At one point I was thinking of packing up and heading back to the car. I didn't think the sun would show and it was starting to rain a little but I stuck it out and was rewarded beyond belief. I had another successful storm/sunset shoot last night. If this is any indication how this summer is going to play out I think I might knock off a few bucket list photos!
John Richter wrote:
Beautiful shot, Scott. Man, I bet this looks fantastic printed big. Which I hope you plan on doing. Great work here.
JBR
Thank you John. I might. Not sure how well this will hold up to a large print. Taken with Canon 40D with a duct-taped lens and underexposed to not blow the sun out completely. REALLY wish I had a D800E + Zeiss 21mm or 18mm for this scene. One can always dream...
dswiger wrote:
Very nice Scott!
And you didn't need the orb either
Nope....left it in the car. I DID think about hauling to the shore though!
Karl Witt wrote:
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
Thank you Karl! Oh trust me, a ticket will be purchased for this week's lotto! I need a new camera! lol
JimFox wrote:
Hey Scott,
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!
Jim
Thank you Jim. Not often do I accomplish pretty much exactly what I envisioned. Having been to the place several times I know it quite well but keep discovering new things. I did a lot of winging it as well. I basically set up this photo and took one shot after another with a remote shutter until I got a strike. I havent learned to time strikes yet.
Phrasikleia wrote:
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.]...Show more →
Thank you Phrasikleia! Ya, it was quite the thrill watching it all come together. I was already beyond happy with the photos I was getting prior to the sun's appearance then BAM!!!! In my face! The lightning strike was the icing on the cake. Good thing I was ready for it!
I see what you mean about the yin-yang effect. There is so much going on in this scene. I do have this exact scene minus the lightning as I was taken consecutive photos but once you see this version with the strike it loses out.
Absolutely stunning.
