Shooting in bad weather, part 2

February 15, 2021 • Leave a Comment

Weather conditions that are ideal for one subject might not be for another. For example, bright sunny days might be good if you want to create high contrast images while overcast days might provide good even light for portraits - and "bad" weather conditions can provide some of the best opportunities to get unique and dramatic images.

Welcome to part 2 of a 3 part series on bad weather: What to shoot in challenging weather conditions

I'm going to cover four different types of weather conditions and good subjects for each.

#1 Snow

1.1 Landscapes

Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park. This meadow is pretty in summer, but under a fresh blanket of snow, it is stunning. I travelled here in late May when a late storm came through and created a pleasant surprise of winterlike conditions.

Pro Tip:

Settings: Snow landscapes can present challenges in capturing the total range of light. If you shoot in RAW, this will give you more information to adjust lights and shadows in editing.
Exposure: Your camera's meter will automatically expose the snow to be middle gray. To keep the snow white, set your exposure compensation to +1 or +2.
White Balance: Snow tends to read on the blue side of the color spectrum. You can control this with your white balance settings. Try setting it to the flash setting which is intended to compensate for the blue light emitted from the flash. If I am shooting a landscape, I will often try several different white balance settings to see if there is a particular effect I like.

1.2 Intimate landscapes

This is a detail shot of Eagle Falls in Tahoe National Forest during winter. It was an overcast day and I couldn't find a compelling composition with the larger scene, but there were several good detail shots where the snow and falls comingled.

Pro tip:

If you are out shooting in the snow, look up, look down, and for details. This alone will expand the number of good shots you will come home with.

1.3 Ice patterns

Where you have snow, you will often find ice. These ice patterns in Yosemite National Park kept me busy for at least an hour and momentarily made me forget how chilly it was.

Pro tip:

Ice patterns and details are good opportunities to use your macro lens, so if you are planning to go out in the snow, don't forget your macro lens or close up filters.

#2 Rain

2.1 Macro raindrops

If you are lucky enough to be outside on a rainy day, there are endless opportunities for macro raindrops. These were captured in a meadow in Yosemite during a very rainy morning.

Pro tip:

You will obviously want a macro lens or close up filters for macro raindrops, but another helpful tool is a tripod. It will help ensure tack sharp focus where you want it.

2.2 Raindrops on flowers, leaves, spider webs, etc.

Spider webs are one of those everyday items that most wouldn't give a second look, but you add some raindrops and they can become art.

Pro tip:

This is an ideal shot to use the widest aperture your lens has to offer. You only need a narrow plane of focus for a spider web since it is basically flat. You can enhance the raindrops by blurring out everything else around it, and that is what a wide aperture does for you.

2.3 Sky

I spent this morning in Half Moon Bay alternating between ducking under my raincoat and taking pictures. The clouds were moving so fast that I was able to capture a long exposure to reflect their movement.

Pro tips:

To get long exposures during the day, use the smallest aperture your lens has to offer. This lets in less light, which allows you to lengthen the shutter speed.
Adding a polarizing filter to your lens will cause you to lose 2 stops of light, allowing you to lengthen shutter speed even more. I never leave home without my polarizer.
Neutral density filters range from 1-3 stops of light loss as well, so this is another good tool to keep in your bag.

2.4 Rainbows

This was one of those magical moments that rarely occurs. I was hiking into Palm Canyon in Anza Borrego State Park one rainy morning. I am always hopeful that the sun will break through, and on this morning it did, giving me both nice light on the scene and a rainbow. It's events like this that motivate me to venture out into the rain.

Pro tips:

Since rainbows are temporary, you need to work fast to capture your best composition. Using a zoom lens can help you to change your composition quickly by adding in a lot of foreground, or cropping it out if it is not improving the photo.
Don't forget to try both vertical and horizontal compositions.

#3 Fog

3.1 Trees

Trees always look better on a foggy day. On this day, I also got the bonus of some snow!

Pro tip:

Fog is basically just tiny droplets of moisture. These can quickly collect on your lens. Keep a few lens cloths in your pocket and wipe down the lens periodically to ensure crisp images.

3.2 Forests

This is Tillamook National Forest on a morning where the sun was able to penetrate the fog just enough to create a warm hue.

Pro tip:

If you have opportunity to photograph on a foggy morning - do it. As the sun starts to raise, the fog may start to burn off, resulting in warm tones that can transform your images.

3.3 Wildlife

I spend a lot of time in a local park and nature preserve, and have gotten to know the local residents, like this young Black Tail Deer.

Pro tip:

If you live near an area with wildlife, visit often, throughout the year. This will allow you to get familiar with the wildlife, their travel routes their routines, and the best compositions. On days when conditions are just right, you will be more prepared, improving your odds of getting shot.

#4 Overcast

4.1 Waterfalls

Detail photo of McArthur Burney Falls.

Pro Tip:

Waterfalls rarely benefit from harsh light on them. When it is overcast, you can better capture the details of waterfalls. Since motion blur is a desirable effect with waterfalls, overcast days are ideal because the light is reduced, allowing you to lengthen the shutter speed needed to achieve this effect.

4.2 Wildlife

Gull in flight with a mussel, on a gray day at Tomales Point in Point Reyes.

Pro Tip:

When photographing wildlife on overcast days, try different compositions that eliminate the sky. In order to get a proper exposure on darker feathers, the sky would have rendered as white. Any light areas in your frame will naturally draw a viewers eye, which would detract from what you really want them to focus on.

4.3 Macro

The bright petals of this Plumeria are a perfect contrast to the green foliage in the background. Plumeria's are one flower that always looks better in overcast light.

Pro Tip:

Overcast days are gold for capturing details that would otherwise be blown out on a sunny day. The soft even light is ideal for capturing saturated colors as well.

4.4 Black & White

Balanced Rock, Big Bend National Park. When I hiked to this location on a spring morning, I was so hopeful for a stunning sunrise after a night of thunderstorms. I was denied - and a little distraught - when the skies remained a mostly flat gray. I actually kind of wrote these off as a wasted photo shoot, but then remembered to see how they would look in black and white. Now, this is one of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Pro Tip:

If you have some photos in your collection that were shot on overcast days, go back and see how they look when converted to black and white. It doesn't cost a thing and you might find a few gems hidden in your collection.

So here you have many options for photographs when the weather just doesn't want to cooperate. Stay tuned for the third and final part of this series, where I talk about how to how to handle shooting in challenging conditions.

Keywords: anza borrego, balanced rock, big bend national park, black and white, black tail deer, burney falls, coast, eagle falls, exposure, exposure compensation, flowers, fog, forest, half moon bay, ice patterns, intimate landscapes, landscapes, leaves, macro, overcast, palm canyon, plumeria, point reyes, pro tip, rain, rainbow, raindrops, sea gull, sequoia national park, settings, sky, snow, spider webs, tahoe, tillamook, trees, waterfalls, white balance, wildlife, yosemite, zoom lens

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