I was fortunate enough to have a photo run in the local Sno Valley Star paper with an article about the wild weather we have here in the Snoqualmie Valley.

We do have some wild weather here in the Northwest. True, this year our winter has been mild, but just think back to last year with over a foot of snow, flooding, and power outages. Photographing weather is not as easy as it may sound. How do you photography wind? How about rain? Snow is easier, but still not as easy as taking a photo of a sunny day. Taking a photo of weather really means taking a photo of weathers effects. The wind blowing through the trees. The snow piling up on the a roof. The rain pounding down on the pavement.

Here are some examples...

Rain...  

In this photo the rain drops are streaking past a light over a parking lot.  It's also causing a shine on the pavement.

In this example, the multicolored lights from nearby shops reflect in the water running across the road.

And the best result from a rain shower is a rainbow of course!

Snow...

A simple photo of a sunny day after a snow storm.  There's something about a blue sky, a snowy mountain, and a barn covered in snow that just works.

Use the onboard flash to capture the snow as it falls.  The light from the flash will illuminate each individual snow flake.  It makes for an interesting and textured photo.

Capture the kids playing in the snow, or in this case, lounging in a hole that they just finished digging.

Fog...

Living near, or in, the Snoqualmie Valley offers a great opportunity to photograph the fog, especially in the early morning, as in this case.  The fog rolled through the Valley leaving the Cascade mountain range visible in the distance.

Every once in awhile, we get a great, thick fog in the early or late evening.  You'll need to adjust the shutter speed or the aperture to compensate for the lack of light, but the effect can be fun (and a bit spooky).

Fog can also turn a familiar location into something more mysterious.  If you live on Snoqualmie Ridge or have visited then you'll know these trees at the big community park.  They take on a more ominous presence in the fog.

Wind...

Wind is invisible except for the way it blows through the trees and the grass.

A flag blowing in the wind affords another great photo opportunity.

Clouds imply that the wind is blowing them through the sky and we have some beautiful sunrises and sunset, or in this case a moonrise with amazing clouds.

I get the most excited about being out in the wild weather we have in the Northwest.  I usually walk away from such weather with some great photos.  Go for it! Get out and take a walk in the rain or during a wind storm. You may be surprised with what you find.

You can read more about my photography and get some tips on using Photoshop as well as general photography tips at http://photomatto.typepad.com or contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

--Matt Johnson