Shooting in the Rain

Issue #457 // Photography news roundup / Taking photos in the rain / A question for you

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Photography News Roundup

Before we get to the rain, some photography news updates:

New Nikon superzoom: Z 28-400mm ƒ/4-8

• Nikon has released a new consumer superzoom lens for their Nikon Z cameras: the NIKKOR Z 28-400mm ƒ/4-8 VR. It works on both full-frame and DX cropped-sensor, and on the latter, you'll get the equivalent of 42-600mm focal length reach. It's not particularly fast, especially zoomed in, but it's competitively priced and remarkably small. It's almost certain to be a hit. It’s available for preorder with an estimated initial ship date of April 18.

New firmware for Nikon Z7II and Z6II

• Nikon released new firmware for the Nikon Z7II and Z6II. Both address the same issues, and they're both relatively small fix and tweak updates, nothing like the recent monster Z9 and Z8 firmware updates.

Yashica is back!

• Remember their affordable twin-lens-reflex medium-format cameras back in the day? They had—and have—a cult following for a reason.
  

  Now the brand is back with something completely different: a tiny camera that looks quite a lot like an action camera, and isn't much bigger than one, but that takes interchangeable lenses. And still remarkably affordable (would it really be a Yashica if it wasn't?). You can back them now on Kickstarter.

New Sigma 50mm ƒ/1.2 for Sony E-mount

• Sigma has announced a new ultra-fast 50mm ƒ/1.2 lens for Sony E and Leica L in their Art line. They already had a ƒ/1.4; this one is even faster (obviously!). In addition to being fast and bright, it's notably lightweight for this type of lens and has a dust and splash-resistant build. It’s available for preorder and expected to start shipping April 19.

Google shenanigans

• Have you found the quality of Google search results has gotten worse lately? You’re not alone. There has been some major disruption going on as Google has completely rewritten its search algorithms.
  
  It’s affecting many websites, especially independent publishers; and that means many photographers’ sites (including mine). You might be finding that a lot of the top results for photography gear reviews these days are being taken by Reddit and Quora rather than real hands-on tests from actual photographers.
  
  It’s just a taste of what’s in store as Google increasingly moves further away from the classic 10 blue links to become an “answer engine” that serves up AI-generated answers itself.

Quirky Canada (& New Orleans)

• Canadian photojournalist Ian MacEachern has a new exhibit in Fredericton showcasing black and white images he’s captured across Canada (and some from New Orleans).
  
  These focus on quirky characters and scenes he’s captured over the last six decades. There are some great shots included in the newspaper announcement along with Ian’s commentary on them.

Worth a read

• The latest issue of Black and White Magazine has a really interesting and detailed profile of Phil Penman.
  
  He’s best known for his black and white photos on the streets of New York, and the profile includes many great shots that I hadn’t seen before.
  
  It’s an old-school paper and ink magazine, so unfortunately there isn’t an online version (but it’s perfect for showcasing this kind of photography!). But if you can get a hold of a copy through your own subscription or through your library, it’s well worth a read.

Shooting in the Rain

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve had the occasion to shoot in the rain a few times. And not just a little drizzle, mind. I mean real rain. For hours at a time. A full wets kind of situation.

And it was a heck of a lot of fun!

I’ve taken a *lot* of photos at Washington DC’s Tidal Basin over the years. And it can be a bit of a challenge to get something different, especially when the light and weather and cherry blossoms just aren’t cooperating. But if you venture out in the rain, when most other people are staying in, you can get really different perspectives.

And I’m happy to report that the Nikon Z8 and Z lenses passed their weather-sealing ad hoc rain tests with flying colors. I just wish I’d thought to get a photo of just how wet they got!

If you are even a passing familiarity with this year’s cherry blossoms, you’ve probably heard of Stumpy. It was even mentioned on Saturday Night Live last weekend. Stumpy is what’s left of one of the famous cherry trees around the Tidal Basin that is still standing, barely, against the odds—a kind of Little Tree That Could. And it has blown up on social media in the past couple of years. In this predawn shot, I wanted to try a technique I’ve used some photojournalists use with striking effect: using on-camera flash to deliberately accentuate the falling rain. So I dialed down the exposure compensation on the camera to darken the background and dialed up the power of the flash. It’s definitely not my usual look, but I was really happy with how it came out. Nikon Z8 + Nikon Z 26mm ƒ/2.8 + Nikon SB-5000 AF Speedlight.

As you can see, it was still heavy rain here. Flooding at the Tidal Basin has become a twice-daily problem. It’s not just the rain; it’s also a combination of the reclaimed land settling and rising water levels. This park bench is sitting on a seawall and path that should be high and dry. Nikon Z8 + Nikon Z 26mm ƒ/2.8.

This is the same flooding issue. The parallel chain railings run on either side of what is, in non-flooding times, a walkway. The ducks were loving it! Nikon Z8 + Nikon Z 105mm ƒ/2.8 VR S Macro.

When the cherry blossom petals become fragile, the falling rain knocks them off, and you end up with cherry blossom snow. Nikon Z8 + Nikon Z 26mm ƒ/2.8.

Gone Shooting

• I’ve been out shooting with the Sony a6700 lately. I’ll be posting my review soon, but I’ve just posted some high-ISO test images.

• I’ve been shooting a lot for my Cherry Blossom Watch site. But with the bloom fading, that’s wrapping up for the year.

• And I’ve also been getting back into my action camera photography. It’s where I embrace the unique strengths and quirks of action cameras to use them for travel photography. Because not all of us are hurtling down mountain powder on a snowboard or defying death with a wingsuit.

A question for you

Do you have any recommendations for a print-on-delivery service that also offers framing?

As in, both framed and unframed prints?

I’ve always gone the self-fulfillment route, but that’s not exactly a smooth workflow. It’s a pain for my customers and cumbersome for me.

I know of some of the more obvious choices, but I’ve also been a bit put off by some negative reviews of them. And I’d prefer a service with a little more polish.

So far, Level Frames looks the most promising, with their Artist Storefront feature. But I don’t yet have any hands-on experience from a customer perspective.

So I’d love to hear of any good experiences you’ve had or solutions you’ve found that work well for you.

If you enjoyed this newsletter

If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love it if you could share it. I have some really fun ideas for making this even more useful going forward, and the more we have in the community, the better we can make it!

Hope you have a great week!

David.

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