On two different occasions this year I’ve photographed in the rain, and I have to say, on both occasions I’ve walked away with something I really liked (you may recall the first image was from Szczecin, Poland). I have the gear to pull it off, but for whatever reason, I just generally choose not to… maybe it just amounts to laziness on my part. 🙂 In any case, both images ended up with a moodiness that looks a bit different from what I normally do, which has me thinking, maybe I should do it more often!
This image is from my family’s trip to Tybee Island. On our way back from dinner one evening, this little lighthouse caught my eye off in the distance as the storm clouds and rain rolled to it. I promptly dropped off my family at the house, grabbed my gear, and headed back out. Now, I’ve mentioned several times that I’m not a lighthouse fanatic (though I seem to photograph them regularly on our travels… so maybe I secretly DO like them), but this little guy was different. It’s not terribly tall, and it’s old (it was built in 1839) and rickety looking. I had hoped to get closer, but unfortunately the area had been hit by some storms recently that had access to the island blocked, so I had to shoot it from the other side of the bay. As I mentioned, when I saw it originally, the storms were rolling in, and by the time I got there, it was an absolute downpour. I had a rain jacket for me and my camera, but no rain paints, and by the time I got setup my lower-half was completely drenched. I had enough time to rattle off about 6 or 7 shots before lightning struck seemingly close, and the lighthouse started to disappear into the clouds and rain. It was probably the worst conditions I’ve ever shot in! I sprinted back to my car and flipped through what I got. After zooming in you could REALLY see just how old the lighthouse is. This definitely was not the first storm the structure had weathered!
By the way, last week’s Picture of the Week was one of my absolute favorites from this year, but unfortunately the Facebook link wasn’t showing the thumbnail for whatever reason, which means only a fraction of the normal number of people saw it. If you missed it, click here to check it out!
–Dan Thompson
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