Over the years I've had to shoot pictures in every kind of weather. Hot, cold, snowing, blowing, hail, sleet and rain. I don't mind any of them, except for rain. I hate working in rain. But if you don't go out in the rain to shoot pictures, then you're missing out on some good photos. I ran into this last weekend while teaching an American Photo Mentor Trek in Vermont, and we had some rain on Saturday.

The trick with working in rain is to still be able to work. And you can't if you're spending all your time and energy on keeping yourself and your gear dry. That's why I consider an umbrella an indispensable piece of photo equipment. Unless it's really windy, an umbrella will keep the top half of you dry, and it's easy enough to hold onto while working. I have all types, but my two favorites are a tiny travel umbrella that fits in a camera bag or waistpack, good for when you hope it won't rain, and a collapsible golf umbrella when I don't want to take any chances. That big one still collapses to a reasonable size, but also opens into a huge, very rugged umbrella that can withstand a large amount of wind. It comes in a pouch with strap I can wear across my back (like a quiver of arrows), plus it's inexpensive (well under $20 at Wal-Mart).

When it's windy or impossible to use an umbrella (too many people, sidelines of a sports event, etc.), then I'll either use plastic bags or special custom camera covers. Using a couple of kitchen garbage bags, some rubber bands and duct tape it's easy to quickly build a pretty effective cover for your cameras. Some flexible plastic (cut apart a round one or two-gallon container) will make great extensions for lens hoods, making it harder for the rain to get to the front element.

There are a number of custom covers out there you can buy, generally designed to be used with long telephoto lenses. My current favorite is by ThinkTank Photo, called the Hydrophobia. Using a smart combination of cinch straps, sleeves for access, translucent plastic and special eyepieces, you can even work in a downpour without getting the lens or camera wet. As a bonus, it's designed so it can be attached, then rolled up out of the way until it's needed. If the rain stops, it only takes a few seconds to roll it once more out of the way.

In camera bags, pouches and waistpacks, Lowepro was my first love in part because of the their designs that incorporated rain covers built into many of the bags. Great idea and works very well, being able to pop them out and pull them over the bags when the weather gets bad. ThinkTank also uses that idea in many of their bags.

And don't forget the value of keeping yourself relatively dry and comfortable as well. If you're hot, cold or wet, you're probably not going to be concentrating on making the best pictures. If you know me you know I'm not very fashion-conscious, because I value comfort (warm, dry) over fashion any day (as you can see from the photo above). A rain poncho is great in warm weather since it doesn't trap the heat in. Also, since it hangs loosely over you, it's easy to wear a waistpack under it that is also protected.

So if there's any chance of rain, you'll always find me with at least a small umbrella and a pouch full of plastic bags, rubber bands, tape, small towels (for drying gear that gets wet) and camera covers. And I'll be easy to spot. I'll be the photographer that looks pretty goofy, but is still shooting pictures!