Elements

The natural elements contribute an edge both to a photograph and the experience of its capture. I photographed this Common loon for about 20 minutes before the rain began, and during this time, it drifted near me on the shore for an almost full frame view. Unfortunately, by the time the rain fell, the bird drifted away. My retrospective hopes were to capture rain drops splashing off its back. With little available light, I pushed the margins of exposure. A shutter speed of 1/500th of a second would have been ideal to stop the drops just a little bit more. I spent some time in 2007 photographing loons, and those images can be viewed here: Common loon photos

Common loon in pouring rain.
Canon 1Ds Mark II, 500mm f4.0L, 1/250 sec @f.4.0, ISO 500