Ah, yes, how well I know that spot. You really made the most of an excellent opportunity - superb. Good thing you're now living local because I can't imagine you making the run from Pullman.
Wow, great job Aaron! Those are killer. I have a tough time deciding between the two. I love the immediate foreground of the first, and the central solitary lighting bolt in #2. Very well done.
Thank you all again for the all the comments and feedback!
Paul: It is quite nice to have the Palouse as my "backyard!"
Don: I think leaving from Colfax helped a little but it still seemed to take longer than I thought to get out there.
Timmeh: Thank you for the feedback, Timmeh. I really made sure to pull back the luminosity and saturation of the red and orange channel in ACR. I was also careful not to push saturation or vibrance too much once in PS.
Karl: Aside from the land appearing turbulent in #2, the clouds were terrifically turbulent as the morning progressed. I finally took some shots of just how nasty they were.
What really cool shots. I think I lean towards #1, but both are really cool. What crazy clouds and light you had, and throw in there the lightning, and what a combination!
I lived in Pullman for 5 years and only saw a sky like this a couple times. It is a beautiful area (wish I would have appreciated it more when I lived there). These shots are amazing. The first one is out of this world! VERY impressive work! Like others have said, I'm jealous!