Arizona Golden Monsoon

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
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Critique Style Requested: Initial Reaction

Please share your immediate response to the image before reading the photographer’s intent (obscured text below) or other comments. The photographer seeks a genuinely unbiased first impression.

Questions to guide your feedback

What is your initial reaction, and how does the reaction change/what do you notice/ as you view this image for a little bit longer?

Other Information

Please leave your feedback before viewing the blurred information below, once you have replied, click to reveal the text and see if your assessment aligns with the photographer. Remember, this if for their benefit to learn what your unbiased reaction is.

Image Description

Just got back from chasing the Arizona monsoons for a week. I live in Arizona, but have never spend that much time just taking this incredible act of nature in.

Sure, I had noticed the cloud formations before, those are hard to miss. But during this time I learned how to read and interpret the cloud development, where to expect rain and lightning to fall, but above all else, I learned a whole new appreciation for the way light magically changes, enhances and highlights the shape, textures and lines, not just within the clouds, but the landscape and the falling rain as well.

This particular storm just blew me away. The more I let my eyes wander around the scene, the more I saw. The bright golden clouds at the top, the falling rain, stunningly lit, the beautiful rainbow, the magnificent golden light as the day was nearing its end.

I guess what I am trying to say, this was such a good reminder of slowing down and enjoy the moment. The goal of the workshop was to capture lightning. As my lightning trigger wasn’t working, I decided to enjoy the moment, take a couple of images, but primarily admire this fantastic display od beauty, and force, put on by Mother Nature. I’m actually glad the lightning trigger wasn’t working…

Technical Details

1/200sec, f/10, ISO800, 16.5mm (14-24 lens)

Specific Feedback

Any feedback welcomed.

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My first reaction is Wow - High Drama! The warm tones of the clouds are in contrast to what I assume is their threatening nature (although Arizonans probably are quite happy to have the monsoons roll in this year), which is interesting. After admiring the sky, I notice the tiny little signs of humanity (looks to be a water tank) on the horizon. Noticing the water tank doesn’t change my initial reaction which was about the drama and energy that Mother Nature hands out.

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Perfect! To me, this photo embodies the sheer power of Mother Nature. The warm tones in this image are amplified by the dust storm coming in from the left, with the sunlight bouncing off of the sand/dust.

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First reaction is WOW. Very dramatic. Love the bits of light on the lower clouds. Very beautiful. But when I look at it further, to my eye anyway, it looks like the best parts are kind of getting lost. I love that part at the bottom, with the rain burst on the left and the rainbow on the right. I wonder what cropping off the top third (and a little off the left and right) might look like? (I’m using my hands as a makeshift frame :grin:) Maybe the mountains in the back would be a bit more prominent too if it was cropped?
Unless of course you were going for the big expansive shot . If so, then, it’s perfect!

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Thank you for your feedback, Barbara! I actually struggled with the crop; from my point, I wanted to show the sheer grandeur of this event, but I also felt that the rain downpoor, as well as the rainbow were getting lost, yet I did not want to lose the stunning clouds towards the top. After playing with the crop, I settled on a square crop. thoughts? Really appreciate the feedback!

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You know Fritz, its totally up to you. This is all very subjective. But you’ve got those beautiful mountains in the back that I’m still afraid they get lost in the image.

And me, I’m a big fan of the crop. I don’t always see “the forest for the trees” when I’m in the field, so I sometimes heavily crop images after I get home (I don’t print much so IG doesn’t care if I crop. lol)

I guess years ago, before I had a long lens, I couldn’t always reach as far as I’d like so I just cropped to make it do what I wanted. I haven’t lost that fear of losing pixels :grin:, even though I generally always use my 100-400.

Anyway, I was thinking a bit more like this. Its a pretty heavy crop. But this way you still get a few of the lit up clouds, but everything else is so much more visible now.

Like I said, it’s such a personal preference. You may want the rest of those clouds. You shot it, you were there, this is your baby, you do what you like with it. This is just another option. Good luck!

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I think this is a wonderful image! It takes me a while to find the rainbow, which is good – then I feel rewarded for looking more closely.

Cropping: a choice, of course. I’d hate to lose the interesting dimmer clouds on the left that encircle the brighter ones, and would hate to crop from the top. The details in the land being so small just emphasizes the grandeur of the clouds. There is a natural curving line in the clouds (two of them, in parallel) that leads to the rainbow. A little might be sacrificed from the right… maybe.

It might be good to think in terms of reducing contrast in the neutral lighter clouds in the lower left. That might keep the eye from being pulled to the left, away from the more subtle details that really make the image special.

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Fritz, this is very dramatic…a fine use of the end of the day light. To me, most of the “action” is in the right hand 2/3 rds, where the warm light is adding a nice glow to the clouds and rain. I like the amount of land, with its mix of flats, tree line and mountains.

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Hi Fritz,

My initial reaction was one of very fearful emotions, this immediately made me think of a situation where I thought that my life was about to end.
I got stuck between two storm systems that appeared to be merging as I was flying a single engine four seat airplane solo on a trip across the plains in central Oklahoma, the weather forecast wasn’t accurate to say the least (this was back in the late 80s only a couple of years after getting my pilot’s license).

As part of my initial training I took some classes in meteorology as part of my awareness of aviation weather for trip planning purposes and for general safety, so, I understand some of the patterns in cloud formations along with temperatures at the surface and aloft, wind directions, speeds, etc. (most of which I need major refreshers on!).

I managed to find a suitable emergency landing strip which was just a straight and smooth dirt road out in the middle of a huge field. After I landed and shut everything down, I noticed that the clouds began to break up and the rain began to diminish.
As things progressed, I saw a rainbow at the edge of the rain band, my memory of that scene is extremely similar like this image!!
I saw the rainbow and everything passed it as a safe zone at the edge of an angry sky!

As I was studying the sky I noticed a farm truck racing toward me, turns out that the owner of the land saw me go down and he rushed out to see if I was OK and to see if I needed help which was very much appreciated. I did make a radio call to the local towered airport to let them know that I was about to make an emergency landing and I reported back when I was safely on the ground so they wouldn’t send out S&R teams.
I remember praising the owner of the land on the smoothness of the road! :slight_smile:

This entire event was proof to me that all those hours spent doing the same emergency procedures over and over was time very well spent! I was scared but my training kicked in without even thinking about it, it was second nature and that saved the day for me.

It’s amazing how an image can spark a memory from so many years ago!

I think it’s obvious for me that I wouldn’t change a thing about this image!
To me, you know an image is a success when it stirs emotions in the viewer.

Sorry for the long story about my experience and how this image conjured up a memory that hadn’t been front and center in my head for decades!

The storm chasing workshop scenario sounds like a lot of fun to me! :slight_smile:
Maybe you need to have an electrician/doctor have a look at your malfunctioning lightning trigger! :laughing:

Awesome image, Fritz! :slight_smile:

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@ Bonnie Lampley, @Barbara Livieri, @Diane Miller, @Mark_Anderson2 Seaver, @
Mervin Rosenquist, Thank you all for taking the time to comment on this image. I chuckled a bit as I read all the great feedback, as it sounded like all the thoughts in my head at one point or another as I was working on this image.

Cropping the image quite a bit does bring out the rainbow, the mountains and the downpour; eliminating the brighter clouds and/or toning them down would eliminate or lessen them as a distraction; cropping the image a bit from the right does bring more attention to the rest of the scene. I don’t think I have ever cropped an image in so many different ways.

Yet, as I step back from the image, transport myself back to the very moment I was there, it is the original image that, to me, tells the whole story. The brighter clouds on the lower left might be a bit distracting, but that is what it looked like. It conveys, at least to me, how powerful these storms are as they roll in, how they obscure the sky within minutes, sometimes seconds, and yet how the light still manages to break through in places. Cropping the image also would lessen the impact of the sandstorm pulling in from the right, parts of it catching the light, parts of it adding to the encroaching darkness. So in short, after dancing around Lightroom with different crops and adjustments, I returned to the original image; it might/does have some technical weaknesses, but, at least to me, it is the one that conveys the actual moment best.

Right after I took this image, the sky opened up, huge raindrops pelting down on us; that, combined with the force of the sandstorm, made us do a mad dash for the car. I’m just glad I was not flying a plane in this storm (Mervin :slightly_smiling_face:)

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As I’m sure is the case with most photographers, having our images elicit some sort of reaction and/or emotion is the most rewarding part of sharing our work; so it was great to hear you tell your story, and how this image managed to evoke all those thoughts, feelings and emotions in you, Mervin.

Thank you for taking the time to share that adventure; in an odd way I felt as if I lived that moment through your wonderful story. Thank you!

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Thanks, Fritz,

I hesitated to write about my experience for fear that it might sound too dramatic but then I thought about how much I would have enjoyed hearing the details of how one of my images may have impacted someone else. I tried not to include details that weren’t relevant.

BTW, I had a good laugh when you commented that you were glad that you weren’t flying during your visit to this stormy spot! :laughing:

Thanks again and I appreciate the fact that you explored the different edit/crop ideas and ultimately decided that the original version best represented the experience you had while you were there in person!

I appreciate your work! :slight_smile:

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Really glad you shared the story, Melvin! I much rather have one of my images make an impression on someone, than to get a 1,000 likes on any social media platform.

I’m trying to spend more time on NPN. Just checked out your work. Really nice images.

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Thank you, Fritz! :slight_smile:

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