CLASSICAL PHOTOGRAPHY by Jess Isaiah Levin, Raleigh, NC

l250eddings, portraits, seniors, corporate events, fine art prints.

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June 23, 2007

Things to do on a rainy day:

Professional photography, like most kinds of work, is obviously done in all kinds of weather. Sometimes the function is actually to document the weather itself. Other times, we're recording outdoor events that are going to happen rain or shine. What I'm thinking about right now, though, is those days when I have some free time and hope to spend it on photography for my own growth, exploration, and satisfaction. If I set aside a part of a day to visit a park and try to develop interesting images of a given scene, then I may be thwarted in my plans if there's a heavy downpour. Sometimes clouds, rain, and even lightning can make the most dramatic landscape photos one could wish for, but certain potential photos just don't work with all the details and contrast obscured by rain.

A suitable response to this situation - losing the chance to make a photo that we have in mind - is to look for something completely different that can work under the circumstances. Recently, I'd been thinking of going after a particular clump of trees that intrigued me, and for that matter, we had a tentative outdoor portrait session scheduled. The session got postponed by heavy rain, and the trees needed a bright sky to work as a composition. I still was feeling "pumped up" about doing some outdoor shooting, for some reason, so I turned to the smaller realm of isolated leaves in the rain. A whole new area to play with, and one with its own challenges and rewards. Here's one shot from that set:

drip

Another obvious way to deal with rain is to move indoors. I'll leave that for another day.

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