shooting during rainy day

[John Layton]

Take a large Ziploc bag and pull it back over the camera so the open end surrounds the film back, stretch the front of the bag over the front of the lens and screw a filter in right over this, then remove the filter momentarily and remove the plastic disc which the filter threads will have cut out, and which will (usually) result in a nice plastic "flange" - creating a front element seal when the filter is then re installed over this. Leave plenty of loose plastic material over the lens controls to make adjustments possible (you may want some reinforcing tape over the knurled components) and poke a small hole for the cable release. You are stuck with the lens in question, but this system does work. Just make sure the open end of the bag drapes far enough over the film back to protect the film holder itself (you'll need to move the plastic out of the way to install the holders) and be really careful not to get water inside the holders! Of course, there is at least one metal 4X5 I know of which is completely unaffected by water - but you'll still need to cover the lens! : ) Happy Holidays!

[Hiro]

There have been some good threads about shooting in rain.

largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/434068.html

largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/498536.html

largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/496617.html

largeformatphotography.info/lfforum/topic/501336.html

[Danny Burk]

In light rain, I use a frosted shower curtain with a lens-sized hole cut out, which I drape over the entire camera and tripod. If it's raining too hard, I don't shoot (too much foliage motion in dripping, low-light conditions, not to mention rain blowing into the lens and into my backpack).

The shower curtain doubles as a great diffuser for flowers and other forest-floor subjects. Be sure to get one that is both frosted and colorless.

Danny www.dannyburk.com

[Mikael Tran]

Sean,
Welcome to LF. In answering your question, i made a focusing cloth out of low count cotton in white on one side, and the other side, out of 4-layers Goretex fabric to yield off moisture or rain. At each corner, i attached velcro straps to secure the focusing cloth and minimize light coming through for easy viewing of the ground glass. Nice thing about the Goretex is that it also acts as a wind-stopper and at the same time, keep you warm and the camera dry during unfavorable conditions.