Kiribane Photography

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Embrace the rain

Raining cats and dogs

A terrible thing you are out for an extended time to travel, and your expeditions start with rainy days. If you see this as quite unlucky (or lucky, it depends on your point of view), but if it rains when you tour the city of your choosing, and it rains traversing the countryside, and it rains without pity. Just turn it into an opportunity. Even if you resemble a drowned rat, just grimace and face the threatening doom.

Cities can look magical in the rain. Most of the well-known destinations get their share of photographers. How to stand out? Rain can transform all numbingly familiar scenes into something fresh and different to discover. Sure, there are problems involved. For example, how to keep your camera dry and show rain in the pictures as rain often looks dull, gray, and often nearly invisible.

Here are a few tips:

Carry a protector for your camera. For example, a well-sized plastic bag. A shower cap from your hotel will help as well. Punch a hole in one end, poke the lens through, and then screw the lens hood on the front.

Look for dry spots, like porches, bus stops, and alike, and wait for the pictures to come to you. Shoot from inside a bar, coffee shop, or car. Take an umbrella along, and you can keep your camera out of the worst wetness.

Watch for reflections as it's hard to see the rain itself. You can give visual clues that it is raining. Reflections, glittering streets at night or backlight in upcoming cars, etc.

As you can read, there are possibilities to take rain as a chance, and with a bit of planning, it can be worth the effort. Once you've taken this road, you might discover that a new world of images is opening up for you.

rain and panning on the go

rainy day an lots of color

little protection

Inside out - protected from the worst