[UserAccessDenied]

I was so excited on my way home last night, I planned to get up before sunrise, drive out to my favorite spot on Assateague and setup my gear for a few hours hiking around...
I laid out my rocket blower, some microfiber cloths, 2 D-Li90 chargers and got to work.
Sensor clean ready to read, glass polished ready to see, 3 batteries charged and ready to go, 2 SD cards formatted and ready to store. I go to bed early, checking the weather reports right before laying down. (Mostly sunny, low 30s).

I wake up at 5:30am

24 degrees and overcast. Its just grey and miserable outside.
Looks like it's about to rain and there is not a speck of light pulling through those hazy clouds.

It was so demotivating that I literally just made a pot of coffee and started going through the Photos section on this forum.
Wishing it was 60 degrees and sunny...
I'll likely still head out in a bit, but the rush and anticipation was immediately wiped from me the second I looked outside.

Not to menton I feel like the wildlife agrees with me here. When it's a nice warming morning sun peaking over the horizon, the finches are fluttering, the herons are feeding, the osprey are dive bombing, the eagles are preying. When it's like today, I feel like the every creature big and little just goes into hiding...


What do you do on days like this?
Do you just go out and shoot anyways?


Cheers
-Logan

[dadipentak]

As a friend of mine once remarked, "That's why they make alcohol." Actually, I'm booze-adverse so I just take too many photos of the cats. I guess if I were where you are, I'd put a wide lens on the box and go for some moody photos of the marshes.

[Parallax]

I try to find a way to make the weather part of th subject. Let the weather set the mood of the pictures the same way it's set your mood.
Here in South Dakota I get a lot of practice at that as we have every type of weather condition imaginable. Usually 2 or 3 weather conditions combined on any given day.
It's those 3 or 4 truly pleasant days we get every year that I struggle with.

[UserAccessDenied]

As a friend of mine once remarked, "That's why they make alcohol." Actually, I'm booze-adverse so I just take too many photos of the cats. I guess if I were where you are, I'd put a wide lens on the box and go for some moody photos of the marshes.

Yeah I'm afraid if I don't go to Assateague I'll just head to Burley Oak and have a few ales instead; there have been worse Sundays...

Hopefully the sun will break by mid afternoon

[micromacro]

Two words come in mind- still life. That what I'd like to learn.

[ismaelg]

Provided that the weakest bit of equipment (me) can still take it, I would go out looking for High Contrast Black and White conversion opportunities......

Thanks,

[jddwoods]

If there are good photo ops out there at that time, I would get out there. Sunrise over the atlantic, and of course the wild ponies would make it worth it. Dress warm and take pictures.
Forgot! you said overcast, no sunrise, but the ponies and ocean will still be there.

[Oldbayrunner]

I was so excited on my way home last night, I planned to get up before sunrise, drive out to my favorite spot on Assateague and setup my gear for a few hours hiking around...
I laid out my rocket blower, some microfiber cloths, 2 D-Li90 chargers and got to work.
Sensor clean ready to read, glass polished ready to see, 3 batteries charged and ready to go, 2 SD cards formatted and ready to store. I go to bed early, checking the weather reports right before laying down. (Mostly sunny, low 30s).

I wake up at 5:30am

24 degrees and overcast. Its just grey and miserable outside.
Looks like it's about to rain and there is not a speck of light pulling through those hazy clouds.

It was so demotivating that I literally just made a pot of coffee and started going through the Photos section on this forum.
Wishing it was 60 degrees and sunny...
I'll likely still head out in a bit, but the rush and anticipation was immediately wiped from me the second I looked outside.

Not to menton I feel like the wildlife agrees with me here. When it's a nice warming morning sun peaking over the horizon, the finches are fluttering, the herons are feeding, the osprey are dive bombing, the eagles are preying. When it's like today, I feel like the every creature big and little just goes into hiding...


What do you do on days like this?
Do you just go out and shoot anyways?


Cheers
-Logan

One More Week..LOL

I just bought a new 13.5 sit on top fishing kayak a couple days ago, talk about waiting for the weather to break.... You go over to Janes Island?

[Parallax]

Provided that the weakest bit of equipment (me) can still take it, I would go out looking for High Contrast Black and White conversion opportunities......

Thanks,

That's a great idea!

[UserAccessDenied]

Provided that the weakest bit of equipment (me) can still take it, I would go out looking for High Contrast Black and White conversion opportunities......

Thanks,

This is a great idea.
ok, one more cup of coffee and I'm heading out, haha!

---------- Post added 03-06-16 at 10:07 AM ----------

One More Week..LOL

I just bought a new 13.5 sit on top fishing kayak a couple days ago, talk about waiting for the weather to break.... You go over to Janes Island?

Yeah actually took the standup paddle there last year. Assateague is 7 minutes from my house though so it's hard to justify going anywhere else..
I'm looking forward to warmer weather to make a trip to Blackwater.

---------- Post added 03-06-16 at 10:11 AM ----------

If there are good photo ops out there at that time, I would get out there. Sunrise over the atlantic, and of course the wild ponies would make it worth it. Dress warm and take pictures.
Forgot! you said overcast, no sunrise, but the ponies and ocean will still be there.

I'm so tired of the ponies after 8 years hahaha.
Just the other day I was at Assateague and I pulled over to get a shot of a GBH in the marsh. Some tourists pulled over and yelled out, "I don't see the horses!?" I just laughed and said, "there's more wildlife here than just ponies"

I love the island though, the ocean and the pristine beach. Thankful for the storms of our past that caused the island to become a national park in the first place. I'd hate to see this place turn into another Ocean City...

[monochrome]

Yeah I'm afraid if I don't go to Assateague I'll just head to Burley Oak and have a few ales instead; there have been worse Sundays...

Shoot the black and white.


Then go to Burley Oak and shoot the ales.

[tgchan]

I am craving to go outside or just drive somewhere for one of my super long walks, but just as you have described it... the weather has got different plans...

All is grey, wet and muddy (I hate the last thing the most )...

I am running out of the material to develop new photographs. To be precise I have just loaded my last RAWs... I went to a nearby city a week ago, but everything looked so bad, uninteresting I didn't capture anything at all... I feel the pressure because I need something to work with (I post a new photograph every weekend) and I know I will have to find less than ideal moment and place and hunt something down...

I have a few ideas I can still execute at home, but I never work with an artificial light, only natural one and the weather can still mess this up...


If the weather will be still so messed up, I will just try and incorporate that in my work, show the ugliness of it and all


The variety in my style helps a lot. I can only imagine the pain if someone has got some more theme oriented style and can't work at all with such weather conditions. Maybe it is a chance to try something new?

Limitation is the best motivator for the creativity

[UserAccessDenied]

Shoot the black and white.


Then go to Burley Oak and shoot the ales.

Curious... Do you shoot monochrome SOOC or expose regularly and adjust to monochrome in PP?

This will be a first for me!
I'm excited to give it a try.

[Murfy]

when it is like this, and it seems the whole winter had been like this, I practice using off camera flash. Or I shot photos that have no sky in them, mostly tree textures and abstracts from rocks or tree roots, if it is really still, water reflections are usually decent.

[From1980]

when it is like this, and it seems the whole winter had been like this, I practice using off camera flash. Or I shot photos that have no sky in them, mostly tree textures and abstracts from rocks or tree roots, if it is really still, water reflections are usually decent.

I find something like this is the best practice. When you prepare for a certain kind of outing, decide if that is the only thing you want to shoot or if you can be flexible and capture whatever type of image presents itself. As mentioned, if weather presents an alternative light and contrast then move in closer, change angle, eliminate the bald sky and find those textures and abstracts that normally are not seen. Take up the challenge and create.