Monsoon Sunset, a photo from Arizona, West

Photographer's Note

Taking a side step from Salt Lake because I figured this was a better fit to follow up on my last post. Just when I thought Arizona’s monsoon season had essentially come to an end, it decided to stick around a bit longer. Although there may be nothing more than dust, debris and high winds at times, the clouds and light that come about at the end of the day can become quite amazing.

I had to go a long way to get this particular shot….the back yard! :) I was actually in the processing of writing some critiques last week when I decided to go and get a drink from the kitchen. Since I had the blinds closed while I was working on the computer, I didn’t notice how colorful the sky had become as a storm was brewing on the horizon.

Nothing more than a polarized filter was used for these shots, “Mother Nature” took over the rest of the color pallet. I did try to brighten it up some, but the digital noise in the blue portions of the sky became far too evident unfortunately!? As you can see in this main post, the moon was trying to get a jump start on the evening and was already making itself visible.

Thanks for stopping by!

krzychu30, ikeharel, timecapturer, mirosu, No_One, danos, EstudioChispa, macjake, Cricri, nikkitta has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

krzychu30 (15512) 2013-08-25 0:33

Hi Jason,
you´re right-Mother Nature can create really wonderful spectacles and amaze us from time to time.
Minimalistic,but showing us beauty of the nature in its purest form.Just the beautifully illuminated cloud formations and the Moon far in the distance-magnificent juxtaposition!
Sometimes it is good to look out the window,than just to look at a computer screen.Ok maybe not necessarily when you´re in Cologne right now and it´s raining:)I´m back to my computer.Maybe it works only in Arizona?:)

Thanks for sharing this spectacular picture!
Have a nice sunday
Krzysztof

ikeharel (98874) 2013-08-25 0:54

Hi Jason,
Well collected the developed storm clouds.
It's scientific name is Comulonimbos, water saturated and electrically charged.
The golden light made a beautiful contrast against the blue and grey colors.
Have a nice sunday,
Ike

lousat (121125) 2013-08-25 1:51

Hi Jason,a beautiful peinture made by clouds,sky and lights and whit the moon as the cherry on the cake,not easy to take so well this spectacle,you caught at the best this opportunity,perfect exposure and great details,i like it!Have a nice Sunday and thanks,Luciano

marabu61 (11587) 2013-08-25 2:35

Hello Jason
Isn't nature sometimes the best painter? Stunning cloud formation, rendered even more impressive by the beautiful light here. Your polarizer has accentuated the colors beautifully.
have a great sunday
Daniel

Royaldevon (64434) 2013-08-25 3:00

Hello Jason,

Mother Nature is our friend and can usually offer the most unbelievable opportunities for photography. This is a prime example! You can almost sense the movement of the clouds as they form and billow, swirling around the sky. The colours are exceptional and little patches of light help to create their sense of depth.

Have a great Sunday,
Bev :-)

timecapturer (49288) 2013-08-25 3:00

Hello Jason
love this! A simple glimpse of the heavens and our satellite, but full of romanticism and glorious light. I just love looking at the sky and how it can take on so much character and colour in so many different ways. It is so inspiring and makes you realise that we are so small in the grand scheme of things.

Enjoy your Sunday - Brian.
"Late for the Sky" - my hero Jackson Browne's finest hour. Now you know why it inspires me so much, JB writes about it all the time. B.

mirosu (16313) 2013-08-25 4:10

Hi Jason,
This is a superb combination with the dramatic clouds and nice clear sky with nice half-moon. I like the nice clouds color and the very good contrast against dark blue sky. Outstanding image. Wish you a nice Sunday and an excellent week ahead. Greetings, Miro

Sergiom (115736) 2013-08-25 5:44

Bonjour Jason

Une composition des plus belles et des plus difficiles à accomplir, surtout en ce qui concerne faire le focus sur des nuages. La lune est belle au sommet et les nuages vont chercher de belles teintes de rose.

Bon dimanche

Serge

ktanska (36445) 2013-08-25 9:35

Hi Jason,
Awesome colours of wet clouds on warm afternoon light. The moon is of course a good addition.
Regarding your note, I wonder if you had already saved this image to compressed file size when you tried brightening this? I mean file size is just 42 kb. While image looks good, this much compressed jpg cannot really handle extra editing well anymore.
Kari

No_One (4) 2013-08-25 10:25

Hi Jason,

Your back garden? Wow. It's rare to see a display of the heavens like this, so you must grin like a Cheshire cat when it happens right above you. To be honest when I seen this, I got the feeling that it was taken from quite high up, and once again began to imagine that you must surely have one of tho balloon chairs.

It's an amazing effect that the lower part of the frame has that turbulent dark and creepy cloud effect, while up above the clear blue sky and bright moon. I think I can see the little kid from the dreamworks movie company sitting there with his fishing rod. I wonder what he catches? Hmmm, we may be onto a conclusion for the Bermuda triangle.

Sorry, I digress :) fine shot, beautiful colors. Thanks as always for sharing.

Cheers from the green rock.
Noel

rbassin (27404) 2013-08-25 10:30

hello Jason
une superbe photo, nuages, couleurs et présence de la lune.Très beau résultat.
Bonne soirée
Roland

limielski (0) 2013-08-25 13:35

Hi Jason!

Amazing shapes of clouds, Wonderful colours and lights... and the Moon which gives an additional charm - superb shot!

Warm regards,
Leszek

fabbs99 (17179) 2013-08-25 20:03

Hello Jason,

Great timing to capture the moon and the clouds together.Creative and unique composition.Excellent composition, very well done, TFS.

Cheers
Farhat

danos (110395) 2013-08-26 0:37

Hello Andrew,
excellent the view of the colourful clouds formations with the beauty as the contrast of the colours to are superb.The light management is perfect.

Regards,Danos

macjake (92637) 2013-08-27 7:45

Hi Jason
sorry for being slow in getting to your photos!!

so here we have another Mother Nature shot!
and i had to chuckle a bit to myself when i viewed the WS photo, i recognized the South West architecture of Arizona/Nevada/New Mexico instantly! Its un-mistakable!

as for this photo, you did a marvelous job. If we spend the time, looking at the moon we can actually see the grey areas and the white areas - that means its well exposed. Most shots of the moon are completely white hot, overblown white balls of fire in the sky. But in yours we can see different color variations, well done my friend!!

a simple shot of the clouds can looks so beautiful, but in reality its not so simple to take - you did awesome to get this one to come out looking like this.

cheers
craig

Cricri (176) 2013-08-27 10:02

Hi Jason ( en anglais)
Un ciel vraiment magnifique, ou la lumière filtre les nuages, une partie du ciel encore bleu avec en bonus la lune, beau moment et réalisation au top
Belle soirée
cricri (en Français ):-)

daddo (28698) 2013-08-28 5:57

hi Jason. You are my sort of person as you like to play with light. Great towering clouds,a sense of movement and superb light and colours.Nature's own stained glass windows on a majestic scale. Best regards. Klaudio.

nikkitta (17070) 2013-08-29 16:30

Hola Jason

Nature if people look at it is always interesting to watch, I imagine your surprise to find such a beautiful sky just going out of your house

You composed a creative capture with great technique
But the star of the capture, so to speak, is the moon
Interesting note, good frame
Congrats
Maria