Cloudy Weather & Rain pt 2

  All of the following pictures were taken under the sort of flat cloudy skies that are so common in Britain for much of the time.

Red Rose

  As you can see the first image is a close up of a red rose, the soft even light of the clouded over sun has the effect of a giant soft box, the lack of strong contrast allows you to see deep into the flower and the low light level has increased the saturation of the red. The only problem with this image us that because of the low light level I had to increase the camera ISO level and still have the aperture quite wide, therefore the effect is softer than I would have liked.
 

Ivy

 In the picture of Ivy above, once again it is evident that the soft even light has allowed for a high level of detail, even in the shadow areas. There is also no glare on the leaves, which is a common fault with plant shots taken in sunny conditions, the texture of the leaves is fully formed.

Green Tomatoes

  Obviously the tomatoes above have a very glossy surface, but the clouded light has proved perfect for allowing enough shine to add form to the tomatoes and show that they are glossy without burnt out highlights. This light has also allowed a high level of detail to be shown in the hairy plant stems. Overall the light has helped to produce quite a sensuous picture.

Anenome

  The only problem with cloudy days is that they also tend to be windy, therefore capturing delicate images such the Anemone above, blowing about on the end of its stem can be trying. But I think the results speak for themselves, this light is perfect for this type low contrast subject as you get very light shadows which compliment the delicate curves of the petals.
   This exercise has proved that for a lot of subjects, where you do not want to include any of the sky, cloudy days can provide the perfect light, although the low light levels can be a problem, especially if the subject has any movement.
  If it is sunny you can try to achieve the same effect by putting a diffuser between your subject and the sun, as long as your subject is small enough or you can get a big enough diffuser.