I was reading a recent post and a reply from Hank, from Alaska, in which he discussed shooting in bad weather being bad for camera and equipment but great for photos. He added a great Grizzly shot.
Looking at the Alaska weather it appears to rain a great deal. Maybe it's just this summer.
With poor light and rain is it possible to pull great images out in such conditions ?
It's actually an advantage for wildlife and macro photos in many cases. Bright, directional sun always seems to be backlighting animals. Scenics are more challenging, though. If you can eliminate the horizon that helps in some situations. Check out the Alaska NP section for some recent examples of very good landscapes in marginal weather.
And yeah, this has been a wet year in many places. Anchorage has set a new record for consecutive days with measurable precipitation. They have topped 30 now, but I don't know the current count.
Honestly, even though it has rained alot it has been beautiful, best flowers and mushrooms I have seen, ever. The mixed light that comes and goes throughout the day is wonderful, sure, I haven't seen a sunset in over 40 days but this weekend is partly cloudy!
Don't worry about bad weather, it can have some interesting surprises and I haven't ever hurt a camera because of it getting a little wet because of rain and snow.
Posted by Kent Staubus on August 20, 2010 at 12:55 AM
The more dramatic the weather, the more dramatic the photos.
I'm in 100% agreement w/ Hank on this one. Bad weather often makes for some of the most dynamic photographs. I published an article on my blog a while back titled "Embrace the Rain" that discusses some of the pro's and con's, as well as offers some tips on photographing in bad weather. If you're interested, you can read it here.
Posted by Richard Wong on August 20, 2010 at 1:37 AM
When I was there two weeks ago, there were tons of fireweed and other wildflowers all over the place. I took advantage of whatever breaks in the clouds available. Even when it was overcast all day, I saw at least some breaks in the clouds for short periods of time during my week there. Very pretty.
Keep yourself comfy with proper clothing and footwear. Take a microfiber cloth for wiping your lens front element often, a rain cover, and go for it. It's fabulous. Some of your images will surprise you for the better. Yeah, it's a bit grumpy getting started on a bad weather day, but once out there, the excitement takes over and it gets just as fun as always.
Hey Andrew: Glad you found some value in the blog post and comments. If you discover any tricks that work for you be sure to check back and share them in the comments sections. Always great to learn new techniques!
Discussion
8 repliesLooking at the Alaska weather it appears to rain a great deal. Maybe it's just this summer.
With poor light and rain is it possible to pull great images out in such conditions ?
And yeah, this has been a wet year in many places. Anchorage has set a new record for consecutive days with measurable precipitation. They have topped 30 now, but I don't know the current count.
Don't worry about bad weather, it can have some interesting surprises and I haven't ever hurt a camera because of it getting a little wet because of rain and snow.
Kent in SD
Read Bret's blog post titled Embrace the Rain and the comments that follow. Good stuff.