WATCH THE WEATHER
Capture dramatic skies, mist and atmospheric conditions to illustrate the characteristics of spring
The unpredictable and continuously shifting weather encountered during springtime can be problematic, not least when it comes to protecting yourself and your gear from torrential downpours! However, there is a big advantage to it: the best light in landscape photography almost always happens as conditions change from one state to another, and amazing lighting can occur as the weather shifts.
As a storm rolls in, or after a storm has passed, the lighting structure is often ideal for drama. There is a fantastic reversal of contrast. Usually the sky is brighter than the foreground, creating a need for exposure blending or ND filters, but during and after storms the dark clouds require greater exposure than the illuminated land.
This means that by correctly exposing sunlit ground, kissed by beams of directional light through breaks in the cloud, an image with perfect tonal contrast can be achieved without the use of accessories. There is also a contrast of colour, with cooler hues in the storm clouds and warmer oranges and yellows provided by foreground highlights.
The best way to capture stormy light is to be out in front of the approaching weather system, or immediately behind it. There is little technical advantage of one over the other, but the latter is less likely to get you and your expensive equipment wet.
Take a meter reading from the highlights on the terrain, and try a half-stop of negative exposure compensation to really push the contrast in the scene.