One thing many photographers have learned the hard way is that taking an air-conditioning-cooled lens out into a warm, humid morning can pretty much shut you down for the start of racing.

At the 2017 Worlds in Sarasota, which were held right after Hurricane Irma passed so were plenty warm and humid, the row2k group stayed in an AirBnB in which an attached, secure sunroom patio became the home to all our gear. The sunroom was not air-conditioned at all, so the cameras were acclimatized to the conditions before we even woke up. From there, we skipped the AC on the ride to and from the venue, and never had a problem.

Once your lens is seriously fogged, it can be a Sisyphean task to get it to dry - you can clean the lens as much as you want, but if it's cold it is going to fog up again. And again and again, until the equipment is acclimatized.

It's not only front of the lens you need to worry about, but the back of the lens, the camera sensor, the eyepiece (though this is more of a nuisance than a photo-wrecker), etc.

How to solve the problem?

One solution is time. If you go out really early, put your camera on the ground, and wait, it should acclimatize. It can be slow going; one of our photographers factors in at least 30-45 minutes before he will try to take a photo.

Not everyone can or wants to arrive early and watch water evaporate for 45 minutes though.

Another is to bake your gear in the sun; if there is direct sun, your gear can warm up really very quickly. I turn it around like you are grilling; warm up one side, then the other, then the bottom, etc. Even in the morning, In direct sun this approach might take only 5-10 minutes.

Failing those, here is the hack:

Put your gear in the footwell of your car as you drive to the venue, set the heating mode to 'footwell only,' put it on max heat and max fan, and bake it on your way to the venue.

You can tell when the gear is ready simply by touch; if you wrap your hand around the lens and camera and it is more or less the same temperature as the air around you, you are probably good to go.

Heating system settings, though this hack is not likely ecessary when it is 68 degrees

Some more best practices:

• Put on all lens caps before you go out, preferably the night before. This will help keep the moist air off the lens glass when you leave the house.
• Same for attaching your lens to your camera; it is not only the front lens that you have to take care of, but the glass in the back of the lens where it attaches to the camera.
• All of this also applies to the camera itself; the sensor itself can become fogged.
• Don't put your gear in the car air-conditioning; some tactics are to put it in the trunk, the back seat with the windows open, or simply don't use AC.

Out on the bridges, banks, and in the grandstands of rowing venues all over the place, we share space with photographers of all stripes - parents, students, pros, everyone. We're always happy to talk shop and trade tips, and hopefully hacks like these make the job easier.

The M&Ms are another photographer hack entirely

The rowing photographer community can be an entertaining bunch; typically very committed and hardcore, sharing everything from a full drenching to a peak sporting life experience for the people around you. Photographing every crew from the first crew down the course to the last is a challenge and a grind, but it can be a blast. See you by the river!