Monsoon Mayhem

Another image from a favorite cloud-watching location. We’ve had an active monsoon season in Tucson this year and lots of different clouds.

This was meant to be a black and white image since it appeared nearly colorless when I took it, but the hints of color in the clouds seemed to work, so I stuck with color.

Specific Feedback Requested

It’s relatively easy to add extra drama to scenes like this, but I decided to keep it a little softer, sort of an @Ed_McGuirk look, maybe. I think it still does the light justice, but would be interested in some other opinions.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No

3 Likes

To my eye this has a good amount of drama. I am hearing thunder and rain while looking at this image.

I love the brooding color. The clouds are like an inverted curving stream that leads me back beyond the mountain. The brighter area top center imparts a swirling motion to the already-dynamic clouds.

This is very nice.
Nice and simple.

Really love all the detail and soft nuances you got on those clouds.

Dynamic, interesting and beautiful.

Impressive looking clouds for sure, Tony. I could see this as a B&W also, but I am very much enjoying the hints of color in those attention grabbing storm clouds along with the way they fan out across the sky. Lots of drama here.

I agree that there is all the drama one could want here.

For me it’s the steel blue color more than the contrast that creates the mood and drama in this image. I tried to re-work this as a B&W, and it was surprisingly difficult to come up with something that even remotely approached the drama of your color version. I also like that you kept the mountains as cool toned as you did, it fits nicely with the overall brooding mood of the image.

Oddly enough, I’m not sure what an “Ed McGuirk look” really is, unless you mean that I like to shoot in overcast light a lot. But the heavy overcast in this scene works beautifully for you here.

Hi Tony, I really like the composition you have here showing just the mountain tops and wonderful cloud formations. I can feel the movement of them and love the way you processed this.