We saw this thunderstorm developing out over the water while doing some work on the boat. Only problem was I didn’t have my camera with me! We’ve been having daily thunderstorms for almost two weeks now but this one seemed different.
First, most of the thunderstorms had been at night and this one was late afternoon. Second, the sky was getting very dramatic for a good part of the afternoon. Tall clouds kept stretching higher and broader across the western sky. We decided to head back to the coach to grab the camera gear and see if we could get back in time. Looking in the rear view mirror on the drive to the coach was frustrating because the sky kept getting more and more interesting and I had no camera! By the time we grabbed the camera gear and were almost back to the beach it looked like we had missed it. The bright sunlight was gone and had been replaced by dark gray skies.
We decided to continue on to the beach anyway since we were almost there. It’s a good thing we did because once we arrived we could see this immense roll cloud forming out over the lake. I parked the Jeep and started setting up. The storm front was moving fast so I didn’t have much time to pick a composition. The dune grass created a foreground element and created some depth and scale for the image. I then just tried to get as much sky into the image as I could and still balance the roll cloud with the foreground.
We stayed and watched it come ashore and I took a number of images as it progressed. This stage of the storm was what I liked best and had the most dramatic sky. We packed up the gear just as it started sprinkling. It turned out to be a pretty mild storm with little wind and only moderate rain. You sure couldn’t tell by the way it rolled in. It looked like we were going to get hammered. It’s hard to see in this low resolution image but there was a sailboat running hard to make it into port before this thing hit.
Storms can be great photography subjects. They’re unpredictable and they often produce some dramatic skies. Getting out as the storm develops can yield some wonderful images. Just remember to bring your camera!
Nikon D810 with Rokinon 14mm. f/8 at 1/50 sec. ISO 64
