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whL.slipperdSo I started to think about other surprising weather conditions that I like for photography and I came up with my all time favorite…Rain! I then opened up Lightroom and typed in ‘rain’ in the search keywords field and lo and behold many of my all time favorite photos appeared!

What is it about the rain that I find so attractive? First is the lack of extreme contrast. When there is a huge range of contrast the image suffers- colors are washed out, highlights are too distracting and shadows are hard black and uninteresting. And second, in the rain colors sing, highlights don’t exist and shadows are soft and reassuring. Nothing better than that! This is especially true for any and all rocks. Wet rocks look much better than dry rocks- the subtle colors appear and the dull gray wash of dry rock disappears.

Now I’m not talking about going out in the pouring rain, that would be stupid. I am talking about going out in light rain, the misty kind of stuff that is definitely rain but barely so. This happens right before a storm hits and lingers right after a storm passes. It also sticks around for days sometimes (months if you live in the Northwest) at certain times of the year.

Next time it rains don’t fret, get outside and take a few photos. Don’t be too concerned about your camera getting wet- it’s not made of fairy dust and neither are you. Just be prudent so it doesn’t get soaked. I usually put a hat over my camera or bring a small towel along but mostly I don’t worry too much about it. If it is too miserable for you it will be for your camera as well but if you can tolerate it so can your camera. No excuses! Get out!!!

Below are photos all taken in the rain. Enjoy!