Try photographing in bad weather

Tuesday 29 December 2020, 20:02 by Elvira Smit | 4,552 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

I recently bought a very thick winter coat. In previous winters, I walked around in coats that seriously underperformed in severe cold.

I hardly noticed, because I was rarely outside for long. Now I am. What else can I do? This is also teaching me that you can take good photos in the rain.

Always 22 degrees?

The Dutch like to complain about the weather. I used to think that was because our weather is so changeable, which makes it easy to share your opinion about it.

That is different if you live in, say, Guatapé in Colombia. That little village is close to the equator, which means it has an almost constant temperature of 22 degrees. I was there for a day two years ago. It was 22 degrees then.

In the village, there was a large metal sign with a brief history of the village, the number of inhabitants, and... the temperature. I found it unbelievable that you can simply put the temperature of your home town on a sign.

Anyway, back to the complaining. When I lived in Sweden for a while, I noticed that the weather changes there too. But I rarely heard people complain about rain, wind and hail. The Swedes say something else when someone moans about the rain:

Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder.

For readers who don't speak Swedish:

There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.

And I had that bad clothing. But my new winter coat is so thick that I no longer have an excuse to stay indoors when it is freezing, raining or bitterly cold.

And that is good, because some subjects suit a different setting. The photo below would have been much less mysterious without the mist:

Make a list of locations

But anyway, it is bad weather, so what are you going to photograph? That is something you can think about when the weather is good.

All the preparation helps, so there are fewer excuses once it rains. Just as the Swedes do by buying good outdoor clothing, you can make a list of bad-weather locations and photo ideas in advance. Here is a first start:

- Repeat a photo series you made earlier in the same place, but in the rain
- Walk around your neighbourhood in good weather and decide which places would look better in the rain
- Photograph from outside to inside: take a photo of your own living room from the street, with the rain emphasising the contrast between outside and inside

Or think of something else yourself. It is about experimenting with new conditions now and then. That keeps your eye sharp.

I took the photo above this article in Colombia, near the coastal village of Palomino. We were walking back to our hotel when we were caught in a massive downpour. While sheltering, I started taking photos out of boredom, resulting in this cinematic image.

In short, bad weather is no excuse not to take photos.

You might also like

• 

  Landscape photography tip: Carry on in bad weather

  by Rob IJsselstein

• 

  Fine weather is boring for landscape photography

  by Nando Harmsen

• 

  Street photography tip: Go out when it rains

  by Michiel Heijmans

• 

  Grey weather? Turn it into a black-and-white photo

  by Nando Harmsen

• 

  Dull grey weather? Adapt your photography to the conditions

  by Nando Harmsen

• 

  The real purpose of a rain cover for your camera backpack

  by Nando Harmsen

0 comments

Have your say

Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.
Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.