Finding a nice photo in bad weather

We always wish for sunny days, or at least, a nice day. But the weather does not always give us what we want. Sometimes we are given some pretty dreary weather. As was the case this Friday when a some rain came into town. This rain was off and on, but mostly hampering the enjoyment of the outdoors. It was a slow news day as well. Thinking we didn't have much art, I decided to go out and see if I could find anything interesting. I came across the almond orchards, which had their blossoms knocked off from the wild wind.

Almond blossoms collect in a puddle near an orchard along Blossom Lane Friday, March 12, 2010 in Durham, Calif.  (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

 The blossoms collected on the ground in small puddles. I mean small puddles too, they were more like mud pockets. But I decided to get as close as I could to get a shot of the blossoms in the puddle while also showing the trees where they came from. At the end, it was nothing great, but a nice photo in bad weather.

Prime Time for Lenses

I always enjoy taking a bit more time to not rely on the good ol' 17-35mm f/2.8 or the 70-200mm f/2.8. It is a joyous opportunity to leave these lenses behind and reach for the 50mm f/1.4 or the 100mm f/2.8 macro from time to time. This is what I was able to do Saturday.

I first ditched my bag of gear and carried only the two latter lenses and a single camera body and headed into the woods. Earlier, last year I was able to capture and abundance of frost on grass blades. This day I did get a bit of a late start, but was able to capture the frosted dew drops on one blade and on another the frost had melted leaving the more known dew splattered across its threads.

Dew collects in drops along the lining of a blade of grass in Lower Bidwell Park Saturday, January 3, 2009 in Chico, CA.
(Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

Dew droplets are frozen on a blade of grass in Lower Bidwell Park Saturday, January 3, 2009 in Chico, CA. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)


This is something I am sure that so many people pass by while walking in the park. The images depict what I could only see just centimeters away. Even a foot distance away can make the whole world seem new.

Later, I was able to shoot Chico Bigfoot indoor soccer. They play at Off-the-Wall Soccer which has to be the dimmest known sporting facility next to Pleasant Valley High's gym. What was nice is that because the arena is so small I can basically reach out and smack any player in the face if I wanted to. This allowed me to forget about using the 70-200mm (or event the 300mm f/4, which I generally use for soccer). I could us my normal 50mm and rely on its f/1.4 to really make things sharp. I also had the liberty to find a nearby ladder inside and use it to get some height. This allowed for the rich green carpet to create a really nice background.

Chico Bigfoot's Scott Krum (left) dribbles against Basin United's Justin Osborne during their indoor soccer game Saturday, January 3, 2009 at Off the Wall Soccer in Chico, CA.
(Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

I really enjoy the times I slow down and get to play with prime lenses. Zoom lenses are great, but there is nothing better than a lens in its prime.