Technology today makes photography very simple. With digital cameras, you don’t have to worry about wasting money on purchasing and developing film; with camera phones and compact cameras, you don’t have the inconvenience of lugging a camera around (unless you chose to bring the tripod and fancy equipment). Since it is now quicker to snap a picture and immediately send the picture out through email, your weather photographs are very helpful on-air and online. As we see time and time again, the weather can be drastically different across Northeast Kansas. Since we can’t be at every location, your weather photographs help us show everyone exactly what the weather was like across the area.

So, who can take weather photographs and submit them to be shown on-air and online. What makes a good weather photograph? How do you take a good weather photograph?

I’ll start with the first question, who can take weather photographs and submit them to be shown on-air and online? Anyone can submit weather pictures! All you need to do is snap your picture and a href=”/submit/weather_photos/”>send it to us. All we ask is that you include your name and the location of the photograph. That way we can give you the proper credit!

What makes a good weather photograph? Obviously everyone will have a different answer for this question, but I think EVERY weather photograph is good. Every weather photograph you send, allows us to see exactly what the weather was like at your house (may it be sunshine or a foot of snow) and share that information with the rest of our viewers.

If you are new to photography, or you have always pointed the camera without thinking about the shot, you may be able to capture even better weather photographs. Brenda Culbertson, a viewer who sends us weather photographs, answered several questions I had about photography. You can find those questions and answers below, along with some example photographs.

What do you think makes a good weather photograph or a good photograph in general?

“If something catches your eye, it will usually make a good subject for a photo. Something colorful, unusual, or contrasting will stand out.”

Brenda later said, “unusual things, like snow rolls, giant hail stones, etc., are always good objects. I like to put something in the foreground to give perspective (see the tractor in the storm photo.)”

How do you capture the best weather photographs in different lighting, i.e. on a bright, sunny day or on a dreary, cloudy day?

“An overcast day is good for dispersing shadows. Overcast skies diffuse the light, which spreads out and eliminates sharp shadows.”

“Weather photos, however, can be taken during any kind of lighting, depending on what effect you want. Sunny days can provide glints in iced-over trees and sparkles on the snow-covered ground.”

“Sunny days also make colors stand out: Reds in wheat fields, greens in corn fields, blues in water, and such.”

“Cloudy days provide great topics for weather photos. Cloud formations are great subjects for photos.”

“Cloudy sunrises and sunsets can provide great effects like pillars, sun dogs, halos, and extreme colors.”

“Sunlight through the fog is awesome. The combination of sunlight with clouds gives great effects to outdoor objects, such as trees, animals, and landscape.”

If you had to give one piece of advice to someone new to photography, what would it be?

“If someone is not sure whether a shot will look good, the photographer should just look through the camera view finder to see what is there. I often scan an area, while looking through the camera, just to see how it looks. Take several different shots if the subject is available to be there long enough for options. If the subject is “here and gone”, and one shot is all that is available, just go for it.

Stay safe while photographing weather. Storms can be very dangerous, and a photographer often does not see what is nearby, because the photographer is usually looking through the camera and not at the nearby surroundings.

Practice, practice, and practice.”

What is your favorite thing about photography?

“I like to share what I see, and I can do that through photography. Nature does great work, and not everyone has the opportunity to see what is there when it happens, so a photograph is a good medium. A photograph is also a primary source, as long as it is not digitally enhanced. It always tells a story.”

Check back tomorrow for additional information on weather photography.

All photographs in this blog were taken by Brenda Culbertson.