There's a natural optical phenomenon where the colours of rock are more vibrant and subtle nuances of texture revealed. The phenomena is usually associated with a weather forecast of sustained rainfall, shower or drizzle, it is the effect of a wet surfaces on colour saturation and luminosity.
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| Temperature, pressure and time. NW Highalnds |
The scientific explanation of the effect of wet surfaces on light and colour saturation, gets 'deep' quickly with terminology such as surface reflectance, albedo, roughness profiles, water film thickness, absorption, material porosity ... It is much simpler to conduct an empirical test, by collecting a smooth surfaced rock and a rough piece of rock, examine them dry, then apply water and observe the colour change between wet and dry surfaces and light reflectance from different view points in relation to differing natural lighting regimes.
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| Erratics and glacial scouring, NW Highlands |
The curious landscape photographer should make a point of picking up the odd rock on their travels and then at their leisure photograph the rock collection when wet/dry with blue sky and cloud overhead to observe the effect of colour saturation and light reflection and draw their own conclusions. My own aesthetic preference is from wet, damp and lastly bone dry rock, which probably explains the popularity of polarising filers for photographing desert scenery and why overnight rain or dew contributes to the vibrant colours of dawn.
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| Dawn colour, Snowdonia NP |
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