Photographing Brown County State Park in the rain

Sometimes, you just find that great scene to photograph. I had not planned to take any photos in the park on this particular day.  It was raining and I needed to scout a nearby location for a wildflower workshop I was leading. The leaves had just begun to pop with a wide variety of soft greens and yellows. Spring is often as colorful as the fall colors. But, it was a rainy day something all too frequent this spring.

As I was driving through the park in the rain to deliver some photographs for a silent auction, I noticed the soft light and spring leaf colors in the rain.  I knew I had to stop and photograph the valley below. Each time I passed another overlook, I just had to stop and take a photograph. This process continued for almost 3 hours as I kept repeating my journey through the park as the light changed. Nature was like a mythical siren daring me to turn my car around and drive through the park one more time.

Generally, I do not plan to photograph in the rain as I do not want to risk damaging my gear. The three times I have photographed in the rain, it was not planned and I simply discovered the forest looked different in the rain.