Travel Photography What To Do In Bad Weather

Travel Photography What To Do In Bad Weather
By: Jennifer Clarkson
There's nothing worse than being on an expensive trip and having bad weather every day: rain in Venice, snow in Canada, hurricanes in Bermuda. But don't despair: there are ways to use bad weather to your advantage, and some tips for protecting your camera gear.
Use a Lens Hood
If you're a DSLR owner, use a hood for your lens. Hoods usually prevent rain and snow from directly hitting your lens in bad weather, thus enabling you to avoid splotches on your photo. If you don't have a hood, then shield your lens from rain and snow with your hand - just be careful not to get your hand in the photo! Along the same lines, you could find a sheltered doorway in which to perch and photograph the comings and goings of locals caught in bad weather.
Combat Low Light with a faster lens
The lower the f/stop on a particular lens, the "faster" it is - that means you can shoot hand-held in lower light than a "slow" lens. Translated to layman's terms, an f/1.4 lens is faster than an f/2.8 lens because the f/1.4 lets you capture a dark and stormy night at 1/60th second, whereas the f/2.8 lens forces you to capture the same scene at 1/30th second (likely to result in a blurry image if your focal length is more than 30mm).
Spend the day inside photographing architecture common to the region
When it rains too hard for a lens hood to help, consider spending the day going from Church to Cathedral, or viewing museums (check first to ensure that photography is allowed). Architecture can be very diverse and very interesting - play with shadows and macro lenses to capture the essence of the region.
Photograph the storm itself
Storms can be very interesting close-up: blurred Christmas shoppers caught in a sudden snowstorm, raindrops in puddles, palm trees swaying in the wind with lightning in the background. Experiment with different lenses. Again, try to capture the locals and how they react to the bad weather.
Dramatic Skies
Some of the most dramatic skies happen right before, during, or right after bad weather. Try setting up shots that showcase the skies by looking for an interesting foreground, but be sure to set the horizon line low in the frame. Watch for the sky to warm up right after the storm.
Shoot Portraits
One of the nice things about bad weather is that you almost always get perfectly diffuse light, which is ideal for portrait shots. Try getting people to pose in sheltered doorways, or nearby a large window. If you can, carry a reflector with you for portrait shots - car windshield reflectors used in the summer make great fold-up reflectors for photographers on a trip!
For more photography articles, please visit Jennifer Clarkson's website at http://www.jclarksonphotography.com To learn more about the books in her eSeries on Digital Photography, or to promote sales, please visit the following sites: Choosing your camera and accessories Getting the Most out of your Camera's Basic Settings