rain, rain!

Posted by Tiff in Photography | Comments Off

At the beginning of last week, it was in the mid to high 80′s here in Los Angeles. Starting 3 days ago, the temperature plummeted and the rain came blowing in on dark clouds and a brisk wind. And it’s still blowing. Very rainy. Dark and cold. In short….perfectly perfect for sleeping with the windows open and wrapping up in lots of blankets. The forecast is for heavier storms to blow in tomorrow and Tuesday, finally ending Wednesday.

Whoever wrote the song “It Never Rains In Southern California” has apparently never lived here in the winter. It rains, and it gets down a toe chilling 50 degrees! Which I realize is nothing compared to the arctic 30 degrees I’d be experiencing in Colorado so I feel silly when I put on my heavy coat and wrap my wool scarf around my neck a million times. But it’s all relative. Going from 50 to 30 degrees is a big switch, and so is going from 80 to 50! I promise! That’s why I had to go out and buy a scarf. And some gloves. And long socks. And 2 coats! Granted, I’m not in danger of frostbite, but it’s starting to feel like I’m in danger of frostbite the longer I’m spoiled by warm So Cal weather.

This cold and dreary snap provided a great atmospheric photo opportunity so I went to my favorite place around here…Point Dume in Malibu. To get there I drive north, up the Pacific Coast Highway for about 20 miles, stop at Point Dume state park, then clamber over big rocks to get to the cove. It was rainy and isolated and perfect…aside from the heavy rain, but that was perfect too and the reason why I was there. Rainy day beaches are magical. I ended up drenched with sand stuck all over my clothes, but sometimes you just have to suffer for the picture. And I took so many!

I’m still looking through them, but this one I loved automatically. Empty beach, fog, crashing waves on rocks, suspended raindrops, a cliff, and a random umbrella. I tweaked with the processing a bit in Lightroom and then added a texture layer in Elements to make it look like it’s on a canvas.

this is the before:

“Don’t threaten me with love, baby. Let’s just go walking in the rain.” –Billie Holiday

I love how photography takes me outside of myself on days like yesterday. I get so focused on what’s around me that it’s almost a form of meditation…the only things that exist are what I focus on through the camera lens…sand, birds, waves, barnacles, rocks, rain. It’s part of why I’m so addicted to my camera. Whenever I get stressed or out of focus, I just pick it up and bring myself back to the present and the things around me.

It’s still pouring out there. It’s been literally non stop for the past 3 days and nights, so I’m prepared to have another fantastic night’s sleep by an open window and under a soft down blanket.

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