Weather Closing Down, Hobson Road

--Lannie

Here it is processed in black and white with levels raised a bit.

--Lannie

I like it. Did you happen to shoot in RAW? If so I think ratcheting up the exposure would make it stand out more. Also, if you can clone out the telephone poles and wires it would be much cleaner. But that's a personal preference. Nice job

Thanks, Don.  I did shoot Raw but decided on the darker treatment in post processing.   The black and white version is almost my way of admitting that I might have overdone the dark and contrasty treatment.  I can appreciate it both ways--or even brighter.  Even so, the effect I wanted is better conveyed dark.

--Lannie

All of these are crops from a much larger file.  Here is approximately the same crop with the color and brightness as they came from the camera.

--Lannie

Here is the original, resized.

--Lannie

Many of the shots in this folder were made in this part of NC (as shown on the map), east of I-77, south of I-40, and north of I-85 and U.S. 70--not that anyone is likely to care.

--Lannie

this has to go in one of my many "Favoriteses" folderses.  It's a fab composition.  seven.  best, j

p.s.:  NO CLONING!  it's good because of the pole.

Thanks, Jamie.  It was so bland out of the camera that I had to do something novel with it.

In addition to the telephone pole, there is even some roadside trash that I decided to leave in.

Althouh EXIF data will not show as with more modern cameras, it can be seen in the "File Info" in Photoshop:

ISO 160 (standard with this camera)

f/5.6 (shot on aperture priority)

1/500 sec shutter speed.

It was shot handheld lying back on my car hood at 28mm, the wide extreme of the 28-200 zoom range--and then cropped rather severely in post processing.

Please note that this was shot with the D version of this lens, not the G version.

--Lannie

I should have said "leaning back" rather than "lying back" on the car hood.  Here is one that was actually made lying all the way back and shooting almost vertical:

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=15415532

Both shots were made about the same time, although the blue and white sky shot was taken just a few minutes earlier than the one posted in this thread.  The wind was whipping up pretty good in front of this cell, which (along with other cells) produced a good bit of hail and heavy winds and rain when it finally did close down.

"Curves" was the primary tool used in Photoshop to get the effects shown here.

--Lannie

Lannie, I much prefer your original dark version in color.  The light on the roadway is exquisite, and it really gets my imagination going.  It tells a story much better than a photo that reveals everything.  I like the faint color in the yellow lines on the road as well as the blue tone in the sky; the color definitely adds interest to the photo as far as my eyes are concerned.  You've cropped and processed this just perfectly to get the most out of the photo; I wouldn't change a thing (except maybe, but only maybe, the bright reflection off the roof on the left; having the roadway as the only spot of light on the ground might be really nice).

Thank you so much, Stephen.  It means a lot to me that there are people like you and Jamie and Diane and Mike on the site who understand the choices we make--even though they might not always have the same preferences.

In this case, you definitely got the same sense that I did from the darkened, contrasty manipulated file.  This would turn out to be a nasty cell, but the only shots that I have of it (right out of the camera) do not capture its truly threatening nature as it came quickly up from the southwest in front of a cold front.

I know what you mean about the roof.  What actually caught my attention in the first place was neither roof nor road, but that sudden brilliant flash of green from the transient sunlight on the fresh spring meadow.  Within literally another second or two that bright green had disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

--Lannie

I see the result and join Stephen about the uploaded original! It has a strong atmospher of a long road , the light is wonderful . the clouds on the upper LHS reflected on the road.Very nice DOF, color palette and composition!

Thanks, Pnina.  The light on the road is actually direct sunlight coming through a break in the clouds.

--Lannie

Hi Lannie,

The old gear triumphs again !

Great work my friend.

Best Regards,  Mike

Thanks, Mike.  Just having a little fun dodging lightning bolts.  Great sport!  (Between you and me, though, bet on the house over the long term.)

--Lannie

I love it!  The light on the road just makes this shot. It's in my favorites folder now.

Thanks, Diane.  Sometimes God just drops a shot in your lap, and you know it's there even before you take the camera home and download the file.

--Lannie

Niiiice!  I love the light shining through on that little piece of the road..leading you right into a storm~  Great post processing!

Thank you, Janis.  I love your latest work.

--Lannie

Lannie:

Hi, I think that I like the B&W best.  I do think the original was well framed, and the clouds are interesting. Tom

Thanks, Tom.  I do believe that it is worth reworking, especially in some black and white variations.

--Lannie

Thanks, Les.  I think it could.

--Lannie

I think a newer version of Photoshop would get the exif info.  Adobe wants to force you to buy it.  File info in the system finder will probably get it for you.  best, j