The Black Storm

Gallery: LandscapePosted April 28, 2010217 views16 comments

The flat Kalahari landscape allowed us to watch this several kilometers wide terrifying looking storm approach until it covered us. In the end it did not turn out as bad as it looked and our camp 'survived'.

I converted to B&W as I suspected it would look more powerful. It especially made the land stand out much better. Personally I like punchy B&W's, but please tell me if you think I overdid it here.

Khutse, Mabuakolobe Pan, Kalahari Desert, Botswana
Camera Model Canon EOS 1D Mark III
Shutter Speed 0.5 Sec
Aperture Value f/20.0
ISO Speed 50
Lens EF24-105 f/4L IS USM
Focal Length 24.0mm

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Joseph Kayne on April 28, 2010 at 11:55 AM

Registered on November 1, 2003, 573 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Bruno Silva on April 28, 2010 at 12:06 PM

this rocks for me and in b&w, even better. nice lines and what a sky! the conversion looks spot on, imo. I feel if the larger tree were more separated from the ground and from that line of dark clouds in the left it would pop out more but it works nicely as is. maybe a pump of light on the tree, just so separate it from those clouds? just a thought. for me, the tree is what balances this image so well. great work, Vincent!

Registered on May 6, 2009, 132 Posts, 1406 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Rappaport on April 28, 2010 at 12:48 PM

Much as I like the power of your punchy B&W conversion, the blocked up tree at the left is a bit disconcerting. The clouds are spectacular - they almost look like a B&W film negative.

Registered on September 9, 2009, 294 Posts, 2006 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Sogn on April 28, 2010 at 1:05 PM

Registered on January 17, 2007, 68 Posts, 210 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Sogn on April 28, 2010 at 1:06 PM

I like the power of this photograph, but agree that lightening up the tree a bit would make the clouds stand out even more. Well done.

Registered on January 17, 2007, 68 Posts, 210 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on April 28, 2010 at 1:06 PM

The clouds are really spectacular. The b/w conversion works well here. The big tree on the left side is a bit dark so it isn't really separated from the clouds in the sky. But otherwise it's a fantastic scene and great work

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Mitch Moraski on April 28, 2010 at 2:47 PM

Great conversion Vince! This is very dramatic! Too bad the tree blends in with the clouds, but a minor flaw. Great job!

Registered on August 3, 2008, 105 Posts, 590 Comments

Comment posted by Marc Adamus on April 28, 2010 at 3:39 PM

Man, what a cloud! Great processing here, although I might try to bring out the left side tree a bit more without leaving a halo.

Registered on September 17, 2005, 780 Posts, 8091 Comments

Comment posted by Elliot Johnston on April 28, 2010 at 5:59 PM

Killer Klouds!! Reminds me of Matt Anderson's image a little: http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/ic.cgi?a=vp&pr=144478&CGISESSID=a4c43e8ed7e50248739443eb737016db&u=19445

I do wish there was a little more separation between the left tree and the dark cloud in the background though.

Registered on November 11, 2009, 23 Posts, 288 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on April 28, 2010 at 9:14 PM

Your conversion really brings the drama to another level. Very ominous.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on April 28, 2010 at 9:43 PM

WOW! What a great capture of a unique storm. You really used the light to its full advantage.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Rudy Ruberti on April 28, 2010 at 9:46 PM

Great sky and I like the conversion. The large version is really nice. Well done.

Registered on October 28, 2008, 179 Posts, 1875 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Wong on April 29, 2010 at 2:07 AM

Those clouds are something special. If you could lighten up that tree or somehow get some more separation out of those dark tones from the tree and background clouds that would help bring out the details more.

Registered on February 2, 2006, 79 Posts, 2629 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on April 29, 2010 at 6:43 AM

Amazing sky, and a very nice b/w conversion. The sky perhaps, as dynamic as it is, may have gone slightly overboard with the contrast, but it's this large range that does provide the punch. Perhaps a more subltle approach would have worked equally as well? Just a thought.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by Verena & Georg Pop on April 29, 2010 at 8:13 AM

talk about a storm "rolling in"...
fascinating!
georg

Registered on July 5, 2006, 272 Posts, 2823 Comments

Comment posted by James Campbell on May 4, 2010 at 7:03 AM

Those clouds are just awesome!And the lines that they bring into the image are really appealling. I don't think youv'e overdone it at all

Registered on January 12, 2009, 48 Posts, 377 Comments