"Dark and stormy" doesn't tell the story. Shooting the tail end of sunset while a massive storm moved in, I drove to four different locations, of which this was the last. By then the storm had overtaken me. The lightning strikes were farther away, and big raindrops were beginning to spatter my windshield. I had no idea that in a few minutes I would be creeping home along the rural two-lane highway, barely able to see beyond my car's hood through the sheets of rain.
I managed only two shots from this spot before the skies opened up. This wasn't the image I was hoping for, but it's chock-full of atmosphere - literally and figuratively.
This marks the start of a short set of square images. Sometimes square is the best choice. I don't always know that in the field, and so I always shoot full frame horizontal or vertical, but often I am envisioning a square crop. Truthfully, though, that wasn't the case here. I could barely see to frame my shot; I have processed it much, much lighter than it appeared in real life.
Tech data: 24mm manual focus lens (from 1981), tripod set up inside car, cable release, f/8 or thereabouts, shutter on "B". Focus, if possible, open the shutter, wait for a lightning strike. Give up.
Photographed off Hwy 18, near the turnoff to Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2022 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
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