"It's raining... Again... Every time I have a little spare time, the weather decides not to cooperate and turns against me. What can I do?! All my plans for a whole day shooting ended up in smoke (or rain?)... Life sucks..."

Have you ever thought such thoughts? Have you been unhappy when it has been raining cats and dogs, while you have planned a sunny day photosession?

If yes, then it shouldn't be that you just let the unpredictable weather to ruin your happy moments with your camera.

How not to let that happen?

There might be some ideas for you.

1. Go out, find a lobby or carport or some other dry place and take rainy day photos, people with umbrellas, struggling with their everyday life, rushing across the street.

... the Sun.

Are you living in Arctic Canada, Greenland, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, Central Russia, China or Mongolia?

If yes, then you have a great chance to follow the total eclipse of the Sun on August 1st, 2008!

All others of us, in northeastern North America, Europe and Asia can admire this wonder only partially.

So, what to do to be prepared?

1. Check times and locations

If you are living some kilometers away from eclipse path, make a jaunt with friends or family to see the full performance.

2. Prepare your camera

Use the longest telephoto lens you have, find or rent a tele-converter. If you can achieve 1000 mm focal length, it's good. 2000 mm would be better :). Do some test photosessions. Don't forget your tripod! A ...