PHOTOGRAPHING THE LANDSCAPE WHATEVER THE WEATHER.- Blog 4 -The Alluring Beauty of Rainbows -By Tony Worobiec

Following on from my previous two blogs, the first celebrating the opportunities afforded by rain, and the second highlighting how we can use flooded areas to our advantage, nothing illustrates the saying “there is a silver lining under every cloud” more succinctly than a rainbow. Having endured the inconvenience of heavy rain, being rewarded with a dash of dramatic colour seems fair and just. A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon often seen after heavy rain, appearing as a multi-coloured arc always in that part of the sky directly opposite the emerging sun. It is caused by the reflection of water droplets caught in the shafts of direct sunlight. It is possible to capture the full circle of a rainbow but, more commonly, we see just an arc or partial arc. Remember that, if there is no sunshine, then there will be no rainbows.

Whilst we see light radiating from the sun as “white”, it actually emits varying colour wavelengths, namely red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Sometimes we are able to witness the constituent parts of light broken down into these seven colours and rainbows are an example. A single or “primary” rainbow shows red on the outside of the arc with purple on the inner side, but if we are fortunate enough to be rewarded with a double rainbow then the colour is reversed. Generally the second rainbow appears slightly less saturated than the primary rainbow. We enjoy seeing rainbows, not just because they are such a spectacular meteorological phenomenon, but also because they are so intrinsically tied up in myth. It is hard to imagine an illustrated child’s book that doesn’t feature a rainbow somewhere within the pages. When photographing rainbows consider the following points:

1. Rainbows are notoriously fleeting so do not spend too much time thinking about elaborate compositions. Depending on its beauty and clarity, drop the horizon and make sure the rainbow is the dominant feature within the image.
2. If you are able to, think carefully about where you want the end of your rainbow to be positioned. From a composition standpoint, it can be used as a glorified “lead-in line”.
3. Consider using a polarising filter; experiment by rotating the filter and see how it affects the overall image. Issues such as the relative colour saturation or contrast will become apparent. Your aim is to make the rainbow appear as prominent as possible.
4. With the appearance of the rainbow you may be lulled into thinking that all the precipitation has ended, but that is not always the case. Absorbed by its splendour, a drop of rain on your front element might easily go unnoticed, which could ruin an otherwise brilliant shot. It is quite normal to point your camera upwards when shooting rainbows, so it is worth checking every once in a while.
5. It should be noted that mini-rainbows can also appear over waterfalls, as the same process of refraction occurs as a result of the fine spray of water many of them produce.

ILLUSTRATION 1 Rainbow over Saskatchewan.

Expansive, open landscapes are ideal locations for capturing the beauty of rainbows. Whilst the sky in front of me appeared dark and impenetrable, it took just a merest glimpse of the sun directly behind me in order to create this showy scene. If you look carefully to the right of the elevator, the rainfall is clearly still in evidence.  When photographing in such circumstances, it is important to ensure that no droplets appear on your front element.

ILLUSTRATION 2 A double rainbow over Zabriskie Point.

When taking this photograph I was leading a workshop through Death Valley with the intention of photographing the wonderful Mesquite sand dunes, however when we arrived there the area was covered by an unflattering grey sky: working on the mantra that you cannot change the weather, but you can change your location, I made the decision to move the workshop a little further on into the valley and see if we could better utilise the weather conditions over Zabriskie Point. Much to my delight we were met with a wonderful double rainbow.  It is important to appreciate that such wonders last for only a very brief period so often one needs to react quite quickly.

ILLUSTRATION 3 Abandoned homestead on the prairie.

One of the great advantages when photographing in wide open spaces is that you can easily locate yourself in interesting vantage points in order to maximise the weather conditions.  As this storm was passing over, I sensed that we might enjoy a rainbow, so I was able to manoeuvre myself into a useful position hoping that a rainbow might appear. It didn’t take long before one did.  Initially it appeared to the left of this abandoned homestead, but it was quite easy to finally move into a more favourable position and capture this shot. Essentially the rainbow serves as a wonderful “lead-in” line.

ILLUSTRATION 4.  A dramatic rainbow over The Badlands, South Dakota.

I had been exploring the beautiful landscape of the Badlands when I noticed that a storm was approaching from the west. Sensing that we might encounter some interesting skies, I quickly established a vista that I felt might best compliment the sky and just waited. It took two hours for the storm to finally arrive and another 40 minutes for it to pass over, but as it did, the sun briefly emerged producing one of the most dramatic rainbows I have ever witnessed.  The lesson here perhaps is that when photographing weather we do sometimes need to be patient.

ILLUSTRATION 5 Rainbow photographed at night.

Driving along Highway 2 in North Dakota, it was a least an hour after sunset and still raining, so taking photographs was the last thing in my mind, but then by chance I looked in the rear mirror and saw this beautiful emerging rainbow. I was especially attracted to how the colours wonderfully permeated the sky. I realised I had only moments to play with, so I jumped out of my car and without setting up my tripod I took just this single shot. Moments after, raindrops began to appear on my front element, despite having a lens-hood attached to the camera. The lesson here is you take chances while you can