How do you photograph rain hitting a surface?

Question

I live in Manchester, UK - notorious for its rainy weather!

I would like to achieve something like this

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vlad259/4541663932/

or

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29099055@N04/2728793882/

What lens should I use? what settings? how should I set-up?

Luckily my flat is ground floor so I can get nice an low to the floor - which seams to be a common element - but that's probably because the splashing is the cool aspect and really what i'm looking to achieve

Asked by Rob

Answer

Many options. What you consider looks best is very much a matter of personal preference and experiment will tell you more than straight instructions, but the following may help.

In this case - not the only way, in the 1st image note that the depth of field is narrow and centred around the front duck, making it and a band of ?water? sharp. Background ducks are blurred as much by focus as by rain. Rain that is seen is in focus band. Given the depth of field a moderately long focal length and largish aperture was probably used - no way to be sure but maybe 100-200mm and f5.6 ish. Maybe. A flash can help to make rain stand out sharply (as it freezes it) but be aware that system may tend to expose for rain exposure in foreground pushing background brightness down. Manual or semi manual exposure control will allow greater control.

In the 2nd photo they have again used depth of field to give a sharp foreground with background blur being caused both by rain and defocusing. Really high speed will freeze drops so they are separately discernible - you'll find out that they are NOT drop shaped as usually drawn but fall in a much more flattened form die to air pressure distorting the drop. Slow shutter speed gets long streaks/runs with loss of drop detail. You need to play and decide how much you want the drops to be visible versus streaming. Careful use of flash so the photo is not dominated by it but so it tends to freeze indivudual drops even when overall shutter speed is slow enoughto cause "runs" to show gibes a mix of both worlds. balance with flash level control.

Note that while the "gate" photo is monochrome, the above "duck" photo may appear almost monochrome at a glance but is far from it. Background foliage has substantial green in it. Front duck has lots of brown and white and colour variation.

---

Some good material here D Photo - Capturing images of rain
This describes a systematic investigation of the effect of shutter speed and aperture and more on rain images ! . Not much re rain on ground, but much else which is relevant.

---

There are some useful thoughts in this PHOTOGRAPHING RAIN article - only the 4th photo down directly relates. (Nikon D50, 1/125s, f/5.6, 50 mm

but the 5th photo (bride and groom) and the associated writeup here provide some useful thoughts.

He agrees with my observation re flash (always nice to know :-).) He says:

• As for taking the first photo, keep in mind that although long shutter speeds can add a cool effect to a photograph, shorter shutter speeds can stop raindrops right in their tracks. (first article) and

• The backlight will illuminate the rain and freeze it giving you this amazing backdrop of raindrops. (second article)

  ---

ADDED:

Len's comment got me to view the flickr version of the ducks and EXIF data is available here.
1/250th s exposure. f/4 and 500mm! The modest but not too narrow depth of field indicates that the subject was some distance away but not vastly so (no to mention the subject size). Maybe tens of metres.

Answered by Russell McMahon

Check more discussion of this question.

How weather resistant is the Canon EOS 7D?

Question

Canon states that the 7D is weather resistant and built to resist water and dust.

There is even a blog which shows a EOS 7D covered in snow, during a field trip. But reading trough the comments of this blog post, there are many cases of people who are desperate because their 7D broke due to damage by rain or water(even with a class L lens attached).

So, my questions:

• Are there any experiences regarding the Canon EOS 7D and heavy rain, snow or splash water?
• Can I be sure that my equipment will survive a photo shoot in the rain or in a very dusty location?

Answer

Unfortunately, very few camera models specify the amount of resistance as anything measurable.

Water and dust resistance, as specified by Canon, means very little. If it said waterproof and dustproof that would be a stronger statement. I also feel lawyers got involved somewhere in the writing of these things. For example, some Nikon manuals say 'resistant to dust and casual humidity'. Again, it has very little meaning.

The 7D falls among those cameras with vaguely specified resistance. Unfortunately, you have to try to find out. The 7D I used was subjected to snow without any problems. Actually, falling snow rarely is a problem even for non-weather-sealed camera as long as you wipe it off before you go into an environment where it would melt. I have no experience with a 7D under rain.

To be sure about your equipment's resistance you have to try it and even there, bring a backup. I used a Pentax K-7 in a shoot during a sand-storm and it worked perfectly. When I got to the hotel, I rinsed it under the tap for a minute or so to clean it. The polarizer I had though took a beating and I could hear sand in it between the rings for weeks after. It probably saved my lens though :) On the other hand, it took less than 15s for a Canon Rebel (not sure which model, probably XSi) to stop working completely in the storm. Canon asked for $150 or so to clean the sand out.

Check more discussion of this question.

How weather-resistant is the Canon EOS 600D?

Question

I have many friends with Nikon D300s and Canon 7Ds and they say they can handle pretty much anything they throw at them. I know the 600D is way less fit for this but I just would like to know, out of curiosity, what conditions that it could maybe withstand. I am only interested in how much the body can take, because I know that the total weather resistance depends a lot on the lens (let's assume I have a EF-L tele lens attached).

Also possibly, how does it compare to the 60D in terms of weather resistance?

Thanks in advance
Fred

Answer

It's basically, not (weather resistant). I don't believe any Canon Rebel series is weather sealed or resistant to any appreciable degree more than it looks.

It may survive a light spray of water or a little beach sand depending on where it goes, how much, and how long, but its simply not sealed against such things. If you're going to be shooting in any harsh conditions consider something to protect your camera (trashbags or the like) or a sealed camera + lens.

There's a lot of conflicting information on the net about the 60d sealing, but I don't think it is. The official Canon website doesn't state it anywhere in their specs or features.

Check more discussion of this question.