I noticed that some of the shops in town were deserted last Saturday - and this was two weeks away from Christmas. Even accounting for the effect of on-line shopping and suburban shopping centers, this seemed odd. Then I stepped out into the sunshine and realised what it was all about.
West Australians have become afraid of their own sunshine. Back in 1964 when there was Elvis and Lightburn Zeta motor cars...the automotive equivalent of dinosaurs...I walked down the same section of Hay Street wearing a baseball cap - and was laughed to scorn for trying to shield myself from the sun. All the other kids were trying to be bronzed ANZAC heroes and I was trying to stop from burning. I should imagine a number of those bronzed epidermises are floating in formalin in jars right now...
Back to the heat - innumerable emails and Facebook posts squalled about the heat and traded dire predictions on the actual number that would be reached. It was fun to repost them with an extra 3º each time and read how bad people were gearing themselves up to feel. Perhaps it was a good ploy - I scared them out of the shops and off of the trains I was going to use and I got served first.
Does this have any application to photography? Yes - Australians in summer are sometimes as housebound as Canadians in winter...and some of the same alternative forms of photographic work come into play. Table top photography. Copy work. Indoor portraiture. Interior studies. Nudes. Things you can do with the air conditioner on.
Please also consider your poor old digital camera, simmering all by itself in an all-black professional finish. If you leave it on the parcel shelf of your car when you go into the casino all day you'll see what your luck will bring after sundown...
Likewise remember that real photographers dress in black - like Johnny Cash. So pile on those layers before you stand out on the beach. Wool is nice - burlap is better. You'll know when it is time to go home...
Finally remember that your computer also generates heat - particularly if your computer room is insulated to hold it in while you do your post-shoot editing. You'll peel off layers as you work and eventually look like a crew member in a Japanese submarine.
Note: Camera Electronic has two air conditioners and a water cooler going right now - you're safe to visit us.
