Kevin J. Colle Studios: Out of the car wash and in to the sun (photos and tips on rainy day street photography)

With over 4 inches of rain and wind for the last few days we are finally coming out of the car wash here in Portland Maine and the North East, It looks like we will be rewarded this weekend with sun and temps close to 70. I don't mind the rain, I like it for photography, and I seem to be a little happier when it is rainy, don't get me wrong I love the sun too, but... a rainy city street at night is magical.

My rainy weather street photography setup:

My LX3 with bare essentials
Poncho-ed Camera Bag (see photo below)
Rain jacket
Umbrella (depending on rain intensity and wind, I find more often than not it just is in the way unless it is pouring buckets.)
warm socks, and sandals (thankfully it is getting warm enough for sandals), or something warmer if it really cold.
Rain pants can be helpful if it is cold, but I usually just wear quick drying hiking pants, in warm weather shorts are best for me, as long as I keep my "core" warm and fairly dry I am happy
A spare Ziploc bag for your camera if shit really hits the fan
A small towel for your gear and your hands

Tips for shooting in the rain (yes some are common sense):

Don't be afraid, your camera can take more than you think, with in reason of course
Use a slightly bigger camera bag, the less that you have to fidget to take your camera out, or put it away the better
shake the water off of your sleeve before you open your camera bag so water does not run down your arm and into the bag
If your hands are really wet wipe them off before reaching for any gear
if you get some rain on your camera don't freak out, just wipe it off
When you get home take the camera out of the bag for a while to let any moisture dry out.

Here are some photos from the past few rainy days

Waiting for the late bus

(You can buy this one over on my website)

Cameras Ready for the rain

(on the left is my DSLR Bag, on the right is my LX3 bag)

Heavy duty slider freezer bags with the slider cut off, and corners cut off for the strap ends to go through to connect to the camera bag.

Rainy street photography is primarily done with my LX3

Learning how to use an umbrella is like learning how to sail.

I do not like umbrellas, but I did go out and get one the other day (no this one is not mine), they can be useful when photographing in the rain, and for umbrella sailing a canoe or a kayak, but other than that I prefer a rain jacket and a covered camera bag :-)