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Edition #237 January 1, 2015

Here Comes the Rain

Long, long time ago, when I was still aspiring to become the photographer, the late editor of the Modern Photography magazine Herbert Kepler wrote approximately this in his editorial: If you want to get the different photos, take the camera and go out when it rains. The people behave differently, they dress differently, the scene is different, and the light is different.

These words came to my mind next to the last Saturday in July when the weather alarm on the radio announced the heavy thunderstorm with the heavy rain and the gale winds, even with possible hail, is fast approaching Ljubljana. The western sky was already black, the monumental thunderstorm clouds were rising menacingly into the sky, and from a distance the threatening thunder could be heard. I quickly dressed for what was coming, grabbed both cameras and 15 minutes later I was standing on the platform 5-6, where the international trains call. The platform was quite full of passengers, foremost the young ones with the enormous rucksacks and sleeping bags attached to them - modern day tourists discovering Europe by train. Mostly they were waiting for IC211, the eastbound Sava Express, which would take them to Zagreb, Croatia, where they will board the trains to the Dalmatian coast, or the train to Greece or Turkey, while some were waiting for its westbound twin, IC210, for the trip to Munich, and from there most probably back home - who knows where in Europe. Normally these trains call at Ljubljana 30 minutes apart, but that day both were late - IC211 around 50 minutes, and IC210 around 15 minutes, meaning that they could meet here at the station.

When I arrived at the station, the weather was still calm and warm, but 15 minutes later the sudden gust changed the scene completely. Dust and debris were flaying all around, joined by the big tin plate, part of the advertisement panel surrounding one of the platform pillars, and then the big, heavy raindrops began to fall. The strong wind was carrying them almost horizontally and almost instantly half of the platform was wet. People tried to protect themselves from cold and rain by squeezing together into a heap, finding the meager shelter behind the pillars, or much cozier one in the underground corridor. However, their misery didn't last too long as both expresses arrived shortly in quick succession and saved them, while the newly arrived passengers hastily took their places. Fortunately, the storm soon calmed down, the the stormy clouds sailed to the east, the platform was empty, and only the big puddles on tarmac reminded of what happened in the past hour

You can see the whole photo story here: Here Comes the Rain

Miško Kranjec

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