Weather

Great mix of shoots lately including time in Seattle with one of Amercia's Next Top Models that I'll go into another time. Been lucky enough with the weather as well as this time of year in the Rockies and the Pacific NW it can be a complete crapshoot.

Was out this week with a cool assignment to shoot a portrait of the owner of an Edward Curtis print as well as the print itself. The backstory is a good one as the current owner recognized the piece at an estate sale. The owner at the time was moved to tears that she knew what it was and after telling her his story (he was slowly dying) simply gave the print to her. That print is worth more than 10K today but being up close and seeing Curtis' lighting and the stern look on the weathered native Montanan face you could never sell it. Fortunately we were able to dodge weather and photograph the print outside for a bit.

Also spent time working on this image here for an in house project that we'll be presenting soon. The storms rolling in and the clouds in particular really add an extra depth that's hard to gauge ahead of time. Though I can't take credit for ordering those monsters up I do spend time following weather patterns. And with winter approaching and more time spent out shooting in the elements it becomes imperative to know what is happening around you.

As I get questions about how I process and assemble info I thought I'd post the resources that I rely on to make shoots that much more successful.

1: NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmoshpheric Administration - it's their job to know what's happening. I've found it much better than the more commercially oriented venues out there.

2: Other federal, state and government resources such as National Parks, Science Foundations and small groups - most of these offer specific local forecasts and account for micro climates that the big boys can't. In the case of winter work for example, SnoTel sites and Avalanche Associations are super resource rich.

3: Private resources such as resorts - in the least you can track down web cameras to view conditions in real time. We take stock of the Whitefish Mtn Resort cam before heading up (though I keep saying I'm simply going to attach a large truck mirror outside the side window of our south facing studio so we can the hill directly behind us).

4: Locals - don't care if you're in India or the Selkirks, the folks that live there almost always know the weather patterns that develop on a seasonal basis. Especially true along the coast or large bodies of water and the mountains. Listening is such an underrated skill.

If that doesn't do it, just remember it's always better to be out getting soaked then on the phone trying to reschedule as the sun comes out.