Last weekend we spent a few hours at the southernmost stretch of coast of the Netherlands. Arriving back at our car the first splats of rain started dropping and mere minutes later visibility was down to 10 meters. The torrential rain and accompanying storm that has flooded big parts of the UK had finally arrived on the mainland.

Another still from the same wedding proves the title of this post. Well, at least as far as weather is concerned. And, okay, there are certain limits too. Lightning striking the photographer would be one and others that come to mind are the groom being swept away in an avalanche or the bride flying off in a hurricane. Oh, and I do hate getting wet. But for everything else: the badder, the better. As long as it isn’t too cold, that is.

I know what I wrote about autumn but as of 13:17 hours today I officially hate it. Right at the moment Dutch prime minister Balkenende drove through the gates of the Elysee to meet Sarkozy, heaven decided to unleash a torrent of rain and hail onto us, poor photographers, with all the might it could muster. Naturally the sun is shining merilly as I write this.

This Friday I shot the wedding of Jose & Richard. A great couple, lousy weather and the darkest church I’ve ever visited. We photographers have lenses that allow us to shoot in ‘available light’. This however was a case of ‘available darkness’ which required some improvisation but I’m happy to tell them they’ve got quite a few great images.

You might have seen this image before if you’re a careful reader of this blog or an art collector, as this particular photo titled “Rue de Grenelle, rain #1” is gaining fame (read a nice review of it in Dutch; several prints left for sale). From 2 to 15 July it is on display in Dublin where the French Embassy invited “27 talented photographers, representing each of the 27 member states of the Union, to share with us their vision of France” – details can be found here.

This image landed second place in the weekly assignment competition on fredmiranda.com, a webforum for photographers. The theme for this week’s assignment was “roads”. Within one week you have to shoot a photo that fits the assigned theme, which can be difficult as you have to make do with the circumstances you’re in (weather, surroundings), but it’s fun and a great way to learn.