Nikon D700, Nikon 70-200 f/2.8, 1/40th, f/11, ISO 400
This past winter I braved the weather in Yosemite with a wonderful group of photographers and came home with some surprisingly stunning images. Going into the trip I was worried that the weather would mean lots of hours sitting in the lodge waiting for the weather to break. I prepared several slide-shows and lessons just in case we were lodge-bound for an entire day, but my group was tough. We photographed closeups in overcast light, grand landscapes with new snow, and oaks during the heavy snowfall itself. 
The lesson I was reminded of during the trip was there is no excuse for not being at a good location when the weather might do something amazing. I was talking about the old photographers adage of "f/8 and be there" with several of my participants, and it became the de facto mentality for the trip. Before leaving for the trip I had some people call worried that we might not even get our cameras out for fear of the weather. But because we knew the weather was going to be a challenge, we all arrived in Yosemite with our rain gear and good attitudes. 
We watched several other photographers give up due to the weather and leave the valley, but our perseverance paid off with many unique images that most photographers drive right by. The lesson for me was that every weather condition offers amazing photographs if we take the time to wait. We need only be willing to take what is given to us rather than continuing to look for something we wish was there.
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