Dealing with the Weather while Shooting in Ireland

Ireland’s green landscapes are amazing for photographers, but lots of greenery means lots of rain. And lots of rain can be frightening to photographers who have spent hundreds to thousands of dollars on their camera equipment. But you shouldn’t let a little rain shut you up indoors—this is Ireland after all.

One thing essential to photography in Ireland is a good camera bag. You want to make sure you have something that is waterproof so water won’t leak in while you’re walking, but having something really bulky can be a real pain in the ass. I have a few different bags in various sizes—a largebackpack, a standard Nikon bag, and a small holster—and I decided that the smallest would be the most practical for me while I travel because I like to bring along a water bottle, some basic medicines like ibuprofen and Benadryl, a snack, and some other miscellaneous things when I shoot. So for me the smallest was the best because I can pack it away in a messenger bag with the rest of my stuff.

When choosing what bag to bring, think of what other gear you’ll want while there. Do you need an extra lens? Room for a battery charger in the bag? Space for extra memory cards? Lens cleaning supplies? It’s important to find a bag that fits everything you’re taking, but try not to get a bag so large that it leaves you with a lot of extra space. If you do you’ll regret your purchase after lugging it around day after day.

Some bags have zippers, some have clasps, some even have both, but which is best for dealing with the rain? Each type has their advantages…and disadvantages. Zippers allow your bag to fully close, but unless the zipper is really good, it may not be waterproof and might let some drops of water through in a downpour. Clasps allow the top of your bag to lie flat against the sides of the bag, but if you have something in the bag taller than the sides the top won’t shut all the way, leaving gaps open to the elements. Having both zippers and clasps seems like the perfect solution, but it comes at the cost of time. If you’re caught in a sudden downpour, you’ll be fumbling to undo the clasps and open the zipper while your camera sits in the rain. My favorite kind is zippered, and even though I know the risk, I have never had water leak through. Which type you have should depend on your shooting style, how full you pack your bag, and how quickly you can move things around.

Emilee and her camera baby--she has
yet to name it

You should also consider the clothes you’ll wear while shooting. A zip-up hoodie or jacket is a great way to protect both you and your camera from the rain. You want to wear enough layers that you won’t be cold even if you’re wet. It’s extremely helpful if your outermost layer repels water because a soaked coat will not only make you miserable, it’ll weigh you down, too. Zippered hoodies and jackets are much better than pullovers because if it suddenly starts raining and you don’t have time to put your camera in the bag, you can slip it between your shirt and outer layer and then zip it up to protect it. Yeah, you’ll look kinda strange but it works—you might even look pregnant like my friend Emilee when she does this.

Definitely consider your shoes before you go. Waterproof shoes are a must! Because Ireland gets a lot of rain, patches of grass are often soggy, and tramping around in wet shoes is just no fun (and makes for stinky feet!). Hiking boots are a great choice not only because they’re nearly always waterproof, but also because they go higher up on your ankles. Depending on where you are, you might be trodding over uneven ground or along rocks, so ankle support is nice, especially if you’re like me and have weak ankles.

You might want to throw a hat and gloves in your bag for colder days. You don’t always need them, but it’s nice to have them there. Hoods can work as a substitute for hats, but they tend to blow down in the strong winds that the west coast has been experiencing, and they can get in the way of your peripheral vision. With the kinds of roads you’ll be walking, believe me, peripheral vision is necessary! Normally I would say mittens are fine, but for photography purposes they’re a poor substitute for gloves. Mittens will leave you fumbling around trying to press buttons and turn wheels to adjust your settings, but gloves give you almost a full range of motion.

Now for a couple miscellaneous things that would be helpful to throw in your camera bag. A lens cleaning cloth. Obviously rain accumulates on things, and it is important to keep your lens clean of droplets otherwise they’ll blur areas of your image and there’s no easy way to fix that in post-production. A plastic rain sleeve for your camera.  They can be a little awkward to use, but it’s the best way I’ve found to protect your cameras for those times when you absolutely HAVE to get the shot. The one I have even has a hole for the view finder, so you can take the eyepiece off your camera, put the sleeve on, and reattach the eyepiece over the sleeve; this way you don’t have to keep readjusting it when you or the sleeve move. An alternative to this is a plastic grocery bag. Put your camera in the bag and tear a hole in the bottom just big enough to fit the lens through. Don’t put the whole lens through, just the end. I haven’t used this method, and you should do it with great care: grocery bags are thinner than a rain sleeve and are more susceptible to tearing.

Of course, you should use your best judgment when shooting in rain. If it’s a light rain, I will usually take my camera out for a few shots and then zip it back up under my jacket. But if it’s heavy rain, I won’t even take my camera out of the case. Watch the clouds and if they get dark, it might be a good idea to put the camera away entirely. Cameras are built to stand up to a certain amount of moisture, but it’s best to not push your limits too far or you might have to shop for a new camera.