Inspiration Needed - post photos shot on rainy and/or overcast days

[rpcrowe]

Thanks Richard. Good call about the monopod. Really useful as a 3rd leg especially in gusty conditions. And can be used as a walking stick as well.

Hi Bobo...

I agree that the monopod can make a good walking stick but, for a monopod on which I can really lean when traversing difficult terrain, I have a hickory walking staff to which I mounted an extra Arca Compatible clamp at the top.

It doesn't fold up but, I can really put some pressure on this stick when I need to. It also has a choice of a rubber crutch tip end or a spike. The hickory stick is better as a walking stick than a monopod but it's decent for wilderness hiking and photography. I once used the spike to skewer an attacking grizzly bear (just kidding )

There are also walking sticks with tripod screws at the top. I had one but, it wasn't sturdy and would collapse at the worst times. It is better to have no walking staff than to put your weight on one and have it collapse...

[Bobobird]

That means never go alone. If you're alone, you're not fully prepared or properly fitted out.

That would be best of course but not everyone has that option. That assistant thing is beginning to make more sense...

[Bobobird]

Richard - I have seen those, some even with a compass and flashlight in the handle. However very flimsy and not worth it. A proper walking stick is best of course. Here in Ontario where it is mostly flat, the monopod is more useful for just poking ahead of you so that one does not fall in a snow covered ditch or something.

There are a lot of do/don't for wilderness walking and it takes experience to do it properly and safely. Even summers present these challenges.

My best advice is know your terrain and know what to expect. Even then expect the unexpected and be extra vigilant. Snow covered ground can be very deceptive. eg if a path ends for no obvious/visible reason chances are that you are standing on the edge of a snow covered frozen pond or hole in the ground.

[arith]

Christina: These are some of my favourite shots and they are all taken on dull overcast/foggy days, in fact most of my favourite shots are taken on dull days.
It's already been said, dynamic range is within camera specs so no need to worry about blown highlights, colours are more saturated because the light is not reflecting off of everything and the mood is totally different.
Even if it is a dull day, I still find the light is best early morning or evening. Get out and look around. My goodness you have mountains and the ocean and such a lovely area. Don't wait till spring, go out and shoot, you'll see.

Can't get better than the fence; it is not a possible.

[Brownbear]

If there is anything in particular that isn't making sense to you, just mention it.

Thank you for asking.

It's been a while since I've tried auto iso (with aperture priority or shutter speed), but to the best of my recollection when I tried this on birds in flight the noise in the photo was sometimes too high, or the exposure did not look right, or the photo was blurred where I did not want blur or my photo just did not look a photo I would take. I have a Sony alpha 200 and Nikon D80..

I will try it again soon... the lighting is totally different here, so maybe.. I will try it during my rain photo expedition, both auto iso and me choosing an iso..

[Shadowman]

End of Sermon

[Mike Buckley]

Christina,

About using Auto ISO...

when I tried this on birds in flight the noise in the photo was sometimes too high

Regardless of the subject, if the noise is unacceptably high (meaning it can't be adequately dealt with during post-processing), the maximum ISO that you set was too high. Set the maximum ISO to a lower value. I have a D80 and I never had any issues with noise when I set the maximum ISO to 800.

If your images were not properly exposed or in focus, both those issues will tend to increase the amount of noise. So, my above comment about properly configuring the maximum ISO assumes you are exposing and focusing properly.

or the exposure did not look right

In that case, use the exposure compensation.

or the photo was blurred where I did not want blur

If it was motion blur or blur because you couldn't hold the camera still enough, you didn't configure your minimum shutter speed in the Auto ISO setting fast enough. With the D80, you can only set it as high as 1/125. If that's too slow for the situation, use shutter priority, not aperture priority, and use a faster shutter speed.

If part of the image was sharp and the part that was blurred was not due to motion, that indicates that you didn't focus in the correct part of the image and/or didn't use a small enough aperture (large enough depth of field).

or my photo just did not look a photo I would take.

Sorry, but I can't help with that.

[Bobobird]

What camera / lens will you be using?

[Brownbear]

Lovely photo, John. Thank you.

Mike, thank you for the detailed and very helpful explanation. I did not have a maximum set on my iso (will try setting at 800 for my next attempt). At that time I also did not know how to selectively reduce noise, but learning to edit with layers and selections has been part of my project 52, and I think/hope that I will be able to do this with my photos now.

I also did not know... (thank you)


If it was motion blur or blur because you couldn't hold the camera still enough, you didn't configure your minimum shutter speed in the Auto ISO setting fast enough. With the D80, you can only set it as high as 1/125. If that's too slow for the situation, use shutter priority, not aperture priority, and use a faster shutter speed.

If part of the image was sharp and the part that was blurred was not due to motion, that indicates that you didn't focus in the correct part of the image and/or didn't use a small enough aperture (large enough depth of field).


mmm.. LOL

Bobo... I have a Sony Alpha 200 with an 18-55 mm lens and a 70-300 mm lens (kit) AND a Nikon D80 with a 28-200 Nikor lens, and a 18-50 Sigma lens, a 200 -400 mm Tamron lens (very old), and a used, but very good Nikor 105 Macro lens that I recently purchased. The macro lens seems to be my best lens, but I am still struggling with getting clear focus/dof with the macro lens, and I just need to practice with it.

Thank you everyone.

[Polar01]

Christina: Here are my two cents worth for rainy/overcast day. I was in Iceland this past year and of the ten days there with the group from the United Kingdom it was like that for 8-1/2 days, it was harder to get the image, but I felt better for it as I now had to work harder. Remember you do not always get what you want, you get what you need.

Cheers:

Allan




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[Shadowman]

Lovely photo, John. Thank you.



Thank you everyone.

Thanks Christina.

[Brownbear]

Beautiful and mysterious! Thank you, Allan.

I'm thoroughly inspired and enjoying all the photos, but still waiting to see the photo of raindrops hitting on the ground... ?

[Brownbear]

Hi Ben,
I forgot to say thank you... This is a really creative photo... Reflection of the rain in a window... Love it.

[Brownbear]

If the rain is really heavy, try getting down low and capturing raindrops rebounding off a hard surface.

(When I get home I will try and find some examples to post). In Britain we are quite used to having to be inventive in this way. Clear blue skies and high sun are a rare phenomenon!

Waiting with much anticipation...

[ScoutR]

Waiting with much anticipation...

As are we, waiting to see what you come up with.

This thread and the shots of people in the rain, has made me think we should start a "Rainy Day People" thread. Of course for some of us it would have to be "Snowy Day People"

Wendy

[Geoff F]

Dull End to the World

When the world was supposed to come to an end recently, I found myself on top of a hill overlooking the harbour.

More a case of looking for foggy scenes than expecting any serious calamity to my surroundings.

But the best I could come up with was this scene.



Shot various angles with different settings. Tried HDR etc but everything just ended up looking dull.

And this shot was the result of two Raw conversions merged.

But at least I survived!

[Brownbear]

Beautiful photo Geoff... It looks like a painting. Thank you for sharing. I too survived Dec. 21st and numerous solo treks in the wilderness in quest of a photo...

[rtbaum]

How did you know that it's a woman? In fact, it's my wife. We were dressed almost exactly the same that day, wearing the same poncho, similar hat, fully covered, etc., etc. With no facial features being displayed in the image, I would have thought it would have been impossible to determine the gender.

Simple.............A man never would have had the wherewithall to straddle the puddle...he would have waded through the middle

[CP140]

Welcome back Christina! I have a couple shots I like that were taken on grey/rainy days...

(The last one was taken during a thunderstorm so it might be cheating a bit...)

[shreds]

A few shots in tame Sourthern England, but wrapping up warm is still essential as water has the ability to cool you very quickly.

http://www.principlesimages.co.uk/rainy-days

Apart from the shot taken from inside the car, the rest were all on my robust but totally reliable Manfrotto 058.