But it's icky Outside.

It happens the the best of us. We work all week, planning in our mind what we'll do after 5 pm on Friday. We imagine the places we'll see. The grand vistas to photograph at golden hour. The joy we'll have as we hike along the trail in beautiful meadows. As Friday afternoon winds down and gets closer to your time, the clouds creep in and the rain begins to fall and with it your heart.

Don't despair. There is still so much photography to do.

One of my favorite rainy day photo activities is to head to the nursery or greenhouse. In Seattle we're lucky enough to have the Volunteer Park Conservatory - a large greenhouse filled with tropical plants, orchids, and cacti. It's always warm on a cold rainy day.

As it is so warm and humid inside, you'll need to take care of your camera. The lens will immediately steam up as will the viewfinder and the screen. I bring a microfiber cleaning cloth with me to wipe off excess moisture while I meander around looking at the orchids and waiting for my camera to match the greenhouse temperature.

I also wipe the moisture of my diopter filters. I use these instead of a macro lens because I'm cheap and I really have no issue with the focus fall-off they can have. I rather like it - as I'm one of those artsy photographers.

The conservatory (and other greenhouses like them) frowns on the use of tripods so make sure you bump your ISO up to accommodate for hand-holding. On bright rainy days, I can usually get away with 400 ISO. When working with flowers and macro, I tend to open up my aperture fairly wide so I have a very narrow plane of focus. If you like more detail and want a smaller aperture, you'll want to bump your ISO up to 800 or more if your camera can handle the increased sensitivity without adding too much noise. Always be respectful of the rules. Tripods tend to get in the way of other visitors.

I have a few indoor destinations that I like to head to when the weather turns wet. Check your area for a few that you can run to for some playtime with your camera. There is never a need to put away your camera when it's raining. You can still have some photo fun and then go home, make some popcorn, put in a sappy movie, and edit your macro treasures.