Making good photographs in bad weather

Shooting on location is not all blue skies and dramatic color. Sometimes, you are in a great location, but the weather is bad. But should that stop you from looking for opportunities for images?

In fact, bad weather creates a whole new set of possibilities for pictures. And here's a good example. I was in New York recently, and the weather was overcast with rain showers. Certainly I could have just kept my head down under my umbrella and scurried from one dry interior to another.

But the wet streets and the shapes of the umbrellas of the passers-by was intriguing. And because the light level was so low because of the rain, I could shoot at slow shutter speeds giving me the opportunity to create a sense of activity and movement.

Getting great winter photographs

One of the challenges of getting great winter photographs is the lack of color in a snow covered scene. The world is mostly white with muted shades of browns, which can be exciting if you are shooting black and white pictures. But what if you are shooting color?

I find one of the best solutions is to shoot either at sunrise or sunset, where you get get the warm light associated with those times to add strong, dramatic accents to a colorless world. The added advantage of shooting sunrise is that there will be less footprints in the snow to break up the pristine quality of the scene.

Great fall photographs

Fall is one of the most exciting times to be out shooting landscape images because of the spectacular color found in the trees dotting the hillsides. Here's one tip for getting a great photograph when you get out there.

When you are surveying the opportunities while you are hiking or driving, look for situations where the trees are backlit. That's because the added contrast of the leaves being lit from behind will make them more luminous, add more depth, and makes the color pop off the page. Just look at this example to see what I mean.

WHAT TO PACK FOR A PHOTO TRIP PART IV

There are a lot of things I've been able to shed from my pack when I head out the door to shoot with a digital camera. Color compensating filters, for example, used to adjust the color of how film sees light in different conditions is easily replaced by one of two methods. You can either use preset or custom white balance settings in shooting to affect how the sensor reads the existing light, or shift the color in post production with the color balance adjustment layer in Photoshop.

But one thing I still carry for digital photography is my polarizer filter. Yes, there are some Photoshop plug-in filters that emulate it, but I still prefer to have the real thing in my camera bag. Why? Well, a polarizer is a great tool for making a sky look darker and richer than what the scene would look like without. The effect is particularly noticeable when you are shooting a subject that is in the shade, but the sky is still visible. That's because you are opening up the exposure from the full light exposure to capture detail in the shaded areas. But along with that, you are lightening the sky. Using a polarizer compensates for that overexposure of the sky, and makes it look more natural. Just compare the image above with a filter, to this image below that does not have one.



But be aware that a polarizer works at it's best when aiming 90 degrees from the sun. Shooting into the sun, or directly opposite will have no effect. In between, the effect increases as you approach the full 90 degree differential. In this example, I am shooting with the sun in the eastern sky close to sunrise, and I am shooting straight south.

WHAT TO PACK FOR A PHOTO TRIP, PART III

When it comes to lenses to carry on a trip, it's good to have a range so you can cover a variety of situations. And with today's technology, zoom lenses often come close to or match the quality of prime, fixed focal length lenses.

If you are shooting digitally, you want to keep in mind the camera sensor factor before choosing a lens. A 17-35mm lens for a full frame chip becomes a 27-56mm lens when used with a smaller chip with a 1.6X factor. That's a significant difference in coverage, and if you love to shoot wide angle, it's something to consider.



The same effect is a consideration when choosing which telephoto lens to take. A 70-200mm zoom becomes a 112-320mm lens when used with a chip with a 1.6X factor.

I always try to pack as light as possible, but insure that I have a bit more focal length range than I think I will need if I can fit the extra lens in my bag and am willing to carry the extra weight. I might think I am only going to be shooting broad landscape images that show scale and intimacy, but along the way, I might be surprised by a scene where a telephoto lens makes a more succinct statement, as the image at the top exemplifies.

WHAT TO PACK FOR A PHOTO TRIP, PART II

Visiting in more detail the overview article I wrote on what to pack for a photo trip, I want to cover the specifics group by group. So in this article, I'm going to talk about the items in the camera gear group, which are:

1-Camera
2-Camera manual.
3-Wide angle zoom lens (minimum 24-70, possibly 14-35 as well)
4-Telephoto lens 70-200mm
5-Lens extender 1.4X
6-Polarizing filter
7-Graduated neutral density filter
8-Filter holder
9-Lens cleaning solutions (bulb brush, lens cleaning tissue or microfiber cloth, and fluid)
10-Tripod and cable release (optional)
11-Portable flash (some cameras have these built in)

In this brief article, I want to talk about the value of taking the camera manual on location.

These new digital cameras are computers, and they have tremendous capabilities. Even for someone who has been in the business for years, I sometimes find it a bit overwhelming when I get a new camera. So my suggestion is to be sure to take your manual along until you know the camera functions inside and out.

It's a bit like loading film onto darkroom spools, or loading 4x5 film into holders in the dark. You want to be able to do things without even thinking about them. I would suggest practicing the possible scenarios you might be faced with before you go out to shoot.

Make sure you understand how to set the camera to shutter priority mode, aperture priority mode, change the metering mode, change the auto focus points in the viewfinder, add exposure compensation, how to playback images and how to zoom in on them to check focus and composition. And bring the manual along in case you forget these things, or need access to a more obscure function.

Hesitating because you do not know how to make the camera do something will result in missed images. Avoid the frustration, and carry your manual.

WHAT TO PACK FOR A PHOTO TRIP

Whether going out for a one day excursion around town, or traveling overseas for an extended photo expedition, the key is making sure you have the right gear so you can capture those great images.

Let's start with the photo equipment itself. This pertains to 35mm gear. Lens choices in larger formats would be different.


Camera
Camera manual
Wide angle zoom lens (minimum 24-70, possibly 14-35 as well)
Telephoto lens 70-200mm
Lens extender 1.4X
Polarizing filter
Graduated neutral density filter
Filter holder
Lens cleaning solutions (bulb brush, lens cleaning tissue or microfiber cloth, and fluid)
Tripod and cable release (optional)
Portable flash (some cameras have these built in)


SPECIFIC TO DIGITAL CAMERAS
Charger and an extra battery
Memory cards
Card reader
Laptop with DVD burner, back up hard drive or photo storage solution

SPECIFIC TO FILM CAMERAS
Film of various ISO ratings
Color compensation filters and filter holder
Extra batteries

GRIP EQUIPMENT AND MISCELLANEOUS
Gaffers tape
Rain protection
Chamois or soft cloth to dry off camera gear
GPS for noting locations (some cameras are coming with this built in)
Notepad or voice recorder to help with cataloging images later (some cameras have microphones built in)
Guidebooks, maps or other research material for the location
Food and water
Good shoes that can support the extra weight, and keep you comfortable