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Thread: How to capture rainbows – with myth or science?

  1. #1
    Land-Scapegrace Heroique's Avatar
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    How to capture rainbows – with myth or science?

    I've just completed a forum-wide title search with astonishing results.

    There is no thread – not one – with "rainbow" in the title. (Well, there's actually one about a Sinar rainbow case, and another about Newton or rainbow rings, but that's it!)

    Apparently, searching for rainbows right here is just as hard as in the field.

    If you're an LFer who has predicted, chased, or captured rainbows with success, what tips or examples can you share? There must be some entertaining stories out there.

    I've done a little research, browsing Galen Rowell's famous "Mountain Light."

    "Rainbows," he says, "occur only where water droplets of the proper size refract sunlight, which usually happens during the clearing of an afternoon rainstorm when sunlight hits a wet cloud in the distance. To look for a rainbow in a wet cloud, turn toward the anti-solar point, directly away from the sun. The primary arc of a rainbow always forms at a radius of 42 degrees around this point. Thus, no rainbow can be seen across level ground unless the sun is lower than 42 degrees above the horizon; and that is why afternoon sightings are most common."

    Hmm, quite interesting, but I think I'd rather let a rainbow find me than follow Galen's insights. Call it the Zen approach, not a scientific one. But maybe Zen isn't enough. What's your approach?

  2. #2
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: How to capture rainbows – with myth or science?

    I have only chased rainbows by motorcycle on the backroads of Wisconsin.

    God's country!

    I was seeking a pot of gold.

    Fun, but never got there.

    There are zillions of color images of rainbows, never saw a B&W one in person.

    I will keep an eye out
    Tin Can

  3. #3
    ic-racer's Avatar
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    Re: How to capture rainbows – with myth or science?

    Photographing a rainbow or mirage is easy. The hard part is getting right under the end of the rainbow or getting right on top of the mirage....

    Click image for larger version. 

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  4. #4

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    Re: How to capture rainbows – with myth or science?

    View camera is probably not the weapon of choice, as they come and go quickly...

    But if you can see it, you can shoot it...

    Steve K

  5. #5
    Joe O'Hara's Avatar
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    Re: How to capture rainbows – with myth or science?

    Well, you may be able to capture a rainbow, but how will you keep it healthy and happy? And shouldn't we let rainbows be free? ;-)

    Seriously, rainbows are always seen on the opposite side of the sky from the sun. In practice, at ground level at least,
    that means that they are seen in the morning, or (more commonly around here at least) in the late afternoon. Otherwise, the
    rainbow may still be there, but it is below the horizon from the viewer's position. So you know where to look at least.

    It also helps if the sun looks clear and bright from your position. They need directional light to be readily visible.

    When I am lucky enough to see a rainbow, the last think I think of is worrying about how to photograph it. But that is just me.
    Where are we going?
    And why are we in this handbasket?


    www.josephoharaphotography.com

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    Re: How to capture rainbows – with myth or science?

    There have been many rainbows to be seen in the year-plus that I've lived in Tucson; they are far more common here than in the East. I've photographed a few with my phone... have never been able to set up an LF camera in time to capture one on 4x5 film. As i only shoot B&W these days, I think that there wouldn't be much point to the exercise.
    Ansel Adams (of course) made at least one successful LF B&W photograph with a rainbow in it; naturally it was in Yosemite. It appears in his book "Examples", and I suspect that he set out to shoot the rainbow to prove that it could be done. Being Ansel, his picture not only proved the point but is interesting to look at, too.

  7. #7
    Vaughn's Avatar
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    Re: How to capture rainbows – with myth or science?

    I have photographed fogbows in B&W -- even a double one...not all that exciting.
    "Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China

  8. #8

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    Re: How to capture rainbows – with myth or science?

    Oh that's easy. Here you go!

    https://cokinfilter.com/products/rainbow-1

  9. #9
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: How to capture rainbows – with myth or science?

    I want the #2

    LOL
    Tin Can

  10. #10
    Land-Scapegrace Heroique's Avatar
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    Re: How to capture rainbows – with myth or science?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Sampson View Post
    I have never been able to set up an LF camera in time to capture one on 4x5 film.
    Me neither. I've seen several threads about predicting fog, cloud inversions, and clearing storms, but your field experience near Tucson makes one curious if rainbow prediction, as Galen Rowell suggests above, has any practical merit.

    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Gales View Post
    Oh that's easy. Here you go!
    Hilarious! Thanks Alan, and it's only $29.99!

    Here's Cokin's image for everyone's easy reference.

    Maybe they'll create a 2-stop GND filter with an embedded rainbow, $39.99.

    Click image for larger version. 

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