The Weather

il gatto

This should be one of the busiest times for photographers at every level, but the last month of miserable weather has made it a fallow period for most. There are interesting shots to be got in the rain, but it's so dark as well. I'm reduced to doing macro stuff in the house (none of which has been much good). Am I the only one feeling that we're missing out on a seasons worth of photographs?:(

ThOnda

The weather doesn't matter, it's only our lazines and comfortable style of life. Photos in rain are more interesting than those in the bright sunlight.

Paulw

The weather hasn't bothered me. I've been as busy as ever with photography. There is still plenty to do and see. All you need is a decent rain cover for your camera.

elven

If you get some days like it was at the weekend with heavy clouds but blue sky coming through, that's incredibly good for landscape stuff. You just have to dodge the downpours, which we managed to do successfully!

It's so easy to get all annoyed that you can't go out because it's miserable but you know what? Every time I've got so frustrated that I went out anyway, I've had a fantastic time and come home with some excellent results. Just as long as you're prepared for the weather, with rain jacket, sensible clothes/footwear and some sort of weather-proofing for your camera, there's no reason not to just head out anyway. As for the darkness, bump up your ISO if you need to, use a fast lens...

When you think about it, bright sunshine is only good for a limited amount of photography anyway. It's a good opportunity to force yourself to try a bit harder and do something different. Pick a subject that benefits from soft, flat light... concentrate on macros or something if the sky is grey and there are no good clouds.

rymus

I've often found myself going to the woods with macro lens & tripod when the weather takes a turn for the worst. But that's another story entirely...

amcinroy

There's no such thing as bad weather.

Just be thankful that we have got weather at all.

Just go onto dpreview and listen to how those US eastcoasters moan. They haven't had weather there since 1952 and some of their shots demonstrate that.

Here's a little something I put together on a miserable day
http://www.andymcinroy.com/2port.htm

Andy
www.skyandstone.com

sineadw

I got some of the first shots I've been happy with in ages at the weekend there. If you get out of dublin and get a bit of sky to look at its really rather breathtaking. Just get a decent umbrella!

thebaz

the weather hasn't been too pleasant to put it mildly, but the past week , as others have suggested, the light has been fantastic for photography, i've only been in Dublin. Photography is all about light, and i find bright sunshine , not the best for good quality light , sometimes hazy, sometimes , too dark shadows.

Morlar

Where I work has a view of the mountains and I find that 5 or 10 minutes after a very heavy rainstorm it looks just fantastic. The heavy rain clears the misty munge and its just crystal clear. Well provided the sun can come out that is.

Valentia

amcinroy wrote:

Here's a little something I put together on a miserable day
http://www.andymcinroy.com/2port.htm

Nice shots Andy. You've given me a few ideas for the damp days on Valentia.

There was one day awhile back when I was just heading for a walk and it started bucketing down. I looked out the window and still got a shot:

elven

Why haven't I seen that shot before? That's gorgeous!

I was messing about, shooting the rain and you don't realise how fast it actually comes down - I had to go up in the 1/1000ths before i could stop it looking like streaks... so if you can handhold at 1/60th or lower, you'll get those lovely lines...

Valentia

elven wrote:

Why haven't I seen that shot before?

Uh huh! Your memory is receding: ahem!

elven

ah well, I marked it as a favourite so I liked it then, and I like it now, nothing to worry about

*runs away before she gets into trouble*

TJM

Andy - fantastic shots as always. The colours and textures are superb.

il gatto

Maybe it's just where I live, but there honestly has been only a few days in the last month where there has been any blue sky whatsoever. I usually like taking photos with nice cloud formations and unusual lighting, but almost every day has been dark, misty, wet mess with regular downpours and unending drizzle. Everything is under a veil of mist and there just isn't sufficient light.
I don't want all my photos to have bright sunshine and blue skies, but the magic hours in the morning and evening have the best light and it's just not happening these days.
It also doesn't make it any fun doing wildlife stuff, as sitting in a bush until you, your equipment and your spirits are damp, only to end up with dull shots,is not my idea of a good time.
I was hoping to go out shortly but the drizzle has started again.:(

amcinroy

Off out tonight I went into the pissing rain of Donegal.

In full waterproofs I trudged a miserable 4km with hardly a glimmer of "good" light.

Had a marvellous time !!!!



Andy

Ghost Train

^ So dramatic, super photo looks like you were low to the ground, with the wide angle makes the scale of the place look really vast

elven

That's a cracker of a shot Andy

If that's the outcome then I'm sure it'd be easier to motivate yourself to get out in the rain more!

magicbastarder

what part of donegal is that?

amcinroy

This is Inishowen. A alternative view of a very well known feature. Can anyone guess where this is? You might need to do some triangulation using the hills and islands.

Here's my 2nd from the evening. Any help.



Andy

magicbastarder

half my genes are from inishowen. haven't been up there in years, though.

amcinroy

Hey guys,

This thread inspired me to write about this subject as my monthly dispatches article. You can get a sneak preview of the draft through the link below (going live in august)

"In Search of Bad Weather"
http://www.andymcinroy.com/0708note.htm

Comments and suggestions gratefully received.

Andy

311

amcinroy wrote:

Hey guys,

This thread inspired me to write about this subject as my monthly dispatches article. You can get a sneak preview of the draft through the link below (going live in august)

"In Search of Bad Weather"
http://www.andymcinroy.com/0708note.htm

Comments and suggestions gratefully received.

Andy

Refreshing stuff ,very nice

ThOnda

amcinroy wrote:

....
"In Search of Bad Weather"
http://www.andymcinroy.com/0708note.htm

Comments and suggestions gratefully received.

Andy

Like it a lot. Both the photograph and article.

By the way, I am very close to buying K10D. Do you have some experience to be shared?

amcinroy

I have been following Pentax cameras for the past 12 years. It's good to see them up there with the big guns again and I actually think that the K10D gives the much more pricey D200 a run for its money.

But to me, the lenses are what interest me more. Pentax have some great offerings for the landscaper. The primes are most interesting. The 14mm for instance is a fraction of the price of the Canon or Nikon equivalents because it's an APS lens. It's also much less bulky.

I also have 2 of the pancake limiteds (21mm and 70mm). These are optically excellent, reasonable priced and very lightweight.

Now the question. Where are Pentax headed?. I think it sounds like Pentax are staying with the 1.5 crop (or possibly 1.3 crop sensors). The reason I think this is because the recently announced pro primes 200mm and 300mm are classified as DA lenses (reduced crop). So they intend to retain fully compatibility across all their lenses unlike Canon and Nikon.

So there is no pro / consumer split in lens ranges the way Nikon and Canon have. This may be good news if Pentax can take the reduced crop cameras and lenses to pro levels. And I think it is possible. A lot of pro photographs are now defecting to the K10D and with rumours of a K1D in the pipeline it sounds like Pentax are moving forward again.

Andy

ThOnda

Thanks for info. I have started with MZ-6 with 28-70/4. Now I have P30N with 50/2. I like the controls and the lenses, of course.
The K10D looks promissing, so far. Who knows, what's going to happen in next decade?
I'm just disgraced by prices of film processing and scanning. I have to spend a lot for camera to save some money. It is not logical 'cause I have to save a lot money to buy that camera.

mobileblog

I’ve said it before Andy, Loving your work.
My first attempts of a shore line at shrove beach was a disaster, I might head to Kinego Bay in the coming weeks to see what I can get from it. (I’ll do another wee read up before)
(spike)

Fenster

It was 41 degrees in the shade here today. :cool:

I got some great IR a few days ago on the Strip, I hope to get a few more during the week.

amcinroy

ThOnda wrote:

I have started with MZ-6 with 28-70/4.

I started with an MZ-50 and that same lens. It's a well regarded piece of glass although the elements are prone to separation (thankfully mine is still going strong). With my move to digital I find this lens is a good portrait zoom.

What about the K100D? A bit cheaper than the K10D. I have done some print comparisions between the 2 cameras and my wife couldn't see the difference between the 6mpix and the 10mpix. I could just about see it if I held my nose to the prints. The K10D really just offers better handling, faster autofocus and weatherproofing.

Andy

DaireQuinlan

ThOnda wrote:

I have to spend a lot for camera to save some money. It is not logical 'cause I have to save a lot money to buy that camera.

Tell me about it :-)
At this stage though the most expensive thing for me is getting c-41 and e-6 developed. I buy most of my film in batches from http://www.mx2.co.uk/ , they sell short-dated and expired stuff at 99p a roll. I develop all my own B&W which is pretty cheap, and scan everything myself. Although I -did- spend 600 euros on a nikon film scanner ...

ThOnda

I am going to use film, however I like to shoot a lot, so only way is to go didjital.
K10D has weatherproof seals and antishake. And is a littlebit newer. And I like to crop, so 10 Mpix is an advantige.
I am used that I can enlarge any of my pictures, so that's what I expect from didjital camera. Shoot as much as possible and print whatever I want.
Only thing to do now is to reduce amount of pictures and save for the K10D. And battery pack, battery, two memory cards and UV filter (I'd like to have set zoom lense to be "wide" from beginning).