Catching Raindrops

It is a rainy morning here in Winnipeg, the perfect time to try and catch some raindrops.

I set my camera up on my tripod with my 75-300mm lens and attached my remote switch to avoid camera shake. I didn't have to wait long at all for each of the drips to drop. My problem was speed, or the lack-there-of. Even with bumping up my ISO, my lens was just not fast enough to stop the action of the drop in lower light conditions. Well, I guess it could have but the image would have been too dark to see a thing!

I settled on shooting the drop still clinging to the grape leaf and used a speed of 1/80  and also f5.6 for barely adequate exposure. ISO was way up there at 1000. Because I was shooting through a screened window, the noise was not as great an issue as it would have been for just about any other shot. There was enough other stuff going on to mask it. I did add a layer in processing to hide the noise even more and darken the shadows.

Pools and Streams

The tiny pools of water seem to float like islands atop the streams of rain running over the petunia leaf.

As is often my preference when finding lines and form, I chose to take out the colour in processing, opting for a black and white image instead of the brilliant pink. To show texture and lines, grey-scale usually works best for me and this shot was no exception. Using my trusty 60 mm macro lens, I was able to get much closer than any of my other lenses would allow. The detail of the fibers of the petal at the upper right corner, the glass-like bubbles and the veining of the flower all pop without the distraction of colour.

Delight in the Drops

We've had quite a few rainy days in a row. The temptation is there to complain about it and sometimes I do exactly that. I'm determined to find some good things about it...and there are many. One of these good things is the photo opportunities that the raindrops bring...like this...

Strung with Light

Raindrops

I headed out on the trail this morning. The rain had stopped but was still clinging to the undersides of many branches. I was moved by one leaf's cradling of the drops of rain before they could fall to the ground, unnoticed. The raindrops, they mattered.

Raindrops

After a night of rain, morning comes. There is nothing quite like wandering through the gardens early in the morning before the sun begins to dry the day. How beautiful are the drops of water both from above and below.