The rainbow is the one of mysterious natural phenomena, but in fact it can be predicted with a certain probability. In this article, I will introduce how to find and shoot the rainbow.
How to find the rainbow
The rainbow can be predicted as mentioned at the beginning. First, let's take a look at the conditions that cause a rainbow.
The rainbow is a natural phenomenon that is caused when sunlight hits and reflects in the water droplets in the air. In other words, there must be water droplets in the air, and sunlight entering them.
The angle is also an important point. The rainbow always appears in the direction opposite to the sun and 42 degrees above the angle of insertion.※Quoted fromWeather News
In other words, if the altitude of the sun is too high, such as during the summer day, the direction of the rainbow is buried in the ground and cannot be seen.
And this is why we often see the rainbow in the morning and evening.
So far, I have introduced the conditions for rainbows. Based on these, I will introduce how to find the rainbow more specifically.
When is the best?
As mentioned above, the rainbow cannot be seen if the sun is too high, so the time when the sun is low, that is, in the morning, evening, and winter is good.
You can search the altitude of the sun here. It should be under 40 degrees.
How to find the place
Next is the location. As mentioned above, the positional relationship between the sun, yourself, and the rainbow is always as follows.
First of all, the direction of sun must be clear, and the direction of the rainbow must be rainy, so look for the weather boundary.
This is a little difficult. Evening shower is a good aim, or if you go to places where the weather is changing rapidly (New Zealand, Hawaii, etc.), the chances will increase greatly.
After that, enter the border and look at the rain direction with the sun behind. At this time, the sun, yourself, and rain should be in a straight line. The sun and rain position move from moment to moment, so if you move to keep this state, you can see the rainbow all the time.
Furthermore, as an advanced edition, the rainbow always appears in a direction 42 ° above the direction of sunlight, so you can use this to adjust the angle with the subject by going back and forth between the sun and rain. You can shoot rainbow with your favorite subject.
Below is an example I took in New Zealand.
At this time, I went to the mountain with the sun behind to capture the mountain and the rainbow together, and took this picture.
How to shoot the rainbow
Use CPL filter
You can control reflections by using a CPL filter. The rainbow is a natural phenomenon caused by reflection, so it can be emphasized with this CPL filter.
It's so easy to use. Turn the CPL filter while checking with the viewfinder or live view monitor. Then you can see that the rainbow is darker or lighter, so release the shutter where you like.
Conclusion
This time, I introduced how to find and shoot the rainbow. Although it is a natural phenomenon, if you know its characteristics, you can increase the chance of encounter. Please try it out.
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