Another rainy day

Since it was looking like my photography opportunities were going to be few and far between today, given it's been raining non-stop since last night, at lunchtime I decided I'd step out the back door and see if the crows I was hearing nearby were within camera range. Alas, they were nowhere in sight. So I turned my attention to the nearby tree branches instead:





Before I began this project, I definitely had little to no appreciation or understanding of how many different factors come into play when taking a photo, much less the ways in which the smallest of changes can have a noticeable impact on the final image. I thought a couple of the pictures in today's batch illustrated this in an interesting way. First, a shot of a branch taken from a spot straight across from it:



Nothing wrong with this picture, really. When I shot it I fully intended the foliage to be the backdrop, thinking it would make a nice contrast to the darkness of the branch and leaves.

Then I moved about a step and a half to my left and took another shot of the same branch:



Granted, I was zoomed in a bit more for this one, which means it's framed slightly differently. But check out how the slight shift in angle changes the way the wet branch catches the light, and how the drops of water pop against the darker background.

As for this last photo... I honestly have no idea how or why the background came out the way it did. Maybe the wind was moving the branches in the back but not affecting the one I'd focused in on, given that the foreground is still in focus. Maybe I caught some of the raindrops at just the right moment. In any event, it: made for a cool effect