My favorite nature photos, especially landscapes are often taken in the most brutal weather conditions. Often in snow, rain, or wind that makes being outdoors very uncomfortable. On the contrary, I don’t find many of my “blue sky” shots to have much of a mood to them. Why the correlation between extreme weather and dramatic photos? I’m not entirely sure, but I think that the sunlight is often much softer during bad weather spells. Also, precipitation and moisture in the air create a lot of mystery and drama. Perhaps a great deal of effective nature photography lives in the surreal or sublime realms? On the other hand, embracing and emphasizing the mundane is an effective technique too, especially for street photography.
As my photography years go on, I’ve come to embrace adverse weather conditions more and more.
What weather conditions have created your most dramatic photos?
Infrared photo taken in the early stages of a snow storm in Chester, New Jersey. I had finished a quick walk at some local parks, but glanced down a residential road and couldn’t resist shooting a vanishing point in the snow.
Photo taken shortly after a snow storm. The walk down to this vantage point was treacherous to say the least. I did not enjoy the bitter cold or the fright from extremely icy rocks. I do enjoy looking at the photo from home now, though.
A very gloomy morning on the Atlantic Ocean. Photo taken in Ocean City, New Jersey. The wind was strong and actually a big unnerving. Even with a tripod-mounted camera, I will keep the camera’s strap around my neck to avoid accidents in this type of weather.
And here is a blue sky photo that I like:
A blue sky above the New Jersey Pinelands is dotted with Cumulus clouds, adding the illusion of depth to some two-dimensional pixels.
Dave Blinder Nature Photography 