The rain song

As far as I can remember, I always liked the smell that precedes the rain : the smell of saltpetre, soft and heady. Photographing the rain, however, is a challenge for the long exposure photographer. In addition to the technical problems, all those who patiently wiped their filters coated with drops during long minutes while anxiously waiting for the result know what I'm talking about... In its quest, the author of these lines has tried almost everything : since the use of an umbrella (I have stopped counting the many umbrellas that flew away or broke) to that of a rainwear covering his tripod and camera... while he was waiting, soaked to the bone, casting an envious look at his gears. In this quest, companions in misfortune have sometimes lent him a helping hand : I remember that surrealistic scene in Scotland, my wife trying to protect me with an umbrella while I was handling my filters, and my best friend holding a rain suit deployed to block the rain gusts... and all of that in the middle of a raging storm. Of course, there were good times : I loved the hot rains in Madeira or the Azores in summer, their softness while I was sitting shirtless next to my tripod. So, here is the result of four years of soaking. The following photos were taken before / during or after the rain : cold showers from the Highlands or soft rains from the Azores, they magnify the landscape.