Bad weather = good photographs

Copyright Chris Austin, 2012

This is one of the best photos of any city skyline. It shows Charlotte, North Carolina, during a recent hailstorm. To shoot spectacular photographs such as this one, you need to be aware of the possibilities of taking images during bad weather. Heavy fog—grab your camera. Heavy snowfall—take pictures. Severe thunderstorm—look for that rainbow. Hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis—other people’s misfortunes could be your picture-taking opportunity, but be careful. You also need to know where to go if bad weather arrives so you can get there quickly. Lucky photos rarely occur; good planning leads to those “lucky” photos.

Chris Austin’s photo was post processed using HDR (High Dynamic Range), a technique that brings out more contrast in photos. If you have Adobe Photoshop or a similar photo-editing software program, you can also use HDR. Step one is to take the same photo at different exposure levels. Step two is to use software to merge the two photos. Recent iPhones include an HDR feature with their cameras. If you click here, you’ll find a 7.5-minute video tutorial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsaS5vgzlek. Below are a couple of my “bad weather” photographs.

London Tower bridge right after a rainstorm; copyright Keith Kenney, 2011

San Marino in heavy fog/low cloud cover; copyright Keith Kenney, 2005.

Rainbow in Verona, Italy; copyright Keith Kenney, 2005