Storm a'coming!

[pgriz]

We had a line of thunderstorms come through our area, and I was at the water's edge waiting to meet with a client who was a resident on a small island next to the big island of Montreal. We got our business done, and he got on the next ferry back to his island before the storm hit. Originally, the forecast was for the storm path to pass to the north of us, but it became clear that we'll get hit. I scooted over to another part of the shore where I could get a clear view westward, and captured the following two images. The first is showing the front rolling in. The specks are clouds of insects that normally hover over the surface of the lake, but were being blown by the wind off the lake. The second image is more of a "scenic" shot looking into the oncoming storm. You'll still see a few smudges of brown in the image despite using the lens at its telephoto setting - there were a LOT of the little buggers flying/blowing around. I'm just glad I wan't on the water when the wind/rain hit.



Ti1 + EF 24-105 F/4 at 24mm, 100 ISO, f/8, 1/80sec, Cloudy WB. Curves, sharpening in Elements 12.



Ti1 + EF 24-105 F/4 at 99mm, 100 ISO, f/8, 1/80sec, Cloudy WB. Curves, sharpening in Elements 12.

Personally, in the second image, I like how the upper clouds and the water frame the dark band of the storm clouds in the background. In the full-rez image, you can see the many seagulls being flown around and off the navigation tower seen at center left. The first image is more of a "record" shot, and I wasn't going to spend time trying to clone out the flying bugs - they were part of THAT scene.

Comments, critiques, and witty banter (Ok, Sharon, I owe you royalties ) always welcome.

 

[manaheim]

oooooooooooo.... so cool!!!!!

 

[oldhippy]

I start off by saying I like the shots, but I don't love them. Why again IMHO. They appear flat on my monitor. I see a storm with ferocity, but the dynamic isn't there. It needs vivid.
I don't offer this to be hurtful. And my opinion could be miles off. I respect your photography, just not this.. sorry Ed

 

[pgriz]

I start off by saying I like the shots, but I don't love them. Why again IMHO. They appear flat on my monitor. I see a storm with ferocity, but the dynamic isn't there. It needs vivid.
I don't offer this to be hurtful. And my opinion could be miles off. I respect your photography, just not this.. sorry Ed

Hey, thanks, Ed! I'm delighted you shared your view - that's what I want to hear, not the 'attaboy" stuff, although that does stroke the ego a little. So your idea is that I need more "vivid". Ok, I can see that. The challenge was to try and capture the rolling clouds as they approached, and I just wasn't able to do that in the still photo. That's OK, I have a direction to take in looking for how to capture the massive turbulence that is visible in those rolling clouds.

 

[IzzieK]

Personally, I like #1 better because of the rolling clouds approaching. I think it adds more drama than the second one which seems to be that the storm had already passed and all that was left was the white clouds. Or I am wrong. But I still like #1 for the reasons I have already stated.

 

[oldhippy]

I start off by saying I like the shots, but I don't love them. Why again IMHO. They appear flat on my monitor. I see a storm with ferocity, but the dynamic isn't there. It needs vivid.
I don't offer this to be hurtful. And my opinion could be miles off. I respect your photography, just not this.. sorry Ed

Hey, thanks, Ed! I'm delighted you shared your view - that's what I want to hear, not the 'attaboy" stuff, although that does stroke the ego a little. So your idea is that I need more "vivid". Ok, I can see that. The challenge was to try and capture the rolling clouds as they approached, and I just wasn't able to do that in the still photo. That's OK, I have a direction to take in looking for how to capture the massive turbulence that is visible in those rolling clouds.

I punched this up a bit, and I am for **** on PS. I just am trying to explain myself. I mean no harm

 

[pgriz]

Thank you, Ed. No fears - I know you're not meaning anything negative. I appreciate your effort to show me - and you're right that edit does look very dramatic. I appreciate your efforts, and thanks.

 

[limr]

The first one definitely captures the drama of the storm rolling in. I agree with Ed that the colors might need to be bumped a bit, but I love the comp and feel that it captures the dynamism of the clouds. It's actually quite scary to look at! Those clouds look like claws and it feels like some giant creature is crawling over the lake.

The second one isn't as obvious and isn't about movement and energy, but it's still intriguing and I find myself going back to it. It's all about that weird, spooky light and that odd too-calm feeling that comes with storms, which is sometimes even scarier than the big bad rolling clouds.

My attention was grabbed by the first one, but I keep going back to the second one.

(PS - Ed, I just love how sweet you are with your critique! :hug:: )

 

[mmaria]

(PS - Ed, I just love how sweet you are with your critique! :hug:: )

Almost the same to what I was thinking of

 

[BoblyBill]

pgriz... I love the first one but also agree with the comments that it is too flat. What I have done to my past storm chase pics is to do localized dodge and burn on areas of my pics that I really wanted to stand out. I would pay special attention to my histogram to make sure that highlights would really close to white. If you would like to take a gander here is a sample.

 

[pgriz]

pgriz... I love the first one but also agree with the comments that it is too flat. What I have done to my past storm chase pics is to do localized dodge and burn on areas of my pics that I really wanted to stand out. I would pay special attention to my histogram to make sure that highlights would really close to white. If you would like to take a gander here is a sample.

View attachment 75966

BoblyBill, thank you for your comments! I guess my issue is that I do try to keep the images "real" by not making them look much more dramatic than they were in real life. Of course, neither you, nor any of the other viewers of these images were there to witness what the scene actually looked like, so you have more freedom to make the pictures fit a certain look. In doing the exposure, I made sure that the highlight portion was within the detail zone (all pixel values less that 250 in each channel) and I then used the curve adjustment to deepen the dark parts (lower right). I'm always torn between trying to be more or less faithful to what was there, and trying to make an image with "pop". On some images, I go the more saturated, more dramatic route, but when there's already dram in the image, I usually make only small adjustments. Not saying one way or the other is the "right" way, but I do the processing based on how "I" feel about the situation and image. What I'm seeing is that my restraint is not always succeeding in showing the power that I felt by being present. So maybe it does make sense to pump up the visual, since the feedback from the other senses just isn't there. I need to ponder this some more...

 

[BoblyBill]

I can respect that way of photography. I have taken the position of editing mine by the feeling I get by being there. Because they were storm chases that I was a part of, I always felt a balance between fear and awe and I hope that my edits express that. Thank you for your comments.