Photography and "Doom" Scenarios

[keith selmes]

<p>Rifle might be useful in a zombie apocolypse, which seems to be the most likely disaster at the moment. </p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>Kent, I will sometimes watch the anti-Fox for giggles (MSNBC), but I don't have much use for Fox, despite the network being my namesake!</p>

<p>Everyone, so who said we can only be interested in this stuff from the standpoint of a doomsday scenario? Isn't cobbling up your own chemistry the photographic equivalent of climbing a tall mountain? It's a challenge, and there's pride in the accomplishment! It's all about the fun of getting there! Someday I hope to have enough free time to experiment with this stuff, although I suspect most of my raw chemicals will be store-bought. ;-)</p>

<p>Oh, and these sorts of scenarios need not be apocalyptic. Let's not forget our friend Toyo Miyatake. I often wonder if he had a Jewish counterpart in Germany whose work didn't survive. This is the most heroic stuff of documentary photography!</p>

<p>BTW, my description of the making of nitric acid is way off. Almost inexplicably, I forgot to mention a key ingredient -- ammonium nitrate (derived from bat guano, or perhaps procured from someone's garden shed).</p>

[keith selmes]

<p>Yes, the DIY chemistry is interesting, expect I'll try that sometime, but in the disaster scenario, electronics are more useful and probably easier. My smartphone will recharge from a hand operated dynamo for example, and it's a lot more than a phone. Might even have the instructions for chemical processing stored on it.</p>

[bobatkins]

<p>I believe film <em>can</em> be developed in urine. There will probably be no shortage of that, even after the apocalypse, especially not <em>during</em> the apocalypse.</p>

[studio460]

<p>Since I work for a subsidiary of a large news division, I have had some passing ideas on photographic contingency plans. I actually do keep a brick of Tri-X in a refrigerator, and an old Nikon FM body lying around. All I need to get is some lead-lined film bags, and I'll be all set for the next apocalypse! Here's my straight-faced answers to your posted questions:<br>

<br>

1. The collapse of the Western economy is highly unlikely in my opinion.<br>

2. Use the "sunny 16" rule.<br>

3. I have no idea. The more likely scenario is the release of a dirty radiation device of some kind, which would probably only affect a relatively small, localized area.<br>

4. Store film in lead-lined containers.<br>

5. Get one of those vacuum food sealers on TV.<br>

6. The threat of an EMP is real, and can be caused by solar flares. Store sensitive electronics in some kind of metal box (e.g., a steel file cabinet), which acts as a "Faraday cage." I've been thinking of putting a hand-wound/solar-powered AM/FM radio, and a pair of GMRS radios in a small file cabinet just for the heck of it.<br>

7. Likely a cottage industry would develop for these purposes.<br>

8. Modern, underwater housings (Ikelite, Aquatica, Ewa-Marine, etc.) would work fine under these conditions, or possibly a simple Kata rain-hood with a weatherized pro body.<br>

9. If using a carbon-fiber tripod, since it's non-conductive, it wouldn't attract lighting. But, <em>you</em> would, if shooting from high ground while standing.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<blockquote>

<p>"I believe film <em>can</em> be developed in urine. There will probably be no shortage of that, even after the apocalypse, especially not <em>during</em> the apocalypse."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yup. My buddy Larry and other folks on Flickr's "I Shoot Film" group have published some nose-hair-curling recipes for homebrewed developers that really work, including one I dubbed Urinol.</p>

<p>The tricky bit to homebrewed chemicals for silver based emulsions has always been the fixer.</p>

[studio460]

<p>Other contingencies:</p>

<p>I work at a major TV network where we have a significant emergency infrastructure and supplies in place. It's also located one block from a major hospital. At home, I live one block away from a high school which also has significant emergency supplies on hand, including hundreds of gallons of drinking water.</p>

<p>I live in the Los Angeles area, which is prone to earthquakes, so at home, we have a fairly well-stocked first-aid kit, a comprehensive first-aid book, some water, some energy bars, and some canned food. These are all stored in plastic containers in a backyard shed, along with a large pack of 'AA' batteries, flashlights, radios, etc. I have a large adjustable wrench hung next to the gas supply, and there are multiple fire extinguishers located both inside and outside the property. Every once in a while, I'll visit the camping aisle at REI or Dick's Sporting Goods, and pick up some "survival" doo-dads. I bought a few magnesium fire starters, a siphon, some water-purification tablets, and some other knick-knacks. I did also buy a $150 "emergency backpack" from REI last Xmas, which was on like a 30%-off sale, plus I also used my REI rebate money.</p>

<p>I've also packed every vehicle with with a "roadside emergency" kit. These homemade kits are stored in red Nike sports bags. They include a small first-aid kit, first-aid book, a multi-tool, a Philips/slotted screwdriver, highway triangles, a large pack of 'AA' batteries, an LED flashlight, and an LED lantern. However, no food or water is yet stored in the vehicles. This reminds me--I've been meaning to buy space blankets for for each vehicle, but at the time I was into this, Amazon was out of the ones I wanted.</p>

<p>We don't quite have the recommended weeks' supply of food and water stored up at home, so we need to shore that up the next time Progresso soups go on sale. It seems like every time we buy some "emergency food," we end up eating it all up when we don't feel like cooking. I do plan to buy a 55-gallon water container that I would like to store in the backyard. At this point, we have only four gallons of water stored in a plastic container in a backyard shed. So, by "preppers'" standards, we're actually fairly "under-prepped."</p>

[studio460]

<p>Sorry, I got a little off-topic in my last post. I think Michael Chang made a cogent point in the interpretation of OP's topic--he makes the distinction between short-term disaster, and a permanent post-apocalyptic scenario. I re-read the thread more carefully this time, and will try to stay more on-point; though, my comments will mostly address only the former scenario.</p>

<p>As for the latter, save for a large meteor or astroid hit, an extremely cataclysmic solar flare, or a worldwide killer virus, I think any other scenario is highly unlikely, and therefore haven't given any thought their consequences should I happen be a lone survivor (however unlikely <em>that</em> may be). But, the possibility of a natural disaster, social unrest (e.g., the 1992 LA riots), or terrorist event does enter my mind from time to time. Knowing that the nearest nuclear power plant, San Onofre (which is only 70 miles from downtown Los Angeles), has now been closed permanently does give me some solace from <em>that</em> potential disaster. It's funny though, every time I finish watching an episode of <em>The Walking Dead</em>, I do make mental note of where my shotgun and shells are located.</p>

<p>I originally planned to leave a DSLR in the car just in case I needed to document an auto accident for insurance purposes. But, I did also have a plan in the back of my mind to keep a fully-loaded DX package in my car so that I would be able to cover any breaking news that happened my way. This would include a Nikon D7000, 11-16mm f/2.8, 17-55mm f/2.8, and a 50-135mm f/2.8 (since I've switched to FX bodies, this gear now goes largely unused). Perhaps this thread will prompt me to do just that.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<blockquote>

<p>"It's funny though, every time I finish watching an episode of <em>The Walking Dead</em>, I do make mental note of where my shotgun and shells are located."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Pppbbbttt! You can always spot the n00bs to the zombie culture.</p>

<p>Practical doomsday prep for Day-Z or the Zombocalypse relegates firearms and melee weapons to emergency backup. Practical anti-zed defense begins with traps like the classic jungle punji stick. My personal favorite variation involves a single punji stick per foot trap, with a barbed tip. That way the zombie has to walk around in little circles. Makes it much easier to get candid portraits.</p>

<p>In daylight even a homebrewed emulsion on glass plates should be fast enough for candid photos of zeds walking around in little circles. Especially if you use flash powder. Just be sure not to set the zeds on fire with the flash powder. Because the only thing worse than a zombie is a zombie on fire.</p>

[studio460]

<p>Those particular tactical approaches (and, post-apocalyptic photographic techniques) didn't occur to me, Lex. Good thinking! It always bothers me, however, that those fighting zombies never wear any protective gear. I mean, isn't the ingestion of even just a single zombie blood cell, via the nose, eyes, or mouth, enough to infect you?</p>

<p>Speaking of worldwide viral, or killer bacterial infections, I do also mean to stock up on some Tyvek suits, N95 respirators, and a pack of nitrile gloves--<em>just in case</em>. I mean, these things are pretty inexpensive. Just think how hard it will be to obtain these items, should a fast-spreading, deadly outbreak occur (which is totally within the realm of possible end-of-the-world scenarios).</p>

[john_bellenis]

<p>As a Brit I find the whole "prepper" thing fascinating. Obviously with power outages, storms, etc. it's sensible to have a few days of emergency supplies handy. However, people spend literally hundreds of thousands of dollars on underground bunkers, guns, ammo, food supplies, air filtration,, etc. etc.<br /><br />I couldn't figure it out for a while - after all, we've already seen every disaster know to man happen all over the globe on a regular basis and there has never been a need for people to go underground for months on end! Then it struck me what was really going on.... it's an adult tree fort! The ingredients are identical - a hidden living space (homey, yet a bit like camping) with supplies, concealed fortified entrance, weapons to defend against "intruders" - even modern video systems to replicate the mirror in the cardboard tube! Clearly these folks will never get to use their bunkers before they die, of much more mundane causes, but I finally understand the motivation and appeal. It's fun I guess if you are wealthy, a bit paranoid and have no other hobbies. I think if we called them adult tree forts though, the appeal would wear off a bit.</p>

[User_2000406]

<p>Matt, one thing I forgot to answer. The hurricane storm surge is *not* a visible occurrence you can photograph. Contrary to the fervent belief of every single reporter and editor in the U.S., it's most certainly not a "wall of water". Rather, it's just a temporary local rise in sea level. The ocean is just higher, by 5, 15, or even 25 feet, for a matter of hours. If you're in a safe spot you could photograph the huge waves coming in on top of this higher sea level, if you dare. Really, you shouldn't be that close to the ocean at that point.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>I couldn't figure it out for a while - after all, we've already seen every disaster know to man happen all over the globe on a regular basis and there has never been a need for people to go underground for months on end!</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Sad to say, there probably will be a nuclear attack somewhere in the world one of these decades. Maybe a single terrorist bomb, maybe even a limited regional nuclear war. Humanity can't keep on lucking out indefinitely on this issue. Of course for many victims of such an occurrence a shelter would do no good, yet for those safely away from the blast and heat but downwind of the fallout source, a fallout shelter good for a couple of weeks could be a lifesaver since evacuation would be too slow and risky. That's the one good use I can think of for such a facility, not that I have one personally.</p>

<p>In other disaster scenarios, an underground shelter would generally either be overkill (worldwide epidemic, or even a hurricane where one merely needs to evacuate in advance) or would only seem to postpone one's inevitable death (permanent breakdown of society or "Road Warrior" scenario). It could be useful for an asteroid hit that's too close to survive above ground and where you also have enough warning to get into the shelter in time, but the odds of that are small in a lifetime. I suppose it might also be useful for a 'just right' war or anarchy scenario where you hide away for a little while then come out when it's relatively safe to do so. But how do you know it's finally 'safe', or that your supplies will last long enough? Oops, guessed wrong..... </p>

[Alex_Es]

<p>I lived through a disaster, the 1995 Awaji-Hanshin earthquake. It is amazing how quickly you prioritize things when something that unexpected and awful happens. Once I knew we were safe my first priority was communication. By day's end I published an article in the San Francisco <em>Examiner</em>. I began keeping a diary and for the first time carried a notebook around with me, a habit I have kept up. I also spent months photographing the aftermath of the quake.</p>

<p>Unless drastic social change happens and we can stop global warming we can expect civilization to end as we know it. When that happens we may not have photography or any sort of modern communication technology left. Whoever survives will likely spin tales of the Golden Age, which we are now living in.</p>

[steve m smith]

<blockquote>

<p>people spend literally hundreds of thousands of dollars</p>

</blockquote>

<p><br />Not literally, but actually.</p>

[steve m smith]

<blockquote>

<p>people spend literally hundreds of thousands of dollars</p>

</blockquote>

<p><br />Not literally, but actually.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>To our friends who scoff at expensive emergency shelters:<br /> <a href="http://www.military-history.org/articles/air-raid-shelters.htm">http://www.military-history.org/articles/air-raid-shelters.htm</a></p>

<p>They do sometimes come in handy, particularly if you live in natural disaster prone areas (e.g. our "tornado alley."</p>

<p>Although I don't have an underground bunker, I'm considering building a hardened area within a dug-out part of my home for protection against tornadoes, which spin off from hurricanes. A tornado cut through my area not too long ago and leveled quite a few homes. And if we ever get a Cat 5 hurricane through here like our poor friends in India, only the most hardened parts of our home will survive, if any at all.</p>

<p>Anyway, this fascinating (to some) "prepper" thing is often warranted. It depends on where you live and what sorts of natural disasters you can expect. Where I live, we get slammed by periodic hurricanes, so we're "preppers" here. Those who don't prep are doomed to suffer and lose stuff -- and live off of the generosity of their neighbors who prepped. Nobody here is prepping for a zombie apocalypse. We're just trying to survive the week/month/year until our infrastructure and homes are restored. The worst case would be some of my neighbors living in their campers in their front yards while gutting and rebuilding their homes after a hurricane some years back. Those campers cost literally (for you, Steve) tens of thousands of dollars.</p>

<p>Looking back at the OP, it was asked how one keeps one's equipment and supplies dehumidified. I would do it during a disaster (w/o electricity) exactly the same way I do it right now. I keep all of my optics in an air-tight case (Cambro food carrier -- constructed similarly to a Pelican case) with large bags of silica gel inside. I monitor conditions with a humidity indicator card inside the case. When the gel is exhausted, I throw it in the attic to blow off its moisture. The attic is always considerably warmer than the outside temperature, so the RH is bone-dry. I dehumidify by day when the sun is out, and I close up in Ziploc bags overnight when the attic cools. It takes a few days of this to recondition the gel.</p>

<p>Regarding an EMP: Susceptibility of electronics to EMPs depends on the vintage of the equipment. Modern microelectronics are very fragile and can be "zapped" with very little stray voltage. Their primary vulnerability is the connecting wires and circuit board traces, which act like inductors or antennas, so a piece of electronics stored as components (e.g. unplugged boards) is more likely to survive than an assembled piece of equipment. And the older-vintage stuff is the most bullet proof. Tube equipment is probably the gold standard. (I have a few tube radios I love -- not because I'm preparing for a disaster, but because I love old electronics.)</p>

<p>Food: Keep 2-liter bottles of ice in your freezer (not the freezer compartment of your refrigerator, but an actual freezer), along with your frozen food. If you don't open and close the door, the contents will last almost a week before the ice cream gets soft, and the two-liter bottles will give you drinking water after they thaw.</p>

<p>Generator: You need one. A good size is 5500W. I'm not talking about raw fantasy survival -- shooting zombies while you're on the run to join the last of the human race. I'm talking about getting through a natural disaster intact. Our modern lives run on electricity. Remove electricity, and everything falls apart. No heat, no hot water, no refrigeration, no recharging batteries, eventually no emergency radio/TV, no power tools, no air pumps. Sure, you can <em>survive</em> without power, but it's soooooooo much easier if you have it.</p>

<p>Preparation for radiation (e.g. a Fukushima event): Buy some some potassium iodide tablets. They will at least protect you from radioactive iodine and prevent thyroid cancer. (They won't protect you from the radiation in any other way.) If your local plant melts down, take one tablet per day until you are able to evacuate the area. Meanwhile, let the food in your garden rot. Eat canned food, and drink bottled water. Seriously, don't worry about photographing anything. The best thing you can do is to gather your valuables and paperwork, and leave.</p>

[john_bellenis]

<p>Hey Sarah, As I said having emergency supplies is essential - I live in the North East and we get regular Nor' Easters. occasional Hurricanes, blizzards and power outages. It's only common sense and responsible to be prepared for the inevitable, so I have a generator and all the basic emergency supplies for about a week or so. We've never had to use them all, but dip into them a couple of times a year - and have to use the generator maybe once a year. I totally get your point if you live in a tornado area, flood zone etc.</p>

<p>I'm talking about the huge difference between what will happen and what 'might' happen. There will be no zombie apocalypse. there will be no permanent breakdown of society (it hasn't happened in millennia and it's less likely to happen now)! EMP attacks and nuclear fallout? I'll take my chances! The point is that I have seen countless natural disasters all over thew world, lived in Iran during the revolution, have been stuck in Egypt and Sudan in violent unrest and in none of these circumstances did anyone feel the need to dive into an underground home for a few months!</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>True, John, there's not likely to be any need for us to live like moles in some sort of "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124298/">Blast from the Past</a>" scenario. (Hilarious movie, BTW!) However, there's not a whole lot of difference in construction between a nuclear fallout shelter and a tornado shelter. The difference is mostly in how long one needs to use it. I also note that the storms here (where I live) are getting crazier and more frequent. I think it may be the new normal. And if this is indeed the new normal, good storm shelters might be a new necessity.</p>

<p>But I agree. I'm not anticipating a post-nuclear zombie apocalypse either! Seriously if the nukes were to go flying, and civilization as we know it would be at its end, I'd just look for an easy "end." Or maybe I'd simply sail out to sea. Why not? If I die, I die.</p>

<p>Well, THAT'S depressing! ;-)</p>

[MichaelChang]

<blockquote>

<p><em>"Generator: You need one. A good size is 5500W."</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>I imagine the type of disaster prepping will be region-specific dependent on the anticipated disaster, but to do it right is expensive business and most people don't do any more than pay lip service.</p>

<p>A 5kW generator might consume nearly a gallon of gasoline or diesel per hour dependent on load, so you'd need to store as much fuel as necessary if, say, you run it 5 hours a day; that'd be 50 gallons for 10 days - who stores 50 gallons of anything except the hard core? </p>

<p>Then assuming the generator actually starts when you need it, and you didn't forget about not back-feeding the grid because you didn't want to pay for a transfer switch, and you're there to refuel every couple of hours not forgetting about load-rotation so you don't exceed the genset's capacity, then you might have a fighting chance to squeak by a few days of power outage. </p>

<p>All this will only supply bare minimum power. Then there's edible food, heating in winter, drinkable water. It all sounds easy until you actually have to live through an event to realize any little kink in the process will render all that prepping useless. </p>

[studio460]

<p>Power:</p>

<p>I would love to have a generator. The power goes out here every time it rains, and I live in a major suburb of Los Angeles. They recently retrofitted whatever was failing over the least couple of weeks here so, perhaps that's over. As Michael points out, generators need fuel. The problem is, I don't feel comfortable storing 55-gallon drums of fuel (or, whatever you're supposed to store gasoline in) anywhere near my house. Actually, all of our lawn care equipment is electric, so we have no flammable liquids on the property.</p>

<p>So, I considered solar. Okay, the panels are still uber-expensive. Then the batteries--still fairly expensive as well for large amp-hour SLAs. So, just like car batteries (which is essentially what they are), I assume they need to be replaced every 3-5 years. Still, I would like to have at least some back-up power. The last time Edison turned our power off to work on the substation, we were without power from 10PM Friday night until 10AM Saturday morning, my prime "creative" time. So, I plugged in the cable router into a Dynalite XP1100 pure-sine wave inverter that I use for my strobes (I had charged my MacBook Pro ahead of time), but the cable modem/router ran down my Dynalite 17AH batteries pretty fast. Surprising, how much power that cable modem draws.</p>

[studio460]

<p>Sarah said:</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Tube equipment is probably the gold standard. (I have a few tube radios I love -- not because I'm preparing for a disaster, but because I love old electronics.)</p>

</blockquote>

<p> Thank goodness! All of my guitar amps will be able to survive the apocalypse!</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>Ralph, if you're committed to being self-reliant at least for some reasonable duration, any gasoline-fueled generator can be quite easily converted to run on natural gas if it's available on your property - which will then run indefinitely and much cleaner - or run on liquid propane which is available in tanks and with a nearly indefinite storage life.</p>

<p>The problem with gasoline is that it goes stale even with stabilizer added; the general consensus is that you probably shouldn't store it for more than a year. <br>

</p>

[studio460]

<p>Great to know, Michael! Yes, we have natural gas. The supply is right next to the pad where I would locate the generator. However, this would primarily be for earthquake preparedness (when natural gas lines may also be compromised). But an excellent solution for outages for other reasons. Thanks for the head's up!</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>Ralph, a long list of YouTube videos on conversions:<br>

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=natural+gas+generator+conversion">https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=natural+gas+generator+conversion</a></p>

<p>:-) </p>

[sarah_fox]

<blockquote>

<p>Ralph: Thank goodness! All of my guitar amps will be able to survive the apocalypse!</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yes! And your amps will be robust enough to run on any awful generator! :-D</p>

<p>@Michael: Sure, portable generators are a hassle and require a bit of forethought how to use them. However, they cost a tiny fraction of a hard-wired generator, and they DO run on gasoline. (Not every location has natural gas, including my last three homes.) As far as gasoline storage is concerned, I think our Walmart 6 gallon jugs cost about $7 each. We have 4 of them, plus a couple more 5 gallon jugs (34 gallons total), and that got us easily through a 12 day outage after Hurricane Isabelle. We use our jugs for many purposes. We run diesel to the heating oil tank (same stuff, but cheaper). We run fuel to our boats. We store fuel for lawnmowers. Often our $7 jugs just sit empty, waiting to be used, but that's OK. When a hurricane is coming, we fill them up with gasoline. Whatever is left over after the storm passes goes into our cars. No big deal.</p>

<p>Right now we live in a home with a fancy hard-wired Generac 10 kW generator with automatic transfer switch. I wouldn't have bought the thing myself, but it came with the house. It is fueled by a 500 gal tank of propane. Fill that tank up, and your bank account will be hurting! At some point I might cobble together a carburetor for the thing that will let me switch it to gasoline during a prolonged outage. Either that, or we'll run one of our smaller gasoline generators. That will make emergency power much, much cheaper. To compare, our 12 day outage following Hurricane Isabelle cost us over $100 in fuel. A 7 day outage for one of our neighbors, using their large propane generator (and running quite a lot more stuff off of it) cost them over $1000 in propane. I'd just as soon lose a few lights and drop a zero from the bill.</p>