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Tag Archives: weather
2011 TOP 10 #9 – Storms over the Wasatch
This was an amazing afternoon! We were on a Sunday drive on the alpine loop between Cascade Springs and Sundance on the backside of Utah’s Wasatch Range. It was a stormy day with the skies opening and closing, back and forth.
Along the drive, we stopped at a scenic overlook with a view out to the southeast. The clouds were dancing with the mountaintops as brightly blooming wildflowers whipped in the breeze.
Despite the breeze, somehow I was able to capture the scene with a four-image HDR – requiring some special work on the wildflowers that weren’t exactly standing still. The fast-moving clouds were also a bit of an issue.
What was also impressive was the scene of the shoot. I was able to take partial shelter under the edge of the Audi hatchback, with the camera pretty much out in the elements – sheltered with a shirt to protect it ever so slightly from the driving rain.
Most notably, this photograph is my wife, Carole’s, favorite of the year. It was one of those photographs she encouraged me to make and knitted patiently in the Audi while I got soaked for 15 minutes. Her creative eye is often an inspiration and I think of her every time I view this scene.
Birds on the Silos
It’s funny sometimes on how the best photographs are not the ones you set out to create. I had staked out this particular barn as a sunset possibility Friday evening. It’s brilliant red sides were perfectly in line with the morning sun.
Saturday morning, in the pre-dawn hours, I rolled the dice that the overcast would break. It did not.Sunday was much of the same. But I took a chance again.
After waiting and waiting, the line broke through and illuminated the barn. It was a brilliant shot with my new D700. Then I packed to leave, putting the tripod into the car.
As I looked back, I saw the silos against an amazing sky. I wandered back across the highway – the D700 loaded with my Nikkor 70-300. I knew the birds were there and that the photograph would HAVE TO include them flying.
So, I waited … and waited … and waited. I felt I should go back for the tripod, but decided I could handhold. Then, all of a sudden, a gust of wind send the birds scurrying.
Bang, bang, bang – I blasted off a burst on the motor drive as the birds found a new roost. But in that split second, they gave me a photograph even better than I had hoped from the red barn itself.
Photographer’s Note: The barn is located on US51 in the town of Leeds, just northeast of Madison, Wisconsin.
Storms Over Idaho
Storm chasing on flat prairie and desert is a blast! You can see them coming for dozens of miles away. Our drive today on route 20 through Idaho was filled with weather events from hail to raging downpours to bright, sunny skies. Late afternoon there were some particularly treacherous storms. As we pulled over to look at an historical marker, there were beautiful sunflowers lining the road. It made for a wonderful photograph as cars dashed by and the wind whipped the flowers. (c) 2011 Tom Kelly
Rainbow in a Stormy Sky
Summer storms and sunsets are a perfect combination for photographic opportunities. But they can catch you off guard.
It had been a particularly dark, overcast evening. While I should have known better, I gave up the thought of photo chasing for the evening. Until just minutes before sunset when the sky literally broke wide open while continuing to rain. It was a perfect combo for a rainbow.
With the ridgeline of Glenwild to the west, sun sets in our Silver Creek neighborhood a bit earlier than other nearby areas. Knowing that, I dashed to a location two miles away – all the time watching a double rainbow form to the east.
Rainbows are great. But you need another subject for perspective. The church in the Trailside neighborhood was a perfect partner.
I quickly pulled out the legs of the tripod, screwed a polarizer onto the Nikkor 10-24 and clicked it onto my D300. I shot for HDR – just in case – and created frame after frame of a perfect horizon-to-horizon rainbow, capturing wildflowers in the foreground.
In three or four minutes, it was all over!
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