Are you like me and love taking outdoor photographs of anything and everything with your DSLR digital camera? One of the things that so often keeps digital cameras hidden away out of site tends to be bad weather, even though some great bad weather photography gets taken when the elements seems to take a turn for the worst. Are you missing out on some great photographic opportunities?
I certainly would not say take your digital camera outside and stand in the rain taking pictures of things as this really is Not a good idea and the camera would possibly end up getting ruined, but with a bit of thought and planning you can soon be capturing some great images that might otherwise not be possible.
This will also allow an instant extension on your collection of mainly fine weather pictures. I try and allocate a whole day each week purely as a photography day where I go out to various locations and see what unfolds before me.
I used to get disappointed when I would chose a specific day, look out of the window and see a miserable dark and grey sky. I would put back all my equipment and wait until the following week and hope for brighter weather.
That was in the past, but now it is a very rare occurrence that I would let the weather steal any time I was going on a shoot with my DSLR digital camera. By doing a bit of research and planning it is still possible to go out in almost any weather and take good quality photographs.
To give you some idea of what I mean, you can check out your local sanctuaries bird or otherwise, wetland centres etc online and find out if they have hide facilities, these are a great way to photograph wildlife at each location, but in a totally different format giving change and learning opportunities for various lighting and reflection situations and allow you to still drink your coffee and eat your sandwich in the dry.
Personally I am a great fan of the changeable weather as this often produces some great lighting, yes lighting and not lightening with the sun breaking through the clouds occasionally and rain showers that are followed by some beautifully stunning rainbows.
I hope you are starting to see the benefits of having images such as these added to your photographic collection.
When outside with bad weather extra care should always be taken to protect your camera and any equipment that you may be carrying, but again walking through woodland or forestry areas open up a whole new arena for some great photographic opportunities.
Visiting a shoreline on a blustery day is not only stunning visually, but from a photographic point of view an amazing experience, but again extra thought should be given to the camera as there is generally a lot of salt spray in the air, but if you are able to get some pictures of huge waves crashing against a pier or harbour wall I am sure they will be spectacular to look back at and show friends and family.
Where possible try and find a good location in your vehicle and either take pictures with the window down or if weather is exceptionally bad use a polarizing filter and take the pictures through a (clean) window.
Obviously with bad weather photography your DSLR digital camera settings will be completely different, so until you get used to them by experimenting with certain light etc it is probably a good idea to use any automatic settings that the camera will allow you to use.
What you wear is also important as there is nothing worse than being out in the cold and wet with all the wrong clothing on, I can tell you that from experience, but try not to wear so much that you cannot function effectively.
Also a lot of good photography involves getting down on our knees, (photographing such things as mushrooms or insects) so this is also something you might want to take into consideration when dressing for bad weather photography. Who knows if you are really lucky you might be able to capture a great shot of a lightning bolt, yes I did say lightning.
So a DSLR digital camera is not just at home in fine weather it is just as effective and at home in bad weather, it is simply a question of applying a little more thought and additional parameters. Planning and research are the key to great outdoor photography.
By now you should have a pretty good idea on bad weather photography with a digital camera. An amazing subject when you start getting some great images. Photography is not just a great hobby and interest that people can enjoy and share with each other, it can be seriously relaxing and in some cases therapeutic, especially when you are getting great results.
Knowing how to set up good pictures is one thing, but having the right equipment at a great price is also important. By visiting this informative DSLR Camera Guide site with a unique free offer you can discover why and which DSLR Camera is best for you. You can now see some of the best deals by going to: http://www.squidoo.com/dslr-camera-secrets-exposed
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