OK, so you’ve scouted out a location, checked the times of sunrise, looked up the weather forecast and set your alarm clock for silly o’clock to get up. You arrive at your destination only to find that the weather men have got it wrong, and the sun won’t be making an appearance anytime soon.

That’s exactly what happened to me at the beginning of May. I was away for the weekend staying on Dartmoor and took the opportunity to set the alarm for 5am to capture a sun rise. Unfortunately when we got there all we could see was a wet drizzly mist.

Landscape Mist

So what do you do? – Do you pack up and head home to the warm and dry and a welcoming cup of coffee? Well that’s one option, but why not make the most of the early morning. Here are a few suggestions of what to do when the sun doesn’t make an appearance.

1. Think Black & White

Shoot for Black & White. Bad weather and Black & White go very well together, it can add mood and drama to images.

Landscape BandW

You don’t need to set up your camera to shoot Black & White. You can convert later and take your time sat in the warm and dry.

2. Shoot something else such as flowers, trees or water.

River in the rai

If the sun isn’t playing ball then look for something else to shoot. Find a stream or a waterfall and shoot that. It doesn’t matter if its raining. The overhanging trees often protect you well from the weather and the dark skies can really help with long exposures. Other things to look for are shots of flowers or leaves. These look fantastic with a few rain drops on them. This is a good time to use your polarising filter. How about patterns or textures in trees and forests?

Finally, when the weather is poor keep an eye on your lens that it is free from rain drops and misting over.

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