Monday, February 07, 2011

Rainy day photography

click photo to enlarge
I've never been much of a rainy day photographer. My cameras and lenses, by and large, have never been of the weatherproof variety, and photographing from underneath an umbrella, or with a cover over the camera has never appealed as a deliberate way of securing such images. That's not to say that I haven't photographed in the rain - I have, but it's usually been from cover such as a doorway, the car or a window. There is another reason too. Most of my photography takes place when I'm out and about with my wife, and we don't deliberately choose wet days for long walks, or to visit places of interest. But, when the weather does put a dampener on one of our days out, then I try to make the best of it and grab a shot if and when it's possible.

Today's photograph is a similar subject and similar weather to the second example I link to above - a market place on a wet day. I have a habit of repeating the subject of a photograph when I've taken a shot that I like. The view of Newark market place was a different kind of image for me, and when I saw this prospect from Spalding's South Holland Centre as I sipped my coffee, I couldn't help myself and took this similar kind of photograph. I usually find that the shots that arise in this way are substantially inferior to the original. This one, however, though not as good as the Newark photograph, has qualities that I like. In particular it seems to convey more of the dreary and oppressive nature of a cold, wet, heavily overcast January day.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 12.8mm (60mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/160
ISO: 80
Exposure Compensation: -0.66 EV
Image Stabilisation: On