What was the worst environment you have shot in?

johndevane wrote in post #8089642
Mother-in-Law in my studio.

i guess mine would be a drowning rain... maybe some mist with high winds at about 10 degrees.

mizouse wrote in post #8088615
i shot a baseball game in rain with an XTi and 70-300 IS and no rain gear...

but it was socal rain so it wasnt heavy at all.

Hey all,

Then it wasn't rain, it was the mist makers at the stadium!!

Gary W.

Dong Ha - Vietnam

By far the worst environment I ever shot in was as a Combat Cameraman at Dong Ha near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in what was then South Vietnam.

It was so dusty that the rain drops would literally kick up clouds of dust before those drops turned the dusty ground into a sea of mud.

Oh yes! To add to the nastiness of the environment, there were some guys lobbing large caliber artillery shells at me (at least, I felt that they were directed specifically at me). They didn't hit me but, were a great annoyance.

My Bell and Howell Model 70 16mm motion picture camera (Filmo) and my 16mm Arriflex mopix camera ran merrily all through dust, dirt, rain, mud and bad guys fire throughout Vietnam. However, my two Canon film SLR cameras (FD and FX) conked out on the first day shooting in the Dong Ha area. They couldn't take the dust!

johndevane wrote in post #8089642
Mother-in-Law in my studio.

now THAT takes the cake!!!

I did *ONE* paintball shoot...
it was the hottest day of the year... I was given a big padded yellow raincoat, mask, etc...
I sweated like crazy... my eyes were burning throughout most of the day...
on one hand, had a BLAST... on the other hand, I had never been stuck in so much of my own sweat...
but I did manage some great shots, didn't damage anything (gear or me)... I've never been asked to do it again though, and maybe I'm a little thankful...

Probably 30 degree weather with 15mph sustained winds, gusts going up to over 30 while it was sleeting.