I Have Never Taken a Photo in the Rain

I got my first camera when I was nine years old. That was fifty years ago. And in fifty years of taking pictures, I have never once photographed in the rain. Not once.

I am a goofball about my cameras. I like them pristine. The idea of taking a camera out into weather on purpose goes against every instinct I have, even if the camera is weatherproof. It just sits there looking at me and I look back and we agree to stay inside.

But today I did it. I took the Canon WP-1, which is the weatherproof one that usually lives on the boat, loaded it with Portra 160, and went to Knoxville’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It was raining to beat the band. I even kept the camera under an umbrella, which kind of defeats the purpose, but baby steps.

Fifty years. First time in the rain. Better late than never.