF in those environments. You wil trade Image quality for convenience of course. Just the fact that in those environments it is difficult to stay clean (your hands will be sweating and get dirty very easily) will make the use of LF more difficult.

[jwaddison]

See your local health dept. regarding a recommended anti-malarial drug. Most malaria is resistant to chloroquinine now.

[John Kasaian]

I was on the Mammon tributary of the Amazon years ago.
My observations:
#1 A good guide is invaluable!
#2 Bring drinking buddy along (the beer is chilled in kerosene powered refrigerators and is icy cold. It comes in large bottles but becomes tepid almost as soon as you open the cap, so quickly pour two glasses and chug it. If you try to drink the whole thing yourself the beer will become hot about halfway down the bottle)
#3 Wait unitl you get the South America to start taking malaria tablets----buy them down there, since they know what works in the area you'll be visiting.
#4 Wear lightwieght cotton clothes (long sleeve shirts you can roll up) and bring a hat
#5 Minimize your equiptment---gear grows amazingly heavy and "snag-able" when you're carting it through the jungle.
#6 Bring lots of Chiclettes gum. The kids love Chiclettes!
#7 Beware of thieves. They are more likely encountered in tourist hubs like the airports ( having a savvy guide is your best defense!)
#8 Don't accept any packages someone might ask you to mail for them when you get back home (you'll be begging for trouble with the authorities of you do)
#9 Don't worry about snakes. Let the snakes worry about you.
#10 Photography supplies even in larger cities was practically nonexistant when I was there, and what was available was very expensive.
#11 Have fun!

[Charles Young]

Hey Greg,

Thanks! Indeed I should have mentioned on the previous post I was also carrying a digital kit w/ a tele for the wildlife... The only LF-suitable place I found was alongside the Tapajós River - the B&W pic with the rock on the foreground and the falls on the mid-ground. It's the digital shot on the gallery. I only just recently developed the film, which has some different viewpoints and compositions, and haven't scanned them yet.

The camera choice for me is based on weather it's a photo trip (assignment, workshop, etc) or just regular travel. If you're planning to stay a few days on each spot and explore, take the Crown, if not take the Mamiya (I'm assuming it's a 6 or 7!) which is more responsive for the 'grab' shots.

Btw, carry water ALL THE TIME - and I mean 2 litres+! - I've never sweated so much in life as in the jungle.

Cheers,

Charles

www.paisagembrasileira.com

[Heroique]

Bugs will be the most annoying thing by far, especially one very small (smaller than mosquitoes) which I don't know the exact name in English or Portuguese. In Venezuela (where I live) they are called "Jején" and they can pass through regular mosquito nets. You'll need a very fine screen. Anyway ask the locals what would they recommend.

Just for fun, a few additional words about all the insects…

Alexander Von Humboldt may a dead-white-affluent male – and his entertaining observation below may be more than 200 years old – but the greatest European naturalist who ever visited the Amazon basin may, nonetheless, have some words of wisdom about the airborne animals that could surprise you in June!

“Those who have not traveled the great rivers of tropical America, like the Orinoco or the Magdalena, cannot imagine how all the day long, ceaselessly, you are tormented by mosquitoes that float in the air, and how this crowd of little animals can make huge stretches of land uninhabitable. However used to the pain you might become, without complaining; however much you are trying to observe the object you are studying, the mosquitoes, jejunes, and zancudos will tear you away as they cover your head and hands, pricking you with their needle-like suckers through your clothes, and climbing into your nose and mouth, making you cough and sneeze whenever you try to talk. In the Orinoco missions the plaga de las moscas, or plague of the mosquitoes, is an inexhaustible subject of conversation. When two people meet in the morning the first question they ask each other are: ‘Que le han parecido los zancudos de anoche?’ and ‘Como estamos hoy de mosquitos?’ (‘How were the zancudos last night?’ and ‘How are we for the mosquitoes lately?’).”

Sounds like he was missing three modern solutions you won’t have to:

1) Decide how much Deet repellant you think you’ll need
2) Double that amount
3) Repeat #2

;)

[jwaddison]

I was on the Mammon tributary of the Amazon years ago.
My observations:

#3 Wait unitl you get the South America to start taking malaria tablets----buy them down there, since they know what works in the area you'll be visiting.


#9 Don't worry about snakes. Let the snakes worry about you.

#11 Have fun!

Well, #11 is dead on, I don't agree with 3 or 9.
Most malaria drugs need to be started two weeks before arrival in the area, and continued for 4 weeks after. And they may not have the "best" drug, just the cheapest.
You shouldn't be paranoid about the snakes, but not careless about them either. They're not uncommon and some are very aggressive. Take your cue from the local people.

[Scott Chandler]

Thanks again for the advice.

I'll be photographing the remains of a former plantation town along the Tapajos river, I have a guide who is taking me there and he will be introducing me to friends who have allowed me to stay with them.

Large format is necessary, most of the prints will be around 36x45" and some will be 36x85", so I'll need the quality of a 4X5 (I don't like grain). Originally I was going to bring a 6x17 back or dedicated camera for the panoramic prints, but I think it will be better to just stitch two 4x5 negatives together, instead of bringing more equipment and roll film.

[William McEwen]

Well, #11 is dead on, I don't agree with 3 or 9.
Most malaria drugs need to be started two weeks before arrival in the area, and continued for 4 weeks after. And they may not have the "best" drug, just the cheapest.


A photographer who goes to Africa a lot told me she'd rather have malaria than suffer the side effects of the anti-malaria drugs...

[jwaddison]

A photographer who goes to Africa a lot told me she'd rather have malaria than suffer the side effects of the anti-malaria drugs...

Larium is probably the most effective anti-malaria drug, but one in 6 to 10,000 people have serious side-effects with it. There are a couple of others with almost no side effects that are probably just as good. Your doctor should know if you are likely to have any side effects.

Usually the cure for the malaria is massive doses of the same drug you should have taken as a prophylactic.

[Scott Davis]

If you want to take the digital camera for the purpose of shooting digital, by all means go for it, but don't take it as a meter/polaroid exposure checker. Most digital cameras do not have the same sensitivity/spectral response as film, so what you see is not going to be what you get if you mix media. If you need a meter, bring a real meter that you have already calibrated to your shooting process.

[Michael Rosenberg]

Insect repellent is probably the most important thing - especially on the darkcloth. Be careful not to trap mosquitoes etc. in the bellows when setting up the camera!

Do not get products with the maximum amount of deet. It does not last long and breaks down. What you want is what the army uses: 3M SRL-12 Ultrathon Insect Repellent Cream. And before you leave spray down all your clothes with permethrin - see: http://www.amazon.com/3M-SRL-12-Ultrathon-Insect-Repellent/dp/B001UTKTCO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1253370065&sr=8-1 and read the reviews on the products. Both can be bought at REI. Also read on the REI site the recommendation in the review on permethrin of how to apply it to your clothes - it will last for 5-6 washes before needing to be reapplied.

Mike

[jwaddison]

The 3M cream and the permethrin sound interesting and worth a try. I hadn't heard of these.
Are you sure the high concentrations of DEET break down quickly? I bought half a dozen small plastic bottles of 90% (this may be a higher concentration than is now legal) a few years ago and am still using it. I haven't noticed that it's become any less effective.

[Michael Rosenberg]

If you read the comments/reviews at the sites I posted they all mention Deet breaking down by 6-8 hrs, regardless of the concentration, unless formulated in a suspension. So 90% Deet is no better than 40% Deet.

Mike

[jwaddison]

I misunderstood your post. I thought you meant it didn't last long in the bottle. The 3M cream seems to last a long time on the skin and resist sweat, from the reviews I read.
The 3M cream uses DEET as its active ingredient at about 35 %. The Centre for Disease Control in the US recommends an insect repellent with a concentration of 30 to 50 % DEET.
I think I'm going to Guyana in the near future, and if I can find some (insect repellent ain't easy to find in Canada this time of year) I'll give it a try.

[Brook Martin]

I traveled on The Rio Solomois shooting for a fishing book about 10 years ago. I found the first larium dose entertaining and every following weekly dose increasingly nasty with wicked real dreams. I skipped my last dose when home cause I just couldnt bare it. I was jumped by chiggers one night when not wearing socks, my legs looked like hamburger from my knees to my toes for over a month after. wear socks! I crashed 2 Nikon N-90's due to humidity, but it was the rainy season. I found using a dry bag in the boat while shooting to work well for the hand held cameras, I would just fold it to avoid the quick on/off rain yet had quick access and didnt hold moisture in the bag. coca cola and fishing hooks were pretty universal commidity for barter. I really liked my spf 30 long sleeve shirt during the day, the sun is HOT! I like the 3M bug dope myself. Have a blast!

[jeroldharter]

I agree with DEET for the dark cloth but otherwise I would not use it. Very easy to smudge it on your photo equipment and muck things up. Instead, invest is some Buzz Off type clothing - long sleeve fishing shirt (cool and ventilated), baseball hat, and bandana for neck. I spent a week in Quetico in a coud of mosquitos wearing a headnet while my Buzz Off clad friend was unemcumbered and unmolested.

The terry cloth head bands and wrist bands are good ideas. Sweat will be an issue. Also agree with bugs in the bellows precautions. Don't change lenses unless you have to.

Plastic bags and dry bags are good but if you leave gear in there very long you can have moisture problems inside the bags. A Pelican case is an ideal case for transporting gear and then use a pack when you get there.

Under the dark cloth can be miserable with humidity. Might be a good time to try a cut up T-shirt that breathes better and can wipe the brow while you are at it.

The light in a rainforest is very dim - you will be surprised how dim if you have not been there before. Think twice if you plan to take 300 sheets of Velvia. ASA 400 film will still be a challenge. Trying to focus a wide angle lens in the dim light, heat, humidity, sweat in the eyes, mosquitoes buzzing - you will remember the ones that turn out.

[Scott Chandler]

Hello

Just thought I'd give an update to this thread. I spent two months in the Brazilian Amazon last year, about 6 weeks in a small town/village on the Rio Tapajos, and another two weeks in a small town near Santarem.

I ended up shooting about 340 sheets of colour 4x5 with a Toyo field camera. Some interiors of some old buildings, but mostly exteriors and landscapes. There were no significant problems, though I wish I brought lighter gear. I kept everything in a Lowepro Dryzone 200, which did a great job of protecting my stuff from from wetness and humidity, which could be extreme at times. In fact, every night before sleeping I cleaned my equipment, loaded film and made sure everything was working, and then later the next day (usually at last light) when I reopened the bag to shoot, I could feel the cool, dry air that was trapped in the bag from the night before. In the backpack I kept a rotating amount of maybe 10 small disposable silica gel packs. They never felt really saturated, but it probably helped. It worked well in rain, leaky ceilings, and luckily there were no boat complications so it was never submerged, but I'm confident it would have been okay if it had gone overboard. Film was changed in a changing tent.

Otherwise I didn't change too much from how I would shoot in North America, aside from sweating a lot more. Light was dim, even though I was in usually open spaces outdoors, but I just went with long exposures. Negotiating film at the airport was often difficult, but in the end I was able to get away with just visual examinations of my 8 boxes of 4x5 film at each connection, luckily. Having instructions printed on the film boxes in each language I was flying into/out of helped.

Just thought I would post an update in case anyone comes here with a similar project.