Sunday 3 August 2008

Wet weather photography

It's raining here, has been since mid-afternoon yesterday. Not the weather to get me out on the bike (but I enjoyed the sunny morning conditions yesterday), nor is it weather to inspire me to take the camera out.

This is a recurring theme - I don't take photographs in the rain. Even if I happen to be out in the weather, with a camera to hand, I don't press the shutter. Why not? Partly, obviously, is the general desire not to be out getting wet, nor risking screwing up the camera. Main, though, I think it's because I don't really see images in the rain. There aren't subjects that inspire me that wouldn't be done better when it's dry.

What is a wet weather aesthetic anyway? I've seen some stuff done in the wet, and it seems to focus around reflections & puddles. Gets to being the rain equivalent of glorious sunsets.

Anyone out there actually making pictures in the rain? What are the things you're looking for that's particular to the conditions?

2 comments:

  1. Martin, I don't think about it as "rain photographs" per se, than I think about it as introducing and exploring a different condition and mood, one infused with a lot of atmosphere. It changes and diffuses the light and I feel creates different photographic opportunities. But I also live in a desert like condition that rain is a novelty, not a daily occurance:- )

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  2. As someone who lives in a semi-wet climate (we have a bifurcated pattern in Seattle, damp much of the year, searingly dry in the summer), I love the rain and I take my best photos in the damp. The light is so forgiving, and moisture in all its manifestations is an additional texture to the environment. It's sun I don't know what to do with, and where I have my artist's block.

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