Lenticular clouds are a favorite and I found these when in Mono Lake Basin in 2011. It was windy as hell, but I didn’t care. Just drove like mad to get to a good vantage point. When we came down that road past the tree I knew this was the place. Used the road as a leading line to the tree, but the clouds are really the stars here. So far as I remember, there wasn’t a storm as a consequence, just some pretty crazy photos.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any feedback is ok. The light was what it was and I’ve reprocessed this to manage it better in the photo. There is room on the bottom showing more road, but since this is for the cloud category I sliced off a little more than I had originally.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Olympus E-30
Zuiko D 12-60mm lens @ 24mm (48mm equiv.)
f/7.1 | 1/800 sec | ISO 200
Handheld in the scrub and wind
Probably a CP filter as well
Lr processed for control of highlights, shadows and texture in those glorious clouds. Reduced clarity and exposure for the ground. Added sharpness and NR overall. Lens correction to reduce vignetting.
Yes, lenticular clouds are wonderful, especially when they’re piled multiple layers deep. It’s good that you have some blue sky around the edges. The foreground adds nicely, especially with the tree and road off to the side.
Thanks everyone. I think I knew at one point that lenticulars weren’t a rain event, but forgot. Thanks for the clarification. They were amazing and took a few hours to build. I have a shot somewhere of them as babies when I was on top of one of the spent craters.
Wonderful, Kristen. Great clarity and detail you’ve gotten in the clouds. And, as @Mark_Seaver mentioned, the road and shrubs add a nice environmental setting. Also, wish I could enlarge the image. . .doesn’t seem to work, at least for me?? Fabulous capture and very nicely executed.
This is an interesting image, Linda. We get plenty of lenticular clouds in the Cascades, but I don’t recall ever seeing them stacked like this. That’s pretty spectacular.
Spectacular looking lenticular clouds for sure, Kristen! I have only witnessed them twice while in the White Mountains of NH, so thanks for posting this. The earthtones of the landscape compliment the blues in the sky beautifully.
Thanks @Ed_Lowe - I’ve seen shots of them from a photographer I follow who works on top of Mt. Washington. They’re always wonderful. I think I have another shot of some from a plane as I was descending into SeaTac. I’ll have to dig it up.
