Cloudy weather and rain

Comparing sunlight and shade:

The first task for this exercise was to photograph the same view in sunlight and under cloud while keeping the camera on the daylight setting.

While visiting my sister this week, I noticed that the clouds were flowing across the sky creating intermittent shade. I took the chance to go outside and photograph a little friendly Buddha sitting on her garden bench. I set the ISO to 100 and the aperture to 1.8 for both shots. The first image, taken in sun came out a vibrant gold colour and the shutter speed selected by the camera was 1/800. As soon as cloud covered the area, I took my next shot; it came out a much more silvery blue colour than the first and I was surprised to see such a dramatic different in a shutter speed of 1/100, three stops higher than the shot taken in sunlight.

The next morning while hanging out the washing, I noticed the sun shining onto this garden spade. As sun is quite scarce at the moment, I grabbed the opportunity to take the shot. Luckily, only about an hour later, I managed to get a shot of the same spade in shade. Yet again, the shot taken in shade was much bluer than that taken in sunlight. Both shots were taken at ISO 100 and AV 2.0; the shutter speeds used in sunlight and cloud were 1/2000 and 1/500 respectively, showing a two stop difference.

As I took the second shot of the spade, I noticed that the outside tap was now in sunlight. I kept the ISO at 100 and changed the aperture to 4.0 for a greater depth of field. As I didn’t have the time to wait for cloud cover, I asked my son to stand next to the tap, blocking the sunlight in order to create the same effect. Yet again, the shade made the image appear bluer than the one taken in sunlight and shutter speed increased from 1/500 to 1/125; a difference of two stops.

I wonder if the Buddha showed the larger difference in exposure as a result of the shiny surface reflecting the sun back towards the camera’s sensor.

Cloudy weather:

I recently had the opportunity to join a group of photography enthusiasts in Aylesbury as a friend of ours had a collection of her photographs in a local gallery. The collection, entitled Reflections was a selection of images taken in lakes and puddles, many of them turned upside down to create her works of art. After visiting the exhibition, we took a stroll along the canal and to suit the occasion, it turned out to be a dull and rainy day. I took this opportunity to take some photographs for my project on cloudy weather and rain.

My first image is of what many describe as the ugliest building in Aylesbury but I think it’s quite fascinating. I thought the dull day fit perfectly and enhanced the greyness of the building; as a contrast to this, I kept the brightly coloured boats in shot.

Further along the canal, I spotted some graffiti on a wall. I feel that the flat lighting creating much muted colours to the left of the shot serve to enhance the colours of the wall and graffiti.

Shooting through a tunnel, I created silhouettes of my friends sheltering from the rain. Had it been a very sunny day, these shots may not have been as successful as the views behind the people would have been burned out. Again, the bright colours of the boat and graffiti are enhanced by the lighting.

My final two images for this section show a sorry excuse for a beach hut, thrown further into disrepute by the storm clouds lofting above. The cheerful font and vibrant colours serve as a perfect contrast to the misery of the scene.

Rain:

I thoroughly enjoyed this section as rain is one of my favourite types of weather. My first image was taken on holiday last year, not for this course but because as I was sitting watching the rain, I was amused by the juxtaposition of the rain resting on the summer garden furniture.

The next image was taken during this summer’s holiday and was taken with this exercise in mind. I love the vibrant colours set against the dull lighting but my favourite thing about this image is the ‘let’s get on with it’ ethos which it shows, summing up the general feel of a festival; the summer bunting against the umbrellas in the crowd, the varying footwear, or lack of it on the children and the fact that despite the rain, the band are still pulling in a decent crowd. As I took this shot, I was sitting under a tree to protect my camera from the rain and it still brings a smile to my face as it did on the day.

The last set of images was taken during an enormous downpour, the type which has always had my children and I running for the biggest puddle. I had just bought a sturdy raincoat for my camera and grabbed the opportunity to try it out. As we walked around the village, the kids were only too happy to pose for the camera; these are three of my favourite shots of the day.