Rain is one of the best elements to encounter while on safari. According to our main guide, many prey are distracted by the rain making it a good time for the predators to hunt.
I also like to change up my shutter speed in the rain, creating either snow-like drops or streaks. For streaks, I use anywhere from 1/30 of a second to 1/60 of a second, you could go even lower but I have never had any luck at all with slower than 1/30 of a second. To capture the drops or freezing the rain, I like a shutter speed over 1/500 of a second. These numbers that I have given also depend on other variables-how far you are from your subject, how fast the rain is coming down, lens selection and more. The background color tone matters as the lighter it is the harder it is to see the rain—if it is very light you may not even see rain. The two images directly below show the difference of the rain’s appearance using a faster versus a slower shutter speed.
1/400, As I was experimenting with my shutter speed, I noticed that 1/400 in this situation, created a snow-like look to the rain drops.
1/60. My subject was not moving.
Ultra slow shutter speeds, like shown below can show the rain as just a soft streak. Be careful if your subject moves!
Sometimes, it can be hard to see the streaks.
I also like trying for head shakes in the rain. I have never gotten one really good male lion head shake in the rain. Above is my best attempt (not much of a shake), but I have seen some incredible head shakes and I keep trying each time I go on safari.
Speaking of safari’s, I’m heading out this afternoon for one of my private safari’s. We will be visiting the Mara, Samburu and Amboseli. Hopefully we will have some rain—fingers crossed!
[Chorus]
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
Comin' down on a sunny day
“Have You Ever Seen the Rain” was released as a single in 1971 from the album Pendulum (1970) by roots rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Distant rain
