Monday, August 30, 2010

(Day 242) Evening thunderstorm

We had a rather hot and sunny day (33C/92F) - a last summer fling before temperatures inevitably start cooling again. While I was doing some late day lawn mowing I noticed that a thunderhead was starting to obscure the sun. I didn't think much more of it as I headed out for a bit of a photo-shoot this evening, not quite sure what I might find. I kept an eye on the sky though as I drove west - the thunderhead had grown larger, and with the late day sun was taking on some interesting colours. Suddenly the skies opened and large drops were dashed against the windshield. And just as suddenly they stopped - an intense 30 second downpour!

I pulled over to the side of the road to capture the sun coming around the clouds. After a few shots I continued my journey and soon passed some baseball diamonds - the players hadn't stopped their games for the brief outburst. I parked near the diamonds and watched as the storm clouds roiled in the evening sky. Other than a few flashes of lightning and rolling thunder, it appeared that the storm's fury was short-lived.

(all shots were made with a 10-22mm lens at ISO800; aperture varied from f8 to f11 and shutter speeds from 1/800 sec to 1/80 sec)

taken just after the brief downpour

the clouds gathered towards the east
the setting sun reflected off the clouds
after about an hour, the thunderhead had consolidated and was heading east

26 comments:

Chad said...

Rick they are all great sunset photos. My favorite is the next to the last. We also have had some wild weather,on my way to work this morning the clouds parted revealing snow on the tops. I guess fall really in the air.

Unknown said...

Rick - these are captivating and beautiful. I can feel the peace radiating from my computer. ;o)

I love those rapid storms - we don't get them very often at all here so I love them when we do.

darlin said...

Fantastic photos Rick, my favorite is the same as Chad's, the second last one.

It's funny how the ballplayers didn't even bother to stop the game, now that's some serious ball players. They must have been little league and having too much fun! :-)

marty said...

hello great shots - I send you some big bisous from berlin

becky said...

Beautiful skies, Rick. I'm a huge sky watcher... weather produces such interesting skies! I particularly love the 2nd one.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

The pure gold of the sun and those clouds,what a spectacular sight.Scenes like this cause me to worship our God.
Blessings,Ruth

What Karen Sees said...

Lovely skies, beautiful warm colors. The second is my favorite in this series.

Hope said...

love the tone of the clouds in the last photo..
you do amazing work..

Carolyn Ford said...

What fabulous colors and the second to the last is composed so perfectly! That one is something special!

Levi said...

Love these colors. Amazing shots and amazing to be able to witness such beauty.

Rick said...

@Chad - thanks Chad. Oh oh - there's that 4-letter word - SNOW! ;-) Must have been a pretty sight though - were you able to capture it ?

Rick said...

@Krista - if you're feeling warm all over, I don't think that's peace - you're too close to your computer ! ;-) LOL

Thanks Krista . It was over with in a hurry but the clouds lingered for quite a while.

Rick said...

@darlin - thanks Darlene - it was a spectacular evening! And the baseball games were being played by the ladies !! Now THAT's dedication.

Teté M. Jorge said...

SHOW!
Cheers!
Kisses.

Scott Law said...

Wow, these are beautiful and it's not even Sunday. It's really hard to resist getting and posting awesome shots like these no matter what day it is.

Rick said...

@marty - danke marty - alles gut ? Merci pour toutes les bisous!! Beaucoup de bisous pour tu aussi !

Und Guten Tag!

Rick said...

@becky - thank you Becky; it was an awesome evening to be out to watch this - the colours blew me away!

Rick said...

@Ruth's Photo Blog - thanks Ruth. I think you would like Brian Doerksen's song "Creation Calls" if you're not already familiar with it.

Rick said...

@Karen - thank you Karen, and thanks for stopping by!

Rick said...

@Hope - thanks for coming by, following, and leaving your kind comment. I likewise checked out your blog - beautiful work there! Feel free to come by again.

Rick said...

@Carolyn Ford - thank you Carolyn. Only the Master Painter could have created this.

Rick said...

@Janell - thank you Janell - right place, right time - not my doing (see quote in my profile).

imac said...

These shots and wonderful Rick, so colourful.

Rick said...

@imac - thanks mac; it was definitely a sight to behold!

S. Etole said...

The colors in these are stunning.

Katherine said...

Glorious Golden sunset ... so warm & so beautiful. The photos are magnifico Rick!