They say it never rains in Southern California. After the last couple of weeks, I can say that nothing could be further from the truth. It is raining today and has rained quite a bit here in the last couple of weeks. It is also expected to rain several days over the coming week. Now I know that Southern California generally goes through cycles of drought and then heavy rain, so this is actually just keeping with the norm.
Nevertheless, most photographers fail to grasp the opportunities provided by rainy or otherwise bad weather. Rainy days provide overcast skies which eliminate the harsh mid-day sun. Also, rainy days provide very interesting cloud patterns during periods where the sun begins to peek through the clouds right after the rain stops. Finally, at least in Los Angeles where we can usually see the air we’re breathing, rain clears out the atmospheric gunk and gives us clear air for shooting landscapes, sunsets, or anything else where we want to have a great distance remaining in focus throughout our photographs.
Shooting in the active rain does come with challenges. A DSLR camera is not going to do well if exposed to significant amounts of water. Even weather sealed bodies are not waterproof. Also, lenses can get water droplets on them which will not do well for your shots and require constant wiping to keep dry. However, if you can shoot from a protected location like inside a building or under an awning, you can get some really great shots in a city area on a rainy day or night. Also, if you have a brave friend who is willing, you can take an umbrella and have your friend hold it over you and your camera for shooting outside in the rain.
Another often overlooked advantage to shooting cityscapes in the active rain is that (at least in LA) people generally do not go out in the rain so you can get some interesting shots of the city without people. The sidewalks are clean and wet so they look good in your photos as well.
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of shooting in the active rain. In other words, I try to avoid being outside with my camera gear while it is actually raining. My better half is not a fan of standing out in the cold holding an umbrella over me so that I can shoot the empty city. (Besides, I’m from LA so actual weather of any kind is scary.) That is why I generally shoot the city “between the raindrops” by going out right after the rain stops.
After the rain stops you have some beautiful cloud formations as the clouds break up. Also, the clouds are usually moving somewhat rapidly so if you bring your tripod you can do a longer exposure shot that shows the movement of the clouds. The shots below illustrate that idea. The first shot in particular shows a cloud working its way around the US Bank tower near the top. The bottom shot shows the cloud movement along with some light trails from the traffic on the street.
Those shots were taken after the rain stopped on the night the Rams forgot to show up to the Super Bowl as shown by the Rams logo on top of the Intercontinental Hotel.
Right after the rain stops you can also still get good reflections from puddles on the ground.
To make a long story short, don’t let bad weather stand in the way of good photography. Use the bad weather to practice long exposure shots to show cloud movement and light trails. Use the reflections from the wet sidewalks and streets to shoot interesting reflections, or take advantage of the rain keeping the city empty so that you can shoot some moody cityscapes.
Happy shooting! Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.