Heat waves are an unfortunate inevitability when shooting outdoors. If you’ve ever seen the shimmering over a hot road in the afternoon, this is what I’m talking about. It’s unfortunate because there’s nothing you can do about it other than wait until conditions improve.

Heat waves are not necessarily caused by high heat, but a large difference in temperature. This image below is not sharp at all, because of the sun beating down on the sagebrush. The ground is being heated up, causing it to rise and mix with the cooler air above. With heat waves that are bad enough, your camera may not even autofocus at all.

This next image is still affected by heat waves, but not as much. The temperature of the river was probably closer to the temperature of the air, causing less of a transition.

On a cold day, shooting from inside your car will cause heat to escape from the open window and create heat waves as well.

Here are a few tips to avoid the worst of heat waves:

• Avoid shooting in the middle of a sunny day. More than likely, you’ll find heat waves everywhere when the ground starts warming up.
• Avoid shooting over an asphalt road, hot car, or any other heat source between you and your subject.
• Keep your camera high off the ground, and you may be able to stay above the level of the heat waves. 
• Shoot at the beginning and end of the day when the sun is less intense.
• Focus on shooting in the shade or on cloudy, rainy days for the best results if you’re going to be shooting during the middle of the day.
• Reduce the distance between you and your subject.

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