"Mono Basin Storm"

My first night of a two night camping trip was a sleepless night. Rain showers were off and on all night and my tent had a slow leak. By morning, I was up before 4 am and out looking for a suitable sunrise. When I came up to the Owen's River crossing, I felt something might work. A thunderstorm was brewing  as the light was growing. Out of about 35 exposures, two were timed well enough to catch some drama from the storm. I sure could have used a lightning shutter trigger. The exposure was 8 seconds, so the possibility of catching a strike were good. Thanks for your thoughts and make sure to view the Larger preview!

Mark...  The lightning, the banded clouds, the lighting and the composition are just spot on... Spectacular and well worth your hardships :-)... Mike

Thanks Mike and Pierre! I was shooting in the opposite direction at first. When I saw the flashes behind me, I quickly repositioned myself to include the island with flowers. This was the first exposure I made to try and catch the lightning. About 35 to 40 more tries and I only got one more!

Very nice.

Excelente, max.a

Ok I like the lightning, but the colors are great. Also the composition

Thanks Yngve, Gallego and Mihai! It was a special morning for sure!

Terrific image MArk!!

Fantastic shot! Great drama in the clouds and that lightning bolt couldnt be in a more perfect position! For some reason my head is tilting over to the right, like i wanna take a few steps and change the shape of the river and small island. Very nice! Best regards

Stuart

Bardzo ładna kompozycja! Śliczne błękity.

Podoba mi się, nie zauważony przez moich przedmówców, efekt bardzo ostrego odbicia świateł w wodzie, co przy ośmiosekundowej ekspozycji, z jej tendencją do rozmywania wody, dodaje temu zdjęciu niebywałego smaku! Dodam, że i kształty pioruna są wyjątkowo estetyczne.

Pozostaje mi tylko, pogratulować Tobie, Mark!

Very nice composition! Lovely blues.

I like him, not noticed through my previous speakers, effect of very sharp reflecting lights in the water, what at the eight-second exposition, with her tendency through of washing away water, is giving this photograph the unprecedented taste! I will add, that and shapes of lightning are ising exceptionally aesthetic.

Only remains for me, to congratulate you, Mark!

Thanks Lalit, Stuart and Artur. Stuart, I think I know what you mean. The mountains may give a false sense of tilt. As far as comp, well I searched quickly and then began shooting, so I perhaps could have been more diligent. Stepping to the right, however, would not be possible for obvious reasons. Artur, your comment is, as usual, very colorful. Thanks all! 

lovely tones and colors, the exposure works well. impressive technique and great catch. very good photo.

Thanks Zsolt, I appreciate your feedback!

Wonderful composition Mark, with the bend in the river and then the small island, but the lightning and especially the glow from inside the cloud is the feature presentation for me. It also looks like it would have been tempting to go apocalyptic with the contrast in the sky so well done for sticking to a believable level of adjustment. Cracking photo!

Dave.

Thanks Dave! You know, I have seen more menacing skies, sometimes almost appearing black. Just wasn't the case with this sky. It was a good sky, but almost benign compared to more ominous skies. The morning was electrifying so to speak and I actually had to worry a little about my situation. I am 6'3" and was the highest object where I was standing. Well, still alive to tell about. Yes it was and is a cracking photo!

Sounds like it was a bit risky, but you've captured a superb image with excellent atmosphere. Love the blues, and greens in this one Mark.

All the best,
Neil

Hey Neil, thanks for the favorable comment! "Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose, won't you let me go down in my dreams, and rock-a-bye sweet baby James" Pretty much the only colors to emphasis here. This was very early, 30 minutes before the sun would begin to color the clouds. Then it got real good, but the lightning storm had moved on by then. Thx again!

It's truly amazing that in an 8 second exposure in stormy conditions that there was not a breath of wind to move that grass at all!  I just spent a weekend in the Sierra on a cloudless day and took dozens of flower shots to get just one with acceptable levels of movement.  Does your photo technique mastery extend to controlling the wind, too, Mark?  ;-)

Oh, great shot BTW!

Thanks Dave, always good to hear from you! For sure, a rare morning with stormy conditions, yet mostly calm. No explanation, just very lucky. I must have been in some vacuum or vortex, shielded from the winds!

Can't stop looking at this one, great job!

Mark - This is fantastic!  I seem to have missed many from this trip.  Excellent job catching that bolt-adds that extra special something to give it mood.  The curve brings right to the focal point of the lightning.  The brighter sky gives good separation to the mountains.  I have offered up a little post production option that I thought might give a little separation of the grasses and water.  I added a little yellow to the cyan and blues, and a little black as well.  Hope you don't mind.  The color pallette is such a subjective thing.  Feel free to delete if you like.

Best,  Harry

Love it - frankly, and I'm not exaggerating, this is the closest digital photo to Velvia that I've ever seen...

Great job!

Thanks Matt! I used to shoot Velvia and I always loved the vivid color, especially for fall foliage and spring greens. When I switched to digital, I lost that punch, but I gained dynamic range, especially since I blend bracketed exposures. Still, I wanted to get back to something that looked like Velvia, so I tried various techniques and I feel I have come up with a few moves that recreate that punch with the bonus of lower contrast and a wider range of tones. Thanks for the comment!