Stormy Weather or Perfect Weather?

by Terri

Our long awaited day together had finally arrived. The three of us were coming from three different cities and were going to spend the day at the Dallas Arboretum capturing the flowers and enjoying time together. That morning we woke to rain, wind and cold. We wondered if we should cancel our plans but we decided to chance it anyway and headed out. 

  

I wish I could say that the sun came out, but it didn’t. It was windy at times and just plain cold at others . . . and absolutely no sun. But at least it wasn’t raining, so onward we went. For most of the visitors to the arboretum, it was a nasty day but that turned out to be exactly what we needed. Without the bright sun to cast shadows and wash out colors, the flowers were rich and saturated. We could shoot from any angle because we didn’t have to worry about shadows. Strong sunlight creates images with too much contrast, burnt-out highlights and loss of detail in shadow areas. And the beautiful colors of the flowers can be washed out by strong sunlight.  But on this day, the sky was acting like a huge light box, bathing everything in soft light, perfect for taking photos of flowers.

 

We had a wonderful time, bad weather or not, and enjoyed sharing this hobby that we all love. And along the way, we captured some wonderful flower images.

So the next time you find yourself with a cloudy day on your hands, don’t think “Darn, no sun”,  remember it is the perfect time to get out and take flower photos. And if you are lucky enough to have a friend (or two) to come along, you can make your own sunshine!