Sunday, May 22, 2011

Appearances

A few evenings ago the cloud formations promised an opportunity to capture a sunset. We hadn't seen many sunsets lately due to the copious rainfall. The sky far to the north of us contained ominous-looking clouds, but they seemed to be moving to the east, and above us we had mainly blue sky streaked with a few high clouds. I made a number of shots and finally went indoors thinking that towns to the north of us were in for a good thunderstorm - lightning lit the sky and distant thunder could be heard. The lightning persisted, however, and the thunder became louder and more frequent. Within the hour we were hit with a torrential downpour which superseded any we'd had in the past weeks. I'm beginning to understand where the expression 'out of the blue' came from.

(10-22mm  f8.0  1/80 sec  ISO200)


26 comments:

Ruth Hiebert said...

That sky is amazing.

Michelle said...

A great capture. Such wonderful light and shapes in this sky shot.

Scott Law said...

Very beautiful. Way to go.

Carolyn Ford said...

wow...that's a keeper, Rick! beautiful!

Dagmar said...

I love skies like this...and thunderstorms...brrrr hate those.
Give me the shivers everytime. Almost like I'm going throught this electrical field.
Happy times Rick,
Dagmar

darlin said...

I love your shot Rick, those clouds sure are threatening looking but the sun peeking is what makes this photo so amazing! We're experiencing the same torrential downpour here, no worries, we need the rain! Even after the crazy making amount of snow we experienced this winter it dried right up with the winds we had.

Have a great week Rick!

becky said...

Absolutely beautiful!
:)

Marty said...

quel merveilleux ciel, les couleurs sont fantastiques !!
je te souhaite une très belle semaine et je t'envoie plein de bisous !

imac said...

The sky is the most amazing subject to photograph, you miss a shot and you will never get the chance to capture it again.

Elizabeth Grimes said...

Awe inspiring capture. Almost looks like 2 different suns, one on top and one on bottom. Really stunning. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

I have a proof that we are the same people and live under the same umbrella :-)

Awesome pic, Rick :-)

Greetz,


Joseph

Jenny Woolf said...

What a great shot, love the way that ray of light shoots out and illuminates the nearest cloud. Wow!

magda said...

The storms come so suddenly ...
Excellent photo with the sunset, Rick!
Many greetings

pumpkydine said...

Very nice capture! I agree with Elizabeth! It makes you look twice to see if there are two suns. What other subject can give so many different views and never become boring?

Anonymous said...

Nice

Leovi said...

A really lovely sky with these excellent warm tones. Magnificent. Very good picture.

Saz said...

What a gorgeous sunset! With beautiful colours! Well done on this shot. (:

S. Etole said...

magnificent colors ...

Rick said...

Thank you, Ruth !

Thanks Farmchick; those 'shapes' formed up and dumped on us a little later ;-)

Thank you kindly, Scott.

Thanks Carolyn; did I say I love sunsets ?

Hi Dag - thanks for dropping by, and your lovely comment; yes, thunderstorms can be dangerous - you won't find me outside in one (ik kom gauw 'op bezoek').

Thank you, Darlene ! Yes, I'm all too familiar with the Alberta winds - the dust starts blowing 30 minutes after a hard rain ;-)

Rick said...

Thank you, Becky !

Merci Marty (I must say that my French has improved a lot - reading, that is - thanks to your posts and comments !). I also wish a wonderful week for you, and send you sunny bisous !!

Totally true Stewart (fortunately you get to try again the next day - but, never the same shot !).

Thanks Elizabeth - yes, the rays got projected onto the clouds at the top - really caught my eye.

A remarkable coincidence ... brother ! (And I've never even been there, Joseph !). Thank you, and I compliment you on your photo !

Thank you very much Jenny - both for your visit and your kind comment ! Feel free to come again.

Rick said...

Thank you, Magda ! Yes, storms come up suddenly - also in our lives.

I agree Randy - the master painter paints and we have only to see and capture !

Thanks for visiting and commenting, Me.

Gracias, Leovi !

Thank you Saz - so easy to do when it's right there before you ! ;-)

We are agreed Susan !

Anonymous said...

LoL! That's what happened here yesterday... it came right 'out of the blue'!

Soraia said...

Gorgeous sunset!

Jeanne Frances Klaver said...

The light carries my eye right up through the clouds. What a great capture!

Here I Am Carrie said...

Very beautiful Rick, I call these God's clouds. Just love the lighting.

Rick said...

Yes - they sneak right up on you Tricia !

Thanks Soraia !

Thank you Jeanne - and right in our backyard !

I agree Carrie - reminds me of the refrain in 'These Are the Days of Elijah' (Robin Mark).