I love the rain, which is probably a good thing because I live in Vancouver, British Columbia. Sometimes it feels like it rains for months on end here. Recently it rained so much, so quickly, that all of our arterial highways suffered catastrophic failures, cutting us off from the rest of Canada by ground.
Thankfully things are normally not quite so severe. The rain is refreshing and soothes the soul, and though nothing will beat a rainy hike in the forest, I love to wander around the city when it's pouring! I find it's a nice way to shake things up and cleanse my creative palette.
The pouring rain transforms the mundane into the magical. Colorful reflections are everywhere and cars kick up mist and illuminate the falling droplets. And of course, all the umbrellas come out. I haven't yet figured out why umbrellas are so compelling in photos and videos, but I'm always on the lookout for the perfect moments with them.
Light softens, and everything begins to feel straight out of a movie. I find it to be a very nostalgic sort of feeling. It's comforting.
It's a great time to observe people. Most people become hurried, eager to escape the unrelenting soak. I feel as if I'm the odd one out, taking my time. There is no rhyme or reason when I go for a walk in the city in these conditions. Sometimes I'll loop around an intersection or block a few times. Sometimes I'll sit in one spot and wait for the right elements to fall in place. For the above image, I stood near this crosswalk for about ten minutes, waiting for events to line up, which feels like an eternity in the cit. A car, just out of frame, suddenly illuminated the heavy rain and person waiting to cross. I love these beautiful, fleeting moments.
The approach I take to city photography is both similar to the way I approach my landscapes and very different. I focus on atmosphere and depth, but that's where the similarities end. I shoot with a 50mm prime lens, often with the aperture wide open at f/1.8. Getting everything in perfect focus does not matter to me here. I skip the tripod. The ability to adjust and compose swiftly, in low light, is paramount. The inclusion of people is critical to providing a sense of immersion, compared to my landscapes which rarely feature anybody.
Thank you for reading. I have a selection of city images on the blockchain: click here if you'd like to take a look!