My GF and I have been wanting to go to Steep Rock for a while now. I have been there several times but this was her first visit. With a lot of work on my plate I managed to hustle through it enough to get us the day to go out shooting. Well most of it anyway! It is a bit of a drive to Steep Rock Manitoba. Over 3.5 hours from my house. The forecast wasn't looking that great with rain but the evening forecast was calling for partly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms. This had me hoping the right conditions would transpire for a dramatic sunset. We arrived late in the day around 4pm. It was probably the best time to show up as a large dark and rainy cloud mass had just cleared the area and the sun appeared as we arrived. We had sunlight for several hours—I think I got a little too much—but as it got closer to sunset things started to look grim. A large cloud mass started rolling in and soon the sun was struggling to get through. My hopes of a sunset were fading but the light was pretty amazing and I got some interesting photos. After a while I noticed it getting a little lighter on the horizon and so my hopes starting to go up If the sun breaks out just at sunset it could be good I thought. Well, it got even better as a small thunderstorm also started rolling in. Now, to hope everything lines up and I get the shot I was hoping for. Well, it did. Actually, this ended up being one of the best sunsets I've seen. Definitely the best I've had a Steep Rock. Believe it or not, I had envisioned this photo the day before when checking the forecast and can't believe I got it! The gods were in my favour for sure this time! I took many photos and have a LOT to process yet. For now, I hope you enjoy this photo.
Photo details:
Single exposure (no HDR and no filters)
1.6 sec - F16 - ISO100 - 10 mm
A magnificent sunset AND a lightning strike?
An exquisite capture and processing.
You live well, Scott.
It's always nice to be with a lady and have the sparks fly.
Charlie
It is hard to fathom catching a moment in time like this for me Scott, I could imagine it but the chances of it would be slim. Gosh, a whole 1.6sec and you get a blazing sun, a dramatic silhouette sun blocker, an incredible layered sky, calm waters before the storm, a nice jetty of rock to echo the warm light from above and just to make a final statement..........a bolt of lightning
I would have stopped on the way home for my lotto ticket after capturing a shot like this!
And yes you bet I like it
Lucky you with that terrific sunset! And complete with lightning strike. It must have been quite thrilling to have that scene unfold for you. I especially like how the red clouds form a line going right to the lightning. I do find my eye bouncing back and forth a bit between the two focal points on the horizon (sun and lightning). They have very similar visual weight, due to the clouds leading to the lightning and to the two rounded projections in the foreground cliffs aligning with each feature above. Combined with the warm/cool split, those elements make the photo seem almost like a yin-yang symbol, but that's part of the photo's appeal.
Bonus nit: that little patch of tall, yellow grass in the LR corner is distracting to my eye.
[And having just typed all of that, I now see that Jason beat me to the yin-yang comment.]
Man, this is so cool looking! It's awesome that you had a vision for this shot too. It goes to show that we can have some preconcieved ideas on what we want our shots to look like before we get to a location. It's not just about winging it, though it is always important to stay open to serendipity as we shoot.
Were you just clicking away to capture the lightning? Or were you able to time the strikes? Either way, what a really sweet shot!
