I had planned to go out today with my long lenses and scout a location that looks promising for photographing mad March hares. It’s not far from where I live, and on a local walk last week I spotted several hares in fairly close proximity to each other. It immediately struck me as a place worth returning to with a camera.
Today’s weather had other ideas.
This morning I woke up to a text from Sofia’s school letting parents know that the car park had flooded after heavy rain. It’s also been very windy here lately. As we sat in the car, the wind buffeting it quite strongly, I still had the urge to go and scout the location. But in weather like this I’m unlikely to get any usable photographs.
That’s when my thoughts turned to the OM System OM-1 Mark II. The OM System OM-1 Mark II carries an IP53 weather-sealing rating, meaning it’s designed to keep working in heavy rain, dust and cold conditions — exactly the kind of weather you often find here in Scotland.
I’ve been shooting with Olympus — and now OM System — cameras for years. I’ve had them out in monsoon rains and Hebridean storms, they’re about as rugged and weather sealed as cameras come.
Combined with its light weight and easy handling — even with gloves on (actually better than the original OM-1 in my opinion) — it makes for the perfect grab-and-go camera on a walk like this.
I wasn’t heading out with a bag full of gear. This was just a short local stroll in some pretty miserable weather, with the camera slung over my shoulder on a Peak Design Slide Lite strap.
A Walk in Real Scottish Weather
I walked out of my house and headed up a small country lane towards some nearby farmland and a narrow path that winds through several wide, open fields.
I’d already put on my walking gear, waterproof jacket and boots before stepping outside, as the rain was still lashing down and the wind was ripping across the fields. This particular path has a few old trees lining it, with patches of dense bushes between the path and the surrounding farmland — exactly the kind of cover where I hoped to see the hares again.
It could be a fantastic location. The fields offer open views, while the bushes provide just enough natural camouflage to approach quietly.
By the time I reached the path my boots were already coated in mud. It had rained throughout the night and there was no sign of it easing. It seemed I was the only person out walking today. Maybe I’m a little crazy, but I love this kind of weather — as long as I’ve got the right outdoor gear on.
The trees were being pushed around by strong gusts of wind as the rain continued to lash down. I swung the camera around and unclipped it from the strap. It was already covered in rain, but as I’ve always found with OM System cameras, the OM-1 Mark II paired with the 12–40mm f/2.8 PRO II didn’t bat an eyelid.
I switched it on and took a few photos along the way.
Within ten minutes, a couple of hares in a field to my left suddenly bolted. They had spotted me before I even noticed them. I slowed my pace and continued more carefully as I neared the area where I hoped to photograph them.
As I turned the corner, a small hedgerow hiding my approach, I saw them.
Sheltering in the lee of a line of hedges were three more hares, hunkered down together trying to escape the worst of the wind and rain.
They were quite close to each other and well within range of both my OM System 100-400mm II and my Nikon Z wildlife kit. This particular spot looks really promising for dawn and dusk shoots. It’s close enough to my house that I can return several times a week, and it offers natural patches of cover from which to photograph the hares without disturbing them.
I sat and watched them quietly for five minutes before moving on, not wanting to force them out into the wind and rain.
As I continued along the track the wind increased, shaking the bushes that lined the path, sometimes violently. I struggled to handhold shots below about 1/25 second, which for the OM-1 Mark II is unusual. The wind was simply ripping across the fields and buffeting me too hard.
One thing about the OM-1 Mark II’s weather sealing is that it simply works. It’s such a rugged little camera that I had no hesitation placing it down in the soaking wet grass when I wanted to frame a shot.
By now my jacket and trousers were well covered in rain, although the water was still beading nicely off the fabric. I cinched in the hood on my Keela Munro jacket and carried on a little further, the OM-1 Mark II in hand, ready if something caught my eye.
But today wasn’t really about getting photos.
It was about having the right gear that allows me to get out into nature, whatever the weather — and that includes having a camera I can rely on when Scotland decides to throw its worst at it.
For me, this is exactly where cameras like the OM-1 Mark II — and the OM-3 — really shine. Small enough to take anywhere, rugged enough to handle the worst Scottish weather, and capable enough to capture the moment if the opportunity appears.
When I woke up this morning and saw the weather, I almost immediately knew I’d be taking the OM-1 Mark II out with me. It’s a camera whose weather sealing I trust to handle just about anything Scotland can throw at it — whether that’s rain, snow or sand.
On the walk back I was wrapped up in a hat, fleece, waterproof jacket and trousers, along with gloves. The little OM-1 Mark II was simply hanging from the camera strap or sitting in my hand ready to shoot. It never complained once. No issues, no faults, no problems.
When I got back to the house I just wiped it down and put it on the table next to me as I started writing this article. It looks exactly as it did before I left — although I really should clean the lens properly after having to wipe it with my gloves out in the rain.
As for the hares, I’ll be returning to that spot often over the coming months, following their lives and hopefully photographing and filming them along the way.