The Cloud

Gallery: LandscapePosted February 11, 2011363 views19 comments

Where are those elephants when you really need them...

As a wildlife & landscape photographer I aim to combine the two and am always on the lookout for 'animalscape' opportunities. Needless to say such images are extremely challenging as you need the wildlife to be in the right place at the right time... The afternoon this image was made we had seen several elephants on the Savute Marsh, but not at the time this scene unfolded. Still I thought the cloud to be interesting enough to make this a keeper, but I would love hear what you think.

Savute Marsh, Savute, Chobe NP, Botswana
Camera Model Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Shutter Speed 1/100 Sec.
Aperture Value f/16.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation +1/3
ISO Speed 200
Lens EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
Focal Length 24.0mm
Handheld
Crop is app. 75% of original (cropped to eliminate half a cloud protruding from the left)

Comments

19 comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on February 11, 2011 at 4:25 AM

Vincent:
I agree this is a keeper. The radiating rays are interesting as is the outline of the clouds. Sure it would be nice to have some elephants in the foreground but you can look forward to that in future. I might perhaps brighten the foreground a lit.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Huski on February 11, 2011 at 8:06 AM

Well seen!!!

Registered on August 17, 2008, 61 Posts, 340 Comments

Comment posted by Bob&Charly Nelson on February 11, 2011 at 8:11 AM

Well seen and captured Vincent. I think you did the right thing by not waiting. Super image in my opinion.
Bob

Registered on October 27, 2005, 289 Posts, 4202 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on February 11, 2011 at 8:24 AM

The sun beams and inner luminosity of the cloud are beautiful Vincent.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by richard remington on February 11, 2011 at 9:10 AM

Vincent,

Wow! This is the ultimate use of sun and light. What a great shot!

Rick

Registered on March 12, 2010, 105 Posts, 368 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on February 11, 2011 at 9:49 AM

Elephants or not the light here is glorious. most definitely a keeper. It should be printed real big.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on February 11, 2011 at 10:48 AM

That is one impressive cloud! Very nicely done!

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

Comment posted by Roman Kurywczak on February 11, 2011 at 11:19 AM

Spectaculat light and great depth in that cloud Vincent!!! I might go a touch lighter on the FG.....but this turned out great......even without the elephants!!!

Registered on November 20, 2009, 56 Posts, 748 Comments

Comment posted by Koveh Tavakkol on February 11, 2011 at 12:13 PM

The light in those clouds is incredible! Very nicely captured.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 41 Posts, 608 Comments

Comment posted by Rodrigo Sandoval on February 11, 2011 at 2:33 PM

Absolutely: THE cloud!
Excellent contrast, perfectly composed.

Registered on April 4, 2009, 13 Posts, 254 Comments

Comment posted by Bruce Omori on February 11, 2011 at 6:02 PM

Cool! Looks like a giant rabbit leaping through the air... it is the year of the rabbit, isn't it? Very nice, Vincent!!

Registered on December 6, 2010, 6 Posts, 175 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on February 12, 2011 at 12:01 AM

The sunbeams bursting forth in almost every direction are fantastic. That and the tones in the cloud make this really spectacular. Outstanding.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Raymond D Smith on February 12, 2011 at 10:45 AM

Very powerful Vincent, who needs elephants. Great good of controlling the exposure too. I could even see this with the land cropped out entirely. Cheers

Registered on January 22, 2009, 12 Posts, 479 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on February 12, 2011 at 11:42 AM

I agree with the others--elephants not needed with a sky like that!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Ben Horne on February 12, 2011 at 6:00 PM

This is by far one of the best cloud shots I've seen in a while. Not only are the god rays impressive, but I love the depth created by the reflected light combined with the back-lit top portion of the cloud. If you print this on fujiflex and hit it with light, it'll look 3D.

Registered on August 27, 2009, 51 Posts, 959 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on February 12, 2011 at 9:35 PM

Wow, that is one power cloud!!!

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Marc Adamus on February 13, 2011 at 12:34 PM

Looks like you and Steve got the same cloud on opposite sides of the world. The lone tree in back here is really key to the sense of scale and completes the image perfectly.

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

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on February 15, 2011 at 3:43 PM

Excellent cloudscape. I like how the rays of light come out from almost all sides of the cloud. That is something you do not see very often. The light rays usually come from one side or the bottom but this display is amazing, well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Andrei Malashenko on April 4, 2011 at 6:21 PM

Wow!. Simply amazing and incredibly dramatic. I don't think it matters that there is no wildlife in this photo. I think the cloud with the light is wild enough. Best regards, Andrei

Registered on March 18, 2011, 13 Posts, 68 Comments