Just gotta' say it...

[Adsos Letter]

...photo group's the best on DU... a haven from the storm...

[ConsAreLiars]

1. The first is amazing.

Most sky/cloud/storm photos look static. A moment. This one feels very active. My first reaction was 'hearing' "I yam commming too geh choo!!!" followed by a ROAR of "REALLY! NOW!"

On the second I like how how the rainbow hits behind the ornate black wall of foliage, but the brightness at the top is distracting. Did you consider cropping out the top half?

And as for this group being a haven. Yes We Is.

[Adsos Letter]

3. Thanks ConsAreLiars!

The brightness in the upper corner is distracting...I messed with several values in my editing software, but that was the best I could do. I also tried cropping, but couldn't find a crop I liked; I may have been taking too much off. Come to think of it, I may mess with isolating that area and adjusting the thresholds...

I have considered swithching from Micrtosoft Digital Image Suite 10 to one of the photoshop programs, but I'm not sure my understanding of the technical side is enough to justify the cost.

[ConsAreLiars]

5. Try a free trial of Picture Windows Pro among the others you may test.

http://dl-c.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=28

The 5.0 version is in Beta and if you run out the 30-free and are interested enough to toss $90 at 4.0, the odds are you will get a free upgrade - or maybe not. But give it a try. The programmer is a photographer who made his $$$ in the early days of Electronics Arts, and took up this project when there was no better alternative.

I use it because at the beginner level (where I still am) it looks and works like a darkroom, but beyond that it does magic for the pros. The version below is just one simple transformation. Menu/Transformation/Gray/Levels and Colors.

[Fumesucker]

7. Actually I kind of like the way the rainbow comes out of the bright area at top left..

It looks like the bright area has "grown" a rainbow reaching toward the earth below.

But then tastes differ, eh?

The one time I didn't have my pocket camera with me a few days ago I saw an amazing lightning display, I was angry with myself for leaving it at home with the chip downloading pics into my computer.. With an 8 gig chip it takes a little while and I fill it up on a fairly regular basis.

And I have to admit I've virtually ceased posting everywhere else on DU, I've had my fill of conflict.

[Johnny Noshoes]

15. "The one time I didn't have my pocket camera with me "

Oh man I know how you feel. Coupla of weeks ago I was waiting for the train on the way to work and what appeared in the sky before me...the most amazing rainbow I've ever seen and NO CAMERA. Top it off it would've been my dad's 82 birthday so it was like he was smiling at me from somewhere over the rainbow.

[Adsos Letter]

18. It was actually a closeup of this monster...

as it rolled over me at the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, on a stop during a coast-to-coast road trip a couple of years ago. Not used to seeing these storm formations in Northern California.

And it was HOT out, also...




Thanks for the info on Picture Window; I intend to give it a shot.

[JeffR]

2. Those are two superlative photos.

And you're so right about this group. It's a haven, an oasis, an education and a virtual social club all rolled up in one.

[Adsos Letter]

4. Thanks JeffR!

They're oldies.

Gotta' love this group: no arguing, no name-calling, no nasty attitudes...and some GREAT photos by so many skilled photographers.

The chance to see the world of others, through their own eyes and interpretations is really a great thing.

[Callalily]

6. I can feel the power

in those clouds and the peace and serenity that the rainbow evokes.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. Beautiful photos.

That cloud is a knockout. It makes me want to dive into a storm cellar. :)

[superconnected]

9. That is one awesome storm cloud!

The rainbow is very nice too.

[Trocadero]

10. How do I fix this storm picture?

[Celebration]

12. I like it like it is, but if you want it stormier looking

In both of these I used adaptive lighting up, brightness down, contrast down, and warmer colors. At least I did that in at least one of them--I think in both. The top one I added some saturation. One is just a lot warmer than the other. However, I'm not sure if I really like these better than yours. They do look more threatening to me.

[Trocadero]

13. thanks - I got those highlights blown out on the clouds and then

I couldn't take them down.

[Celebration]

14. Oh, why not just save it as another name?

I always try to remember to do that. Sometimes I forget, though, and just click save.

[comrade snarky]

11. Love the storm clouds

I miss thunderstorms...

On the CA coast they happen about once every 5 or 6 years and those are meh.
I'd love to see what my grandmother used to call a "West Texas toad strangler". That straight line of advancing, angry gray\black cloud that looks like it's going to cover the world. Lightning flashing behind dark clouds and the boom of thunder getting closer and closer until the sound and light crash at the same instant. It's not close unless the appliances spark!

People here would think it's the apocalypse. :evilgrin:

[Johnny Noshoes]

16. "West Texas toad strangler".

Sounds like a storm I rode through once on a subway ride home from work. The wind was blowing really strong and the rain was coming down so hard it was coming through the closed subway car doors. There were big ol lighting strikes/flashes over Brooklyn it was a hell of a storm - wish I would've had a video camera.

[mth44sc]

17. yep this is DU's safe place

especially during stormy weather...