Missing Golden Hours...

[dsargent77]

Quick question...

I live in Northern Michigan and during the winter, which finally decided to show up, it gets very cloudy and gray. This makes me sad as I loved using the golden hours of the morning and evening to catch great lighting and shadows.
I do not want to be discouraged by a weather condition, so can anyone tell me how to use this weather to my advantage or perhaps direct me to a few images that fell into this category?

[mrchile]

Sometimes I like to use cloudy conditions for black and white conversions.
The diffuse light opens up shadows to allow a lot of detail to show through, yet you can keep them dark enough to add drama.



I would suggest that you simply go out and experiment on your own. Trying new things can lead you to your own discoveries.

[dsargent77]

That's nice. I find the weather helpful in portrature, but I guess for miscellanious outdoor photos I will have to explore more and find my style within the setting.
Thanks

[MarkD]

On overcast days I like to go to the zoo or aquarium. If we had widlife (of the animal variety) in NYC I'd shoot that. I also like to shoot people in the park on grey days.

[peirceman]

The great thing about gray and cloudy days is that every hour is an hour to shoot. Sleep in, have some breakfast, and then journey out and enjoy God's diffuser. You won't get long shadows, but anything that doesn't require a sunrise or a sunset in the background turn out great!

Scott

[BobF]

Scott's right. Rather than grand vistas, concentrate on smaller subjects and scenes. Keep the sky out of the shots or to a minimum so that you don't have large expanses of blank, dull grey. Black and white can often be a good creative choice in less than stellar light as Chile's shot shows.

[LouR]

I prefer shooting on overcast/cloudy days. There's no glare or deep shadows, colors are truer and I can get a good shot from any direction. Never limit photography to just your comfort zone.

[slackercruster]

Shoot inside. Shoot street.

[drh681]

Just think in terms of a different color pallet.

say "blue and silver" not cold and gray.
"Soft and muted" etc...
The world is still beautiful, it's your emotional response to it that has changed.

[MarkD]

Just think in terms of a different color pallet.

say "blue and silver" not cold and gray.
"Soft and muted" etc...
The world is still beautiful, it's your emotional response to it that has changed.

That's a good observation. There's a line from a Carpenter's song (I think) that goes, "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down". Weather always affects people's mood.