Who says you can’t have fun in the rain? Tired of being rained in so often these past few weeks, we took out an umbrella and said what the heck. I mean, c’mon it’s Southern California right?… it’s not supposed to rain this often. Anyways, even though it was a bit big on her, Kay picked up my sister-in-law’s red coat because… well, it’s bright red. We figured the red would provide a good contrast to the gray gloomy day. I think this idea stems back to my grade school days where we’d watch films on rainy days. One such film that I loved was a 30min 1956 short french film “The Red Balloon” by Albert Lamorisse. It was such a wonderful story about a boy and his red balloon. (I bet this timeless story inspired Disney’s “Up” movie) Do you remember watching this in grade school? Watch it again… it’ll be a nice trip down memory lane. Never seen this short? You must, the story transcends time, language and culture. Here’s the whole short film. sigh.. I digress.

Back to photography =) The photos below were all taken under natural light; we didn’t want to wreck our lighting gear under the rain obviously. How did I protect my camera? Punched a whole on one side of a plastic grocery bag from the local market… instant camera rain coat =). So what is it that amazes me about these photos? They were taken around 5pm… which under a rainy overcast sky is pretty dim lighting conditions. This is where a lens capable of a wide aperture (f1.4 here) and an advanced DSLR body with great high ISO performance will help a lot (translation: low / pleasing camera noise in dim lit conditions). Take any photos near sunset time and you’ll realize how quickly it gets dark on you. The pictures below were taken at ISO 640, then 1100, then 1400 and finally 1600. Even with 1600 ISO, the photos are still at a very acceptable quality. Generally, the higher your ISO setting is, the more sensitive it is to light (meaning you can use it in lower light conditions). However, as you go up in ISO, more grainy camera noise is also introduced. The better gear will preserve the quality of your photos better in dimmer light. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your camera or lenses, these are the differences you’ll notice. Feel free to ask if you have any gear related questions. I’m more than willing to dump a 2 page email on ya. =)

Hope you guys enjoy the photos below, even if there are just a few. I hope they motivate you to not let a rainy day spoil your picture whoring plans. =p Theme of the last few weeks: Get inspired, get out there and shoot, no matter what the conditions are.

rainy day photos »