Photographing on a Rainy Day

If you love to take photographs, a string of rainy days can dampen your spirits.  But have no fear, with a bit of creativity you can get some great shots, even on a rainy day.  The photo above was taken on one of those weeks when the rain just wouldn't quit.  It was shot from my covered front porch using a 70x 300 lens set on aperture priority at 5.6.  I moved around the various sections of leaves on our Japanese Maple tree to capture the raindrops on the leaves and the gentle rain in the background.

Tips for Photography in the Rain

• Carry a raincoat for your camera ( you can purchase a rain covering for your camera at a camera shop or online)
• A gallon sized plastic bag...this can work in a pinch, just cut a hole for the lens and put your hand in the back and your camera is safe and dry.
• Look for porches or awning to stand under and shoot.
• Shoot from inside your car.  This is a great way to capture scenes when you travel in the rain.
• Try to get the light behind the raindrops to bring them out.

Rainy Day Photos

by mbgphoto and friends

Objects to Look for on a Rainy Day

• Food at an outdoor market covered with raindrops
• Umbrella's as a backdrop
• Flowers and leaves with raindrops
• Reflections in puddles
• Emotions on people...joy on children playing in rain...frustration of commuters hurrying about in the weather
• Raindrops on interesting objects or parts of objects. 

The photo below shows raindrops on a section of the wind sculpture in our front yard.  I shot several pictures of this wind sculpture first taking the whole item and then just sections of it.  I was trying to capture the raindrops as the gathered on the metal.

So the next times you have a rainy day go grab you camera and see how creative you can get!

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Photographing Butterflies

Each year I like to take a class or two to update my photography skills.  When I heard that there was a special class at The Butterfly House on capturing great shots of butterflies I was anxious to attend.  The class was held during the hours that the house was closed so that the photographers could use tripods and not disrupt the normal flow of guests.

On the day of the class it was a frigid 8 degrees outside.  The scene above is the frozen lake at the entrance to The Butterfly House.  I was looking forward to getting inside to the warm butterfly conservatory where the temperatures are kept in the 80's for the tropical butterflies.

Photography Tips

When the class started the instructor gathered us around for a few tips about photographing butterflies.  Before we entered the conservatory, he had us put a plastic bag over our camera lens and secure it with a rubber band.  This would help the camera become accustomed to the change in temperatures and prevent condensation on the lens.  We then entered the conservatory and gathered around for a few tips on photographing butterflies.

• Use a tripod
• Use a remote shutter release
• Set you white balance at cloudy
• Set your ISO at 400
• Use Aperture priority and start with a 5.6 aperture

After the instructor gave us these tips we removed the bags from our cameras and we were ready to begin our photography. Capturing a good butterfly photo requires a lot of patience.  I walked the path of the conservatory looking for a butterfly that was sitting with it's wings open, in a spot where it wasn't hidden in the foliage and where the light was good for a photograph.  Now that is a tall order! 

 

Photographing Blue Morpho  Butterflies

There were a lot of Blue Morpho butterflies flying around but very few that were sitting still.  Here are a few photos I was able to get of these beautiful blue butterflies.

The first butterfly was perched on a bench and stayed there for the longest time.  I sat on a bench across from it and set up my tripod.  It stayed there while I shot a whole series of photos and then went to let some of the other classmates know about this shot.  In the second shot the butterfly was back in among the foliage and in the shadows.  Our instructor used a reflector to shine light on the butterfly and I was able to capture this shot.  I love the way it really shows all the lines on the butterfly. The photo below shows a Blue Morpho butterfly with its wings closed.

 

More Tips from our Instructor

• Take your time finding the right shot
• Take notice of the background....look past your subject to see what else will be in your photo
• Shoot away from the light
• Use reflectors to bring light in to dark areas
• Don't expect every shot to be great...if you come away with just a couple good photos it will be a successful shoot.
  

 

Tropical Butterflies

The Butterfly House features more than 25 species of butterflies from around the world.  Here are a few of my other favorite shots from the photography class.  I especially like the second one with the transparent wings.

Zazzle Products from my Photos

Blue Morpho Butterfly by Butterflyblitz
See more Blue morpho butterfly Accent Pillows at zazzle.com

Blue Morpho Necklaces by Butterflyblitz
Look at other Blue Necklaces at zazzle.com

Morpho Beauty Poster by Butterflyblitz
See another framed artwork on Zazzle

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Ideas for Fall Photography

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year to take photos.  I love the way the colors are so bright and cheery and there are so many wonderful items to photograph.  On this page I will give you some ideas of items to photograph in the fall.

One of my favorite subjects is the beautiful fall colors reflected in water.  This photo was taken at a friends farm in mid Missouri.  The colors were beautiful on the hillside by the lake and in late afternoon I was able to catch the reflections.

Landscape scenes are beautiful in the fall, but you will also want to take the time to photograph some items up close.  In this photo I was taking an early morning walk in the woods in Minnesota and I stopped and zoomed in on these bright red leaves with drops of morning dew still on them.

Fall flowers make great subjects.  In this  photo fellow blogger, Sylvestermouse captured a beautiful bouquet of fall flowers.

Fall Floral Post Cards by Sylvestermouse
Create a full color post card on Zazzle

Pumpkins and fall decorations make great photos.  Here is a photo I took of a pumpkin display in Old Quebec city.

Pumpkins in Quebec Photo Art by mbgphoto
See other Pumpkins Photography

For more ideas on items to photograph in the fall here are a couple of hub pages I wrote on fall photography.

• http://mbgphoto.hubpages.com/hub/fall-in-michigan
• http://mbgphoto.hubpages.com/hub/autumn-in-missouri

Fall is in the air here in Missouri and I'm anxiously awaiting the fall colors.  Wherever you are I wish you  much success in your fall photography!

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Photographing Children

Photographing children is a fun and sometimes challenging activity.  My granddaughters are used to me always having my camera around and when they are in the  mood they enjoy posing for me.  I like to catch them during their everyday moments, but sometimes it is fun to have them pose for me too. I have found if I take a few photos of them clowning around first, it will loosen them up and I can then get a few more serious photos.  Last year I got them playing around on their back deck and then encouraged a more posed photo.  Here are the results.

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Travel Photography

Document Your Trip with Your Photos

Vacations tend to bring out the photographer in everyone.  Even if you don't normally take photographs when people travel they usually like to record memories with photos. 

When I travel I too love to take  photos.  I always want to make sure I get photos of the main landmarks of the places I visit, but then I also want to photograph details that I enjoyed about the place.  When I visited old Quebec city in Canada one of the things I really noticed was all the unusual window and door decorations. On this page Quebec City you will see how I used the photos of the windows and doors to make a photographic collage.  One of the things you do not want to forget on your travel photos is people.  Be sure to include those you are traveling with in at least a view of your photos.  I took this photo of friends in an entranceway in Quebec City.

Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia is well known for the lighthouse and I took hundreds of photos of the lighthouse.  Peggy's Cove  I also found the fishing boats and the rock formations to be interesting so I made sure to capture them in my photographs.

So next time you travel think about what photos really represent the place you are visiting.  Make sure you take all the popular shots.  After all you wouldn't want to go to Paris and not photograph the Eifel tower.  But then don't forget to get those unusual shots.  Look for the details that the place interesting and be sure to get some people in your photos too!

Be sure to share your travel photos in your writing.  Everyone like to see interesting photos, especially when you add a story with your photos.

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