Who says there is no photo op when it rains (I am smiling)

You know how it is when it is your day off and you are determined to make the most of it. The weather forecast had projected rain all day long with no lull in sight for Sunday, the only day when a friend and I could do some photography - Do not put two crazy photographers together is all I can say.

It rained so hard that my Volvo 960 was hydroplaning. What started as a drizzle as we left San Jose at 7am this morning quickly turned into steady downpour on Highway 880 when we headed north towards Berkeley. Of all the days during the week mother nature could have its fun, it had to pick a Sunday.



Below are the shots in the rain, tone mapped with Photomatix, with little or no adjustment.

If there is a will, there is a way.


"Pink rose petals on the ground cover, it was the randomness of the pile that caught my attention"


"I was captivated by the raindrops on the elegant and yet very tiny leaves - as I moved in closer, I saw they had a nice shade of pink hue on its leaves"
Wish I could have shot it with the 100mm macro lens I did have in my bag, but that would be really risking it, getting the rain in my camera as I would have to change lens in the wet open air. You bet I am going back to that place marked F10 on the jogging path on another rainy day to shoot a couple more, and this time with my macro lens.


"Totally rained out, I took cover in my warm car, and decided if I can't beat it, why not join in the fun"
A side note, I did have to make a pit stop at the Fish and Tackle shop at the marina to get the ugliest looking fisherman's yellow raincoat. It was intended for me but it ended up being my camera's best friend - a makeshift tarp - best $7 investment.

A Slow Day

Today is one of those days when my mind is blank, figuratively speaking. I jumped out of bed this morning wanting to make today a productive one but it has been slow. This always happens when my schedule is turned upside down due to something I can't control - "external circumstances". - the rain and lots of it this past week in western Washington. There was so much rain for 3 days and I mean steady rain for 72 hours, ponds appeared all around the apartment. It was as if we had a monsoon rain that refused to go away. We had planned to drive south to the Bay Area yesterday evening but a 20 mile stretch of I-5 between Olympia and Portland was shut down late Wednesday due to heavy flooding. It had only just re-opened Thursday evening. Needless to say it is congested as traffic had backed up while people waited out the storm. Our schedule would only permit that we drive during the weekend so we decided that instead of turning the 12 hour journey into a 16 hour one, we shall make the trip next weekend instead.

I am so ready for sunshine, can't wait to go out to the coast in California to do some photography. I also have a Programming class at Stanford that is starting Tuesday which I will have to skip and I hate skipping class. The cold in the Pacific Northwest does not bother me as much as the rain and overcast sky. The gloomy weather does take much getting used to.

Now some happy thoughts:
Photo downloads at the start of the year has picked up, hopefully that is a sign of what 2009 will bring. I could be overly optimistic here given the depressed economic climate. I was able to pen down a rather long list of topics for my articles while sitting in a Starbucks last week. The story of the children's book I plan to write is taking shape- finally. I can't wait to learn some studio lighting techniques, that will be the best investment I ever make.