where earth meets the sky Photo

Photographer’s Note

not to overburden you with too many abstracts in one go (yes, there will be more), I present you a moment of sky falling down in southwestern Utah. it was late afternoon and we were going back to Cedar City, having spent a wonderful day exploring the tiny backroads from Cedar City to Zion Canyon National Park (I have this photo from that day, Kristaps also has several posts), when the storm that had been following us the whole day decided to come down and take a closer look. there was no rain, no thunder, just the most amazing cloud formations that I've ever seen. this is one of them.

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RAW, ISO 125, 36mm focal length, spot metering.

Royaldevon, belido, subhendu_bagchi, bostankorkulugu, hispic, plimrn, adores, mikolaj_kawa has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Greg1949 (8507) 2009-09-08 5:58

Kristine, wonderful illumination in this one the trees and the clouds seem to have their own light sources. Great rich colors and the mixture of textures and lines works well as a composition.

Greg

janneman (1210) 2009-09-08 5:58

What a dramatic sky above those trees!
The light in the trees is magnificent.
TFS Kristine!

Royaldevon (5920) 2009-09-08 6:23

Hello Kristine,

You are right; this is an amazing sight and an amazing shot. It's like the story of 'Chicken Licken'!
I like the way that you have composed this, with the main attention on the sky and using the land as a context for the clouds.
The whole scene is so dramatic!

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

loriath (119) 2009-09-08 6:43

Hi there Kristine!
At first thumbnail drew my attention and made me click... Viewing this photo now... Well, I must admit there is no landscape I actually expected when clicking the thumbnail, but... the sky is just dramatically devastating! It's good tried including some ground, because without it this shot would probably be of less value. To sum up - I wish there was some interesing landscape, but seeing the sky makes me forget about it :)

mortijo (12190) 2009-09-08 7:08

This is an amaing, disturbing sky. The tree in the foreground seem to be illuminated.
Wonderful shot.
John

yquem46 (7842) 2009-09-08 7:12

Hi Kristine
Nice to have you back, ooks like you've been away for quite sometime now!
Nice shot of beautiful aspen landscape with a gorgeous dramatic sky of Utah, a part of the USA that i like so much, as it looks like you do too
regards
patrick

belido (16387) 2009-09-08 7:26

Hi Kristine,

love those cloudy skies, specially when you have the land is well illuminated. It creates a nice contrast, very pleasant to look. Good composition and adjustments.
Regards,
Carlos

baba_flies (7975) 2009-09-08 8:20

Hello Kristine! Yes the sky, it seems to fall down on us as you describe it, a little scary what it has inside, if you have to run or if it is nothing to worry about at all. You are such a great composer, Kristine, just this slice of forest in the foreground with some sunlight ... and a great picture comes out, something special, something to look twice maybe before you see the true beauty but knowing your handwriting we know before we open that it must be good. It is good. Have a great working day, mine ends in like five minutes or so ... Barbara.

LOOOK13 (2774) 2009-09-08 8:54

Salut.Tu as su attendre le moment magique.Quels nuages extras.Une netteté àcouper le souffle et des couleurs angoissante.Bravo.

Wandering_Dan (3213) 2009-09-08 9:52

Hi, Kristine -

Please DO "burden" us with more abstracts - that's part of the fun of photography!

A powerful photo here - abstract or not - and great handling of the light. Good choice also to give the bulk of the frame to the sky; all of the pieces here are dramatic. The diagonal bit of road on the right completes it.

Best,
Dan

Bartleby (4836) 2009-09-08 12:38

Hi Kristine,
this sky is tougher than words! Wow!

Philippe

MarianneS (14264) 2009-09-08 12:39

Hi Kristine,
You captured a beautiful sky! So much details in these clouds!! As you say in your note, it is completely amazing!
The light on the ground creates beautiful contrasts, very well done!
Marianne

subhendu_bagchi (3035) 2009-09-08 12:48

Namaste Kristine,
beautiful looking clouds are almost touching the ground. Very good detail of the clouds. The clouds creat well contrast with the brighter land. Well seen and well captured. Tfs. Have a great time.
Subhendu

pauloog (6436) 2009-09-08 13:26

Hello Kristine,
The sunlit trees with their white stripes contrast so well with the fabulous sky, coming down to kiss the earth.
Regards,
Paul

bostankorkulugu (33520) 2009-09-08 15:31

i dont know how you did it but this one looks 3D for sure kristine... i can even swear that the clouds move with the wind...

hispic (7399) 2009-09-08 20:09

Labrīt Kristine,
It's definitely amazing cloud formations seen rarely. You have succeeded in rendering them with an exquisite tones having luminous white and rich grey. White trunks of trees glowing in red with the late afternoon sunlight are also very impressive.
Regards, Hisashi

delkoo (34264) 2009-09-09 4:07

I really love the soft light on the trees and the dark clouds, Composition is perfect and there is a great atmosphere here.

didier

BennyV (4646) 2009-09-09 7:05

Hello Kristine,

Excellent light management (spotless spot metering) to bring out those trees - yes, they are big! - under that playful, yet threatening, dark, yet colourful sky. You said there were more?

Benny

dkeus31 (26160) 2009-09-09 11:12

Hi Kristine
good light on the trees, the dark sky is the perfect photogenic companion!
take care
didier

cherryripe (18973) 2009-09-09 11:38

Hi Kristine
What a fantastic light. Furthermore the clouds look as though they are reeking havoc. I like the low horizon.
Regards
Nikki

rikko77 (6044) 2009-09-10 1:11

Incredible sky, Christine! Yes it really seems to come down to the ground. A moment you caught perfectly, with beautiful colors.
Have a nice day,
Rikk

AiresSantos (41990) 2009-09-10 5:55

Hi Kristine
Amazing cludy sky, wonderful light and colours
It's a fine composition with great details
TFS and have a nice day
Aires

brandstaetter (14076) 2009-09-10 12:11

Nice touch down :)
and the pic is perfectly balanced, colours..exposure...proportions.
Cheers Chris

clio (22613) 2009-09-10 14:05

Hi Kristine,
Fantastic! The contrasts of light are exceptional and your composition which leaves a so large part for the sky is perfectly thought and proportionned.
Great artistic shot!
Brava!
Diane

gneufeld (15169) 2009-09-10 18:16

Hi Kristine,
A compelling image with deep rich colors - I especially like the blue patch in the sky upper left. Great evening light on the trees in the foreground. TFS. Gerald

patdeph (17784) 2009-09-14 7:05

hello Kristine
the sky is here really impressive,it's incredibly low,and its beauty comes from the splendid contrasts of luminosity inside the clouds,and the blue at the left!The light in the tree is wonderful too!Magnificent!
Regards
Pascale

danyy (68628) 2009-09-16 22:42

Bonjour Kristine,
je suis un grand amoureux des ciels et à ce titre et bien j'adore celui-ci avec ses contrastes très poussés et cette lumière sur les arbres lui permettent d'encore mieux ressortir.
Elle a sa place dans mes favorites.
Amicalement.
Daniel.

plimrn (19602) 2009-09-17 16:33

Hi Kristine,
That IS a dramatic cloud formation and the sunlight on the trees adds even more drama making your title perfect.
HLJ, Pat

gunbud (27801) 2009-09-21 16:29

Hi Kristine,
Wonderful dramatic silver blue sky with a bit of brilliant blue sneaking out at the top.
The foreground stand of trees provides contrasting colors and makes an excellent lead-in to this fantastic sky.
Regards, Tom

adores (15493) 2009-09-29 16:03

Hi Kristine!
What an incredible sky! Really dramatic and powerful. I especially like the contrast it makes wit the light reflecting on the "small" trees. A very good moment, very well captured!

mikolaj_kawa (29959) 2009-10-29 0:19

Hello Kristine! Amazing landscape. Mysterious sky. Wonderful forest. Good long perspective. Original composition. Perfect colours. Superb shot. Well done!

Angshu (33619) 2009-11-11 20:04

Hello Kristine
The light that filters through the clouds, in my opinion, makes this scene a beauty. Wonderful exposure on the clouds, not a spec of OE despite wide variances in tone. I especially like the cloud in the far right, that bunch of luminous cocooned by dark clouds and the ones above the row of trees which look like waves...or is it that my imagination is running a bit wild? Fine work!
Best Regards
Angshu

Photo Information

Copyright: Kristine KM (avene) (10944)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-05-26
Categories: Nature, Decisive Moment
Camera: Nikon D 200, Nikkor 18-200 3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR, Nikon CircPolar II 72mm
Exposure: f/9.5, 1/250 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2009-09-08 5:39
Favorites: 1 [view]