Make the most of the weather
Think of spring and you think of April showers, and these changeable conditions are what makes the light dramatic at this time of year, so put on your waterproofs and get outdoors
You need to be setting up before the rain stops and ready to press the shutter the moment the light bursts through
1 AFTER THE RAIN
Clearing showers can produce some of the most striking lighting conditions: the air is clear and visibility excellent, and as the sun breaks through, spotlit features on the landscape stand out dramatically against heavy skies. Conditions change rapidly, which means that you need to be setting up before the rain stops, ready to press the shutter the moment the light bursts through. So as well as wearing waterproof clothing to protect yourself, you’ll need to take care of your kit, too. Make sure you’ve put the right lens on the camera before you head out into the showers and protect the camera with a rain sleeve. There are various options commercially available, but cheap, improvised solutions, such as the shower caps you find in hotel bathrooms, can work just as well. Have a lens cloth handy, too, ready to wipe spots of rain off your lens or filters. Get your composition, metering and focusing sorted out in advance and then you will be ready to capture those dramatic, but often fleeting moments of light.
2 MISTY MORNINGS
Mist is one of the most evocative conditions for landscape photography. Not only is it extremely moody, but it also simplifies the landscape and hides clutter. Early spring is one of the times of year when mist is most likely to form. Choice of location is key: with low-lying fog, head to high ground to get above it. Longer focal lengths work best here, as you can pick out the tops of trees and buildings rising above the mist, and make the most of the telephoto lens ‘compression effect’ to create layers in the [Previous page] Spring is the season when the landscape comes back to life, with fresh, green leaves on trees and carpets of wildflowers.
landscape. Rivers and lakes are also good spots, as large bodies of water are good for generating mist. If you are at ground level, look for large, bold shapes such as buildings or boats for your main subjects. To predict mist, look for the following indicators in the weather forecast: a clear, still night, humidity of 95 per cent or more and visibility of moderate or poor.
3 CHASING RAINBOWS
If you’re out and about during spring showers, then there’s always the chance you’ll see a rainbow. For one to form, the sun must be at an angle of less than 42 degrees above the horizon, so you’re more likely to see one early or late in the day. Rainbows appear directly opposite the sun and there must be rain or other water droplets in front of you. As well as protecting both yourself and your kit from the elements, the other difficulty is keeping your own shadow out of the shot. Avoid using ultra-wide lenses and try to use shadows of objects in the landscape to hide your own shadow. A polarizing filter can make rainbows more vivid, but be careful how you rotate it, as incorrect use can actually make a rainbow disappear. Simple compositions where the rainbow frames a single subject work well, but your composition will, of course, be limited by the rainbow’s position.
4 A touch of frost
We tend to associate frost with the winter months, but it’s not uncommon to have a cold snap in March or even April. If the forecast shows still conditions and temperatures dropping to freezing overnight, it’s definitely worth planning a sunrise shoot. Almost any landscape looks stunning on a frosty morning, especially if there are pastel colours in the sky, which can offset the cooler tones of the landscape beautifully. Pay attention to your white balance, as Auto white balance is designed to deliver neutral colours and can therefore remove cool colour casts from frosty scenes, thus destroying the atmosphere. Instead, set your white balance to Daylight. Of course, if you shoot Raw, you can always adjust white balance at the processing stage, but it’s nice to get as close as possible to the end result in-camera, and this provides encouragement when reviewing images during the shoot. Get in close to frosty foregrounds and make the most of the texture by shooting scenes in low side lighting. A polarizing filter will increase contrast, helping to enhance texture, as well as giving a boost to colour saturation.