Do you shoot in the rain?

[Michael_4514]

Getting off my bus this evening in a heavy downpour, apart from noting that my shell jacket had lost most of its ability to repel water, it occurred to me that, despite the rain (or even because of it), there were some promising photo opportunities.

I began to consider the logistics of hauling large format equipment out into the rain, and it struck me as complete insanity. Since complete insanity and large format photography are not mutually exclusive concepts, I raise the question: does anybody shoot in the rain? I don't mean getting caught in a shower unintentionally, or the odd light sprinkle, I'm talking about purposely venturing into a serious rainstorm specifically to make pictures with one's large format gear. If so, I'm really curious about it's managed.

[jp]

I don't do rain with LF, but snow certainly.

[Daniel Stone]

only with MF, not LF. I've been out when there's spotty rain/cloud/open sky, I like it when the air is nice and crisp, the contrast is a bit higher too due to less haze/airborne crap in the air.

but with 35mm(now mainly digi) and MF, for sure in the rain! Especially @ night, when the reflections of city lights in puddles can be a great source for abstracts

-Dan

[Jody_S]

Tried, broke one of my 2 (then) 8x10 film-holders when drops of water got on the dark slide and stuck. I'm perfectly willing to try again, but only in 4x5.

[Cletus]

I've tried a couple times. Too much logistics and worrying about keeping gear dry to concentrate on the work. Might try it again sometime. In a light rain! City lights on wet pavement at night have always been an attraction for me and something I've never managed to photograph well. Now you got me thinking...maybe a BIG clear poly bag (with a hole cut in it) and some patience....hmm

[ROL]

Golf umbrella. Rain, snow, and heavy mist many times. Frankly, I worry a lot less about shooting an all mechanical easily broken down and dried LF set up in wet conditions than smaller cameras with onboard electronics. I just use a UV or other basically clear filter over the lens, and sometimes wrap the bellows and film holder with windbreaker/darkcloth – easy peasy, extra cheesy. This was taken in the equivalent of a heavy mist alternating with a driving rain downpour (from the nearby waterfall) every few minutes:

This in a light snow:

[jcoldslabs]

I bought a second "beater" Speed Graphic for this exact purpose. I've taken it out a few times in the rain with a lens I wasn't too worried about. No great results yet, but living in the Pacific Northwest if you don't photograph when it rains you lose half the year.

A torrential downpour, though, will keep me inside. I'm not THAT dedicated.

Jonathan

[Drew Wiley]

Of course! My darkcloth is black Goretex. I always have a rain parka in my pack with pockets big enough for an 8x10 holder. And just in case a lens gets fogged, I have a portable dessication chamber: just a simple Tupperware box with fresh silica gel, along with
some perimeter packaging tape. Haven't had to resort to using it for a number of years,
but a companion of mine recently dropped a very expensive Zeiss MF lens in a creek and
managed for get it clear without resorting to a formal repair. Fortunately the water was
largely snowmelt with very little mineral content.

[David Lobato]

Covering the camera is one part of the issue. I like to spread some of my gear on a small tarp so it's accessible as I work. That would hardly be acceptable in any significant rain. I've tolerated light drizzles and snow before, but it would be hard to work out of an opening in a case digging blindly while water pours down your back. Maybe this would be an exception to going solo, enlisting an assistant to hold an umbrella, if he/she is crazy enough to be out there with you!

[Dan Henderson]

I like my Technika V and my lenses too much to take them out in heavy rain. But light rain, or as others have mentioned city lights at night after a rainstorm, definitely. Awhile back I bought a stuff sack from REI that fits very nicely over my camera between exposures in light rain.

One of my favorite pictures since moving to Roanoke, VA is a night shot of the Texas Tavern in heavy rain. But my shooting position was well protected by a building overhang, so I had the best of both worlds.