My Rainy Birthday
The single most important thing I learned in Japan is this:
- … how to walk in the pouring rain, carrying an umbrella and holding my camera crooked in my elbow with the lens pointing down so that it doesn’t get wet.
- I highly recommend this for budding photographers — to practice in the rain.
- Go out for an hour on a rainy day…
- …take pictures of trees and leaves and people hurrying with their umbrellas.
- In this case, all the pictures you’ve seen up to this one are of the Forest Pansy Redbuds at St. Francis Cathedral in Metuchen.
- Aren’t they pretty?
- Did you know that my little green “jws” leaf logo is based on a leaf from a redbud tree? I drew that leaf from a photograph that I took of an eastern redbud leaf. The leaves of the ‘forest pansy’ cultivar are generally red in the early part of the growing season, but the species tree has green leaves.
- So the challenge on a rainy day is to learn how to hold your gear so that you get good pictures and no rain spots on the lens.
- Also a good idea to practice so you know how to keep your camera from getting wet.
- It was really pouring today, just like it was for several days while I was in Japan.
- My Japan pictures are still in the works. It’s a huge job to organize them and pull the ones I want to present, so it’s taking a lot longer than I had planned. There were several days when it rained, and I had to be ready to photograph my subjects anyway. It was awesome! I got some really cool rain pictures there.
- In the meantime — newsflash — today’s my birthday!
- So I took the day off, and went for a walk in the rain!
- I had a great time.
- Want to know the best part about going for a walk on a rainy birthday?
- If you get soaked, as I did…
- …you can always come home…
- …and change into dry clothes, pretending the sun has come out! (I took this picture of hydrangea leaves yesterday, when the sun was shining.)
- Isn’t that hydrangea so pretty? I love it even before it’s blossomed.
- Mint mocha coleus, from Ball Horticultural Company, are new this year. They have this awesome variegated burgundy and chartreuse color with deeply lobed leaves. Ours is growing well since we planted it a few weeks ago in full sun.
- The rain falling down the sycamore tree appeared to be running down the tree like a river…
- … but the photograph shows that in reality, the “river” was actually made from drips. Duh.
- The samaras from my Japanese red maple are almost ready to fly. I can’t even tell you how excited I was to see Japanese red maples IN JAPAN!!!
- The rain gives the leaves a nice spring bath.
- I like how shiny and clean they look.
- I also like to study the leaf structure.
- My street trees, the Armstrong maples, are really growing tall! Click over to the Tree Grower’s Diary journal page to see what these trees looked like when they were planted in 2000.
- Gregory’s Tree, the purple leaf plum, is still going strong too.
- The plum sure is pretty in the landscape on a rainy day.
What a great birthday I’m having! Out to dinner with my boys tonight. I love my life!
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My family calls me "the mamarazzi."
Julie, I just loved your rainy day photographs. I love walking in the rain in general, and am sorry I missed the chance to walk with you Thursday (I would have held the umbrella!:). But while you were photographing in the rain, I was walking from Central Park to Penn Station, umbrella-less, enjoying the sights and the sounds . . . but not necessarily the noice! Have a wonderful year!
Joni
Aaagh! Noise!
Julie, these are truly outstanding.8-)
Happy Belated Birthday Jules! The blog and the pictures are amazing.
Julie,
Love the light in the photos! Amazing that there even was light in all that rain! Hope you had a great Bday! May the festivities continue and let there be cake!
Gorgeous shots Jules! Happy, Happy Birthday!! I love the new blog!
I had my ipod in one baggie and my phone in another for my walk this morning. Can’t believe you had your camera out in this yuck! Great shots – real pretty for a such an otherwise dreary morning.
Was there cake?
Not yet, but Mike says this was the start of my “birthday weekend” so there’s still time!
Happy Birthday!
You must have held the camera pretty tight.
Macro lens!
But in Japan, I got really comfortable carrying the camera nestled in the bend of my elbow for walking around all day in the pouring rain. Wouldn’t work if it was also windy though.
Thanks!
Thanks everybody! Oh, and I think they do make some kind of weird photographer’s umbrella thingie… wait…
yeah, here it is: Camera umbrella
Bigger than what I had in mind, but cheaper!
Happy Birthday!
What a lovely collection – you should make an album.
PS. have you considered an umbrella hat to keep your hands free
Love the new site! Have a great birthday!
Your new blog looks so good!
And so do your rain pictures- makes me want to get out & photograph nature
Hope you have/had a happy birthday!!
They should make tiny little camera umbrellas. Of course, they’d probably cost $180. Very nice, and just the thing needed to see beauty on this dreary day.
Happy birthday Julie! The new blog looks slick, and I love all the rainy day pics!
Wow Julie! That is just GORGEOUS! You turned the gray day into a thing of beauty.
Happy birthday!
Thanks Lauren!