There is nothing quite like shooting film in the rain. The streets reflect neon signs, the heavy clouds act like a giant softbox to give you perfectly even lighting, and everyone walking around with umbrellas adds an instant moody, cinematic vibe to your shots. Honestly, some of my favorite rolls of Portra and Cinestill were shot during absolute downpours.

But there is a catch. The first time I ever got caught in a sudden storm, I instantly shoved my favorite vintage 35mm camera under my rain jacket and held it against my chest like a newborn baby. Vintage cameras and water usually do not mix. Most of these beautiful old metal boxes have zero weather sealing. If water slips down into the shutter dial or behind the lens mount, you could be looking at a fried light meter, rust on the internal springs, or worse, fungus happily growing inside your lens.

You might think the only solution is to stay inside or blow thirty bucks on a massive, crinkly, professional rain cover that takes up half your camera bag. But you don't need professional weather sealing. You just need a trip to your kitchen pantry. Over the years, I've figured out how to use simple household items to shoot in the rain without risking my vintage gear.

Why Rain and Vintage Cameras Are Such a Bad Combo

Modern professional digital cameras are built with rubber gaskets around every button, dial, and door. You can practically spray them with a hose. Vintage SLR cameras and rangefinders, on the other hand, are basically mechanical sponges. They have unsealed seams, tiny gaps around the film advance lever, and cloth focal plane shutters that will warp and ruin your light-tight seal if they get wet.

Electronic cameras from the 80s and 90s, like your favorite premium point-and-shoots, are even more vulnerable. A single drop of water working its way into the motorized zoom or the battery compartment can completely short out the entire system. Because we want these older cameras to last for decades to come, keeping the water off the body is incredibly important. But holding an umbrella in one hand and trying to manually focus a vintage lens with the other is a frustrating, blurry nightmare. That is where the plastic bag comes in.

The Classic Ziploc Bag Hack

This is the absolute best DIY rain cover, and it costs a fraction of a cent. For this, you need a large one-gallon Ziploc bag (the freezer kind made of thicker plastic is best) and a couple of thick rubber bands.

Here is exactly how you put it together without using any sticky tape that leaves gross residue on your camera body.

• Step one: Drop it in upside down. Take your camera and place it inside the Ziploc bag so that the actual zipper opening is at the bottom, facing the ground. This opening is where you will slide your hands up into the bag to control the focus, aperture rings, and the shutter button.
• Step two: Cut the lens hole. Push the lens against the inside front of the bag so it stretches the plastic slightly. Pinch the center of the plastic and use scissors to snip a small hole. Start way smaller than you think you need! You want to carefully stretch this hole over the front edge of your lens barrel so it sits extremely snug.
• Step three: Secure with a rubber band. Once the plastic edge is sitting over the front rim of your lens, wrap a rubber band around the barrel a few times. This clamps the plastic bag tightly against the lens, making sure no water can run backward down the glass and onto the camera body.
• Step four: Poke a hole for the viewfinder. If the plastic is too blurry to see through naturally, press the bag firmly against your camera's viewfinder and carefully poke a tiny slit just big enough to see through. The eyecup will usually block water from getting in here anyway, especially since your face will be pressed against it.

That is literally it. You now have a custom-fitted, completely waterproof housing for your camera. When you are done shooting, you can just rip the plastic bag off and throw it in the recycling bin. Your camera body will be bone dry.

The Hotel Shower Cap Trick

If the Ziploc bag method feels like too much arts and crafts for you, I highly recommend hoarding those cheap, clear plastic shower caps that hotels leave in the bathroom. I always keep one stuffed in the side pocket of my camera bag.

When it starts sprinkling, you just stretch the elastic band of the shower cap over the entire camera, leaving the lens poking out. The elastic instinctively hugs the lens barrel, gripping it tight enough to keep the water out, while the rest of the loose, baggy cap covers the camera body. Because the cap is so floppy, you can effortlessly reach under it, feeling for the dials and the shutter button. It is a fantastic option for lighter rain showers or foggy, misty days where you just want to keep condensation off the metal.

Protecting the Front Element of Your Lens

The plastic bag keeps the body dry, but what about the actual glass? If rain hits the front element of your lens, your photos will end up looking like they were shot through an unfocused washing machine. Worse, taking off your wet shirt to aggressively rub rainwater off a vintage lens coating is a great way to scratch the glass permanently.

This is why you must protect the front of the lens. The combination of a basic UV filter and a solid lens hood is your best defense against bad weather.

The lens hood acts like a tiny umbrella or an awning for your glass. As long as you aren't pointing the camera directly up at the sky, a deep metal or plastic hood will block 90 percent of the raindrops from ever touching your lens.

For the drops that do make it past the hood, a clear glass filter takes the hit. It is much safer to wipe down a cheap filter with a microfiber cloth than to rub grit and water into your beautiful vintage 50mm lens. I never take my cameras out in bad weather without front glass protection.

How to Treat Your Gear After a Rainy Shoot

One of the biggest mistakes people make when shooting in poor weather happens after they get back indoors. You come inside, take off your cold, wet shoes, and leave your camera sitting inside its slightly damp bag. This is how you invite fungus to destroy your equipment.

When you transition from the cold, wet air outside to the warm, heated air inside your apartment, condensation can form inside the camera body and inside the lens elements. Always take off the plastic bag rain slip immediately. Wipe the camera down completely with a dry towel to get rid of any stray drops. Take out your battery to be extra cautious. Then, leave the camera sitting out on a desk in a dry room so any hidden moisture can slowly evaporate.

Never put a slightly damp camera back into a padded camera bag, and definitely do not take a hot hair dryer to your vintage gear. High heat can actually melt or displace the internal lubricants that keep your old camera firing smoothly.

Ready to Brave the Elements?

Rainy days give you some of the most dramatic lighting and interesting textures you will ever find. With a plastic bag and a little bit of common sense, your gear will be completely fine. If you want to build a rainy-day setup, picking up some essential accessories is a great place to start. A good clear filter is a must-have for keeping water off your vintage lenses, so check out some high-quality UV filters to protect your glass. A deep lens hood will keep those pesky raindrops out of your frame entirely. And if your old leather neck strap is getting soggy and ruined by the weather, upgrading to a durable nylon or paracord camera strap will make a huge difference in the wet. Finally, if you want a reliable backup body that can take minor weather abuse without frying an electronic brain, a fully mechanical SLR camera is definitely the way to go. Stay dry out there and keep shooting!