Owens Valley Sky

Gallery: LandscapePosted December 3, 20122,172 views32 comments

A Sierra Wave cloud over Owens Valley last fall. These high altitude clouds were rapidly changing shape and picked up some intense color at sunset. The wave clouds are the result of high winds blowing over the Eastern Sierra (to my left) and down into the valley, and can be seen on satellite images as long bands parallel to the mountain front.
Thanks and comments welcome.

D700, 14-24mm
f13 @ 1/4 & 1.0 (sky)

Comments

32 comments

Comment posted by Richard Hartmann on December 3, 2012 at 10:31 PM

The image seems somehow overcooked. But dang, that is one pretty sky and comp. This one glows in a most inviting way.

Registered on January 15, 2009, 13 Posts, 772 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on December 3, 2012 at 11:10 PM

Incredible light Rudy. I love this. That reversed S shape the cloud makes is so interesting.

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

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on December 3, 2012 at 11:11 PM

Incredible image with incredible light. Really like the glowing bushes in the foreground along with everything else.

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

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on December 3, 2012 at 11:18 PM

Really nice work, Rudy. The light is magnificent and those clouds really lead my eye throughout the frame. I like how you have aligned the foreground brush with the middle-ground trees and used that to frame the clouds.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Joel Hazelton on December 3, 2012 at 11:24 PM

Incredible light, amazing color, perfect conditions, beautiful exposure, wonderful development in PP. Compositionally, the 2 shrubs in the foreground against the 2 trees in the midground are not as aesthetically pleasing as I think it could be, given the potential of the scene. I feel it could flow a bit better if the main elements formed a triangle instead of a square. Regardless, it's a beautiful image.

Registered on August 6, 2008, 194 Posts, 1315 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on December 3, 2012 at 11:35 PM

Ridiculous in a great way!

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

Comment posted by Jim Greenwood on December 3, 2012 at 11:46 PM

Wow! That was some incredible light. And you made the best of it with your fine composition. The foreground adds so much interest too ... the brilliant burnt orange grass and the two yellow shrubs.

Registered on November 9, 2003, 229 Posts, 1523 Comments

Comment posted by Jeffrey Sipress on December 4, 2012 at 12:00 AM

Great find and image, Rudy. I've yet to see one of my own, and this is a good example.

Registered on February 17, 2004, 236 Posts, 1197 Comments

Comment posted by Natalie Mikaels on December 4, 2012 at 7:23 AM

Wow! Now that's a sky. Nice capture Rudy.

Registered on November 3, 2011, 45 Posts, 181 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on December 4, 2012 at 7:45 AM

Great mood n beautiful colours.!
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on December 4, 2012 at 8:03 AM

Like a genie out of a lamp there's certainly some magic here.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on December 4, 2012 at 9:38 AM

Awesome cloud, but the foreground is just as good! I just love the Owens Valley for that.

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on December 4, 2012 at 10:07 AM

Those are some outstanding clouds

I can't decide if the bushes mimicking the trees is a plus or a minus but I like the capture.

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on December 4, 2012 at 10:18 AM

Beautiful Rudy!! What a cloud and what great light. What a scene.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on December 4, 2012 at 11:42 AM

Gorgeous! I could see matching upper and lower brightness a touch more, but this is fantastic.

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

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on December 4, 2012 at 11:44 AM

Wow Rudy, You were there at the right time for this one. Amazing clouds and beautiful light.I love those foreground bushes all aglow...

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on December 4, 2012 at 4:49 PM

Lovely, Rudy! I like the colors throughout. The clouds have a nice S shape.
Is the saturation pretty much right on, or did you enhance quite a bit in
post-processing? Nevertheless, I really like this.

Registered on November 11, 2008, 281 Posts, 3958 Comments

Comment posted by Peyton Hale on December 4, 2012 at 7:54 PM

not much else to say beyond 'wow'. This is phenomenal Rudy!

Registered on December 9, 2011, 8 Posts, 43 Comments

Comment posted by Rudy Ruberti on December 4, 2012 at 11:56 PM

Thanks for the comments. As far as the composition, I also feel it's a little square, but I liked the color and shape of the sky here over some of the other shots that evening. The colors were intense and it didn't need much saturation. I actually backed off the saturation on the red and yellow channels, but curves and levels adjustments also added some back.

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

Comment posted by Russell Colletta on December 5, 2012 at 9:20 AM

Very nice Rudy. This is dramatic and authentic - reminds me of so many great moments spent in that area.

Registered on October 31, 2009, 114 Posts, 1008 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on December 5, 2012 at 10:32 AM

Wow, intense light and color. Love it

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on December 5, 2012 at 1:59 PM

Rudy,

Oh my goodness, this is incredible! Yeah, the sky/clouds are beautiful, but we've all seen great skies... it's the light on the rabbit brush and foreground that is so beautiful. It does almost look a little unreal though, not quite sure how to express that, but it doesn't really matter, I find this quite outstanding. Just awesome color and light. Excellentee!

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Cothran on December 5, 2012 at 6:08 PM

Wow! This is very artistic. I don't know what I'm enjoying more, the clouds are the whitish shrubs in the foreground. The warmth on the grass is also excellent. Everything fits.

Registered on December 5, 2012, 31 Posts, 730 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on December 5, 2012 at 10:33 PM

Rudi, this works for me! I like the composition, and the light is wonderful!

Lon wrote: "...it's the light on the rabbit brush and foreground that is so beautiful. It does almost look a little unreal though...."

I have seen this kind of light on the East Side a few times. The most memorable was the wave that happened on October 1, 2005. There was so much red/yellow light reflected from the cloud that everything had this quality of glow. So, to me at least, the light in Rudi's image looks very real.

Very nice work, Rudi!

--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by Zack Clothier on December 5, 2012 at 11:17 PM

Beautiful image Rudy, the 'S' shaped cloud is really intriguing and the glow on the rabbitbrush is really nice.

Registered on January 28, 2010, 343 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on December 5, 2012 at 11:18 PM

Gorgeous sky! Nice comp too!

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

Comment posted by Jon Daining on December 7, 2012 at 10:31 PM

Spectacular capture, Rudy!

Registered on February 25, 2012, 25 Posts, 191 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on December 12, 2012 at 6:10 PM

Congrats on the WP! This is really stunning...incredible light and colours.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on December 13, 2012 at 1:17 AM

fantastic light and sky...congrats on WP!

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Palmieri on December 13, 2012 at 6:56 AM

Congrats Rudy, well deserved!

Registered on September 1, 2011, 35 Posts, 748 Comments

Comment posted by Allen Brooks on December 13, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Love the light you captured. Congrats on WP, well deserved.

Registered on July 27, 2011, 262 Posts, 2597 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Myers on December 13, 2012 at 1:29 PM

Congratulations on the WP, Rudy. Your choice of portrait framing really emphasizes the scene. Beautiful.

Registered on September 1, 2008, 85 Posts, 757 Comments