Stormy Sky

I like the light dance here Audrey! Welcome to NPN.

NJ.... I grew up there (East Rutherford). Now in MA soon to move to NH.

Thanks for the kind words, Eva. I'm thinking about reposting this one, it looks so much better than it does here.

I've lived in NJ all my life and can't wait to get out. I long to be out west!

Audrey,

Nice catch of an illuminated downburst, a strong downdraft out of a cumulonimbus carrying a column of rain out out with it. A sure sign of a strong storm, You were well to be away from it, but it's neat to capture such a phenomena in an image, nice catch.

Paul

Yep, and angry sky can have just as much impact as a spectacular colorful one!. Lots of drama in this one.

Chris

This is really sweet, Audrey. Simple composition putting the focus where it should be - on that amazing sky. Have you tried a black and white conversion? I think it'd be even better in monochrome. Looks like it could use a touch more sharpening but that's a minor nit. Great work!

Thanks for the comments everyone. As a matter of fact I did do a B&W conversion which I like just as much. What are your thoughts?

Glad to see you posting Audrey. IMO, I much prefer the B&W to the color as it seems much dramatic to my eyes. I like your composition, but have one question - why 1/5000 @ f/2.8?

Audrey,

Nice capture of a dramatic scene. That little tree in the foreground is a nice element.

I like the B&W better.

I spend a lot of time looking West, as well :)

I really like the composition. It's very strong, and the lone tree in the foreground is a nice element and you placed it well within the frame. However, both the original image and the repost seem to be suffering from extreme JPEG compression.

Jim, you are right, this is only my third post and I’m still trying to find out how best to save images for optimal upload. Is there was an easy way to delete an image and repost without losing all the comments?

Bill, good question about my settings, why, why, why, that's the same question I asked myself once I downloaded my images. Truth be told, I guess I'm a careless photographer at times. I usually always shoot at Aperture Priority (have been trying to get out of that habit), and must have been shooting bugs prior to shooting this image. We were on vacation in route to some new location when I asked my husband to pull over. In my haste, I didn't check my settings and just snapped away. Needless to say, I had to brighten up this image in LR. Lesson learned!

You can only delete a posting including an image if no one has posted a comment. Otherwise, you can include a modified image in a subsequent comment, as you have already done. I don't know if the functionality is similar in Lightroom, but in Photoshop the best way is to use the "Save for Web & Devices" function and set the JPEG quality as necessary in order to not exceed the allowable file size.

Nice capture! I particularly enjoy the placement of that lone tree on the left... makes a perfect counterbalance to all the drama on the right side. I prefer the brightness level of the original post, but might prefer a B&W version if the brightness levels are the same. Nice work!