Wet weather photo walks: keeping you and your camera dry

If we only went out with a camera on perfect blue-sky days, we would hardly go out at all. New Zealand weather changes fast, and some of the best light we have ever seen arrived in the ten minutes after a squall cleared. Rain is not a reason to stay home. It is a reason to pack differently.

Why bother going out in the rain?

• Colour gets richer. Wet bark, rocks and leaves darken and saturate. Bush tracks that look dusty and grey in summer turn deep green.
• Reflections everywhere. Puddles, wet footpaths and shiny roads double up city lights and buildings.
• Moody skies. Low cloud on the ranges, mist in valleys and dramatic breaks in the cloud beat a featureless blue sky.
• Waterfalls come alive. Streams that are a trickle in a dry spell can be pumping after a decent downpour.
• Fewer people. Popular spots are often quiet when it is drizzling.

Check the forecast properly

Wet-weather walks are about light rain and showers, not storms. Before you go, look at the MetService national forecast and check the severe weather warnings page for your area.

MetService uses colour-coded alerts. A yellow watch means severe weather is possible and worth keeping an eye on. Orange and red are warnings, with red reserved for the most extreme events. If there is an orange or red warning anywhere near where you are heading, pick another day. No photo is worth getting caught by a flooded stream or a slip across the road.

If you are heading into the hills or bush, read up on river safety and trip planning from the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council. Streams can rise quickly after heavy rain, and a crossing that was ankle-deep in the morning may not be safe by afternoon. Tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back.

Protecting your gear

Know what “weather sealed” means

Many mid-range and higher cameras and lenses have some weather sealing, but that is not the same as waterproof. Sealing helps keep out drizzle and spray. It is not designed for a downpour or a dunking, and a camera is only as sealed as the lens attached to it. Check your manual for what your manufacturer actually claims.

Cheap ways to keep dry

• A rain cover. Purpose-made covers are not expensive. A plastic bag with a hole for the lens, held on with a hair tie, works in a pinch.
• A lens hood. Keeps drops off the front element when the rain is not blowing sideways.
• A microfibre cloth (or three). Keep them in a zip-lock bag so they stay dry. A wet cloth just smears.
• A dry bag inside your pack. Even “waterproof” packs leak at the zips.
• An umbrella for slow, tripod-based shooting where you are not moving much.
• A towel in the car for the camera and for you.

Changing lenses and cards

Do it in shelter if you can: under a tree, a shop awning, the car boot lid. Point the camera body downwards when the lens is off so drops do not fall onto the sensor.

Afterwards

Do not zip a damp camera into a sealed bag overnight. Wipe it down, take the lens cap and battery door off, and leave everything somewhere dry and airy. A few silica gel sachets in your camera bag help in a damp climate. If moisture ever shows up inside a lens, stop using it and have it checked rather than hoping it goes away.

Watch out for condensation

Walking from a cold, wet outdoors into a warm car or café can fog the lens and even the inside of the camera. Give it time to warm up before you start shooting again, or put it in a sealed bag before you go inside so the condensation forms on the bag instead.

What to shoot

Close-ups

Raindrops on flax, ferns and spider webs make great macro subjects. Overcast light is soft and even, which suits close-up work. Our post on macro on a budget has some easy ways to get started.

Street scenes

Umbrellas, reflections in shop windows, blurred headlights on a wet road. A slightly slow shutter of around 1/15 to 1/30 second can turn rain into visible streaks if there is a light source behind it.

Bush and waterfalls

A tripod and a slower shutter speed give falling water that silky look. On a bright overcast day an ND filter can help if you cannot get the shutter speed low enough.

Landscapes after the rain

Watch for the moment a front clears. The light that breaks through behind a passing shower can be spectacular, and you might catch a rainbow if the sun is behind you and the rain in front.

Settings to start with

• Raise your ISO a little. Rainy days are dark, and a sharp photo with some noise beats a blurry one.
• Use image stabilisation if your camera or lens has it.
• Shoot RAW so you can fine-tune white balance later. Overcast light can lean blue.
• Underexpose slightly in bright grey skies to keep cloud detail.

Dress for it too

Good rain gear makes the difference between a fun walk and a miserable one. A proper waterproof jacket with a hood, quick-dry layers, and shoes with decent grip on wet rock and boardwalk. Cold hands make for clumsy camera handling, so thin gloves you can operate buttons in are worth having.

Rain or shine, the best camera bag habit is the same: go out, come home, dry everything, and do it again.