This autumn I created two small series of rainy pictures. It’s time for maple leaves, rowan berries and, of course, raindrops! First one is about the world distorted by rain drops on a window. I always loved that kind of images you get if you put some oil or petrolatum on a sheet of glass and shoot something colorful through it. But at the same time I wanted to see the composition itself (or at least part of it) without distortion — just out of curiosity. It seems, I’ve finally found a natural way to do it: — take a sheet of glass, fix it on the foreground with clamps, arrange a simple composition outside a focus range; — place the lights: one speedlight behind and below the scene (so the glass will be in backlight), another speedlight on the left side (to soften the shadows); — set them on low power, so you can create a very short impulse and freeze the drops in motion; — finally, pour some water and take a picture. Second one is about watercolors, wet soil, fallen leaves and the fact that I don’t so much like raindrops as love the light on the surface of puddles and wet pavement. Those highlights and reflections are just mesmerizing. As Granny Aching said, every stick is a wand, every puddle is a crystal ball. Maybe that’s why I can’t stop shooting all that spilled water. Rainy day: Morning tea Rainy day: Autumn begins Rainy day: Watercolor sketches Work in progress Melancholy reading Shades of October Colors of the fall Autumn palette Weather spells Letters of Autumn