Skyscapes

**BrianC** · Mar 18 2015, 11:00 PM

Clouds, sunrises and sets, flying things... Perhaps not a thread for the hemmed in by trees lot.

Let's see what you've got!

I'll start it off with a quick shot I took on my way in to work this morning. I'm sure the people behind me love my slightly extended stops, lol

Hot air balloons are a fixture of the Albuquerque skyscape.

a6000/SEL55210 ISO 100 1/250 f9

**dragion** · Mar 19 2015, 12:41 AM

Not sure if this one fits into your described category, but was taken when visiting Walt Disney World: Downtown Disney.

A6000 : SELP18105G : 30mm : f/5.6 : 1/1600sec : ISO100

Air Balloon~Dragion Designs
by dragioniii, on Flickr

**wilmeland** · Mar 19 2015, 05:45 PM

Nice shots guys. Hot air balloons are always fascinating to me. Unfortunately most times when I've seen them, had no camera to capture. Lucille had posted a really nice series last fall.
http://sonyalphalab.com/forums/showt...on-Fiesta-Park

**BrianC** · Mar 19 2015, 10:44 PM

Originally Posted by dragion

Not sure if this one fits into your described category, but was taken when visiting Walt Disney World: Downtown Disney.
(snip)

It fits the category perfectly, dragion. Thank you for the contribution; it is way cool. I had a parenthetical 'land features are fine' clause in the original.

**BrianC** · Mar 19 2015, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by wilmeland

Nice shots guys. Hot air balloons are always fascinating to me. Unfortunately most times when I've seen them, had no camera to capture. Lucille had posted a really nice series last fall.
http://sonyalphalab.com/forums/showt...on-Fiesta-Park

Thanks for reviving Lucille's balloon thread, Willie. She's got those lovely pro shots. This town/MSA/region goes into a frenzy over chile (it gets first billing) and balloons.

**BrianC** · Mar 22 2015, 11:00 AM

I was playing a bit with this shot in LR5 last night, trying different effects and was considering adding it to the B&W Challenge in its B&W incarnation, but after all that, I liked it best straight out of the camera (minus a couple of dust bunnies and a small crop)...

**Lucille** · Mar 23 2015, 09:12 AM

Night time in Picuris New Mexico.

**BrianC** · Mar 23 2015, 10:45 AM

Thanks, Lucille! I love the juxtaposition of light and dark in this shot of Picuris, and those clouds

**wilmeland** · Mar 23 2015, 11:25 PM

Clouds - looking to the east, just before sunset tonight

clouds4066 by Hunter S Catson, on Flickr

**Lucille** · Mar 24 2015, 04:31 AM

I love dramatic clouds....

When shooting, always expose for the sky in manual mode, then bring up the dark areas/shadows in post. I previously unveiled one of my shooting techniques, and that is I always tend to under expose, I feel I get better pop and colors this way, and with the new Sony cameras I get very little noise in the shadows...

Anton Chico New Mexico. Shot with the Sony A7 and Zeiss 16-35mm f/4.0

**BrianC** · Mar 24 2015, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by Lucille

I love dramatic clouds....

When shooting, always expose for the sky in manual mode, then bring up the dark areas/shadows in post. I previously unveiled one of my shooting techniques, and that is I always tend to under expose, I feel I get better pop and colors this way, and with the new Sony cameras I get very little noise in the shadows...

Anton Chico New Mexico. Shot with the Sony A7 and Zeiss 16-35mm f/4.0
(image snip)

Lucille, agreed on the dramatic clouds. I love them too. We're lucky, living here in NM.

Thanks for this cool NM-capturing shot with the land, car, junipers and Sky! Thanks for the the shooting technique reveal, as well.

**BrianC** · Mar 24 2015, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by wilmeland

Clouds - looking to the east, just before sunset tonight
(photo snip)

To quote Pooh, 'Oh Bother'. I had written a fairly long reply on this one and it disappeared...

Anyway, cool shot of the sunset clouds, Willie. Thanks for sharing it! Clouds are great, and sunrise/set always seems to make them (like many other things) more photogenic. I find it interesting that oft times the best shots are away from the rising/setting sun, though the colors are often more vivid looking toward it.

**wilmeland** · Mar 24 2015, 03:31 PM

Thanks Brian, Think your sunset could work nicely in a sienna monochrome tint too, but agree it's best in color.

Also agree with you and Lucille - clouds never fail to get my attention. I just find it almost impossible to adequately capture with the camera the vision left in my mind (but keep trying anyway).

Lucille love both of your shots - very nice compositions and the lighting and clouds really give them emotion. Thanks for the tip on shooting as well. I agree that from my learning experiences, I can get far better results with shots that are -1/3 or -2/3 than those that are overexposed and really seem to get far better colors generally when slightly underexposed.

Willie

**BrianC** · Mar 26 2015, 10:25 AM

A beautiful Wyoming supercell video, set to (I think) the music of Ligeti. Great job by Nicolaus Wegner, a NatGeo photographer.

https://youtu.be/r1xohS2u69E

**Lucille** · Mar 26 2015, 11:22 AM

Anton Chico New Mexico.

**BrianC** · Mar 26 2015, 11:42 AM

Cool Anton Chico shot, Lucille. It looks like the church and outbuildings are reaching for that cloud in the upper center-right.

**leuius** · Mar 26 2015, 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by Lucille

When shooting, always expose for the sky in manual mode, then bring up the dark areas/shadows in post. I previously unveiled one of my shooting techniques, and that is I always tend to under expose, I feel I get better pop and colors this way, and with the new Sony cameras I get very little noise in the shadows...

That's a great tip... will have to "focus" on that in the future!

Regards.

**leuius** · Mar 26 2015, 12:10 PM

The following are a bit dated and come from different cameras...

First a cellphone picture

Summer evening on Flickr

Then from a HX9V

DSC08552.EQ on Flickr

Don't think I have a good one that is mostly sky from the A6000 yet. Probably too much foreground on this...

Morning gold on Flickr

Cheers!

**leuius** · Mar 26 2015, 12:16 PM

Originally Posted by BrianC

A beautiful Wyoming supercell video, set to (I think) the music of Ligeti. Great job by Nicolaus Wegner, a NatGeo photographer.

Very nice! Would love to witness scenery like this and eventually get to do time lapse photography.

So many things to try, so little time...

Thanks for the pointer.

**leuius** · Mar 26 2015, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by BrianC

Thanks, Lucille! I love the juxtaposition of light and dark in this shot of Picuris, and those clouds

Exactly! How did you get the ladder to stand out like this: light painting?

To me this image has a "Salvador Dali" mood. Impressive.

**leuius** · Mar 26 2015, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by wilmeland

Clouds - looking to the east, just before sunset tonight

clouds4066 by Hunter S Catson, on Flickr

Storm is in the air!! Nice picture.

**BrianC** · Mar 26 2015, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by leuius

(snip)

Then from a HX9V

(snip)

This! I like all of them, but Wow, what a shot here! I love the colors of the sky and clouds, the tree, the plane, all of it. You nailed the category, Stef

**wilmeland** · Mar 26 2015, 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by leuius

The following are a bit dated and come from different cameras...

Cheers!

All nice Shots Stef & agree with Brian, favorite is the second shot - really like the composition. Then again, like the colors and framing of the others too. BTW, we really missed a lot of opportunities prior to having camera phones - that Samsung did a pretty nice job.

Willie

**leuius** · Mar 26 2015, 09:57 PM

Thanks guys...

Maybe I should have mentioned that I have a Flickr album devoted to sky related images.

You can find it here if you are interested.

Regards.

**BrianC** · Mar 26 2015, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by leuius

Thanks guys...

Maybe I should have mentioned that I have a Flickr album devoted to sky related images.

You can find it here if you are interested.
.

Yes, quite, and thank you!

**Lucille** · Mar 27 2015, 03:22 AM

Originally Posted by leuius

Exactly! How did you get the ladder to stand out like this: light painting?

To me this image has a "Salvador Dali" mood. Impressive.

Yes, I do a lot of long exposure painting with light, I have a bag full of various flashlight/torches that I have bought at Home Depot during the Christmas season when these various lights come on sale....

Most of my light painting involves cars, but I do many things. I get visions in my minds eye when I assess a scene, and I try and create it. Painting with light opens a fabulous door of creativity, and often
results in a very unique image.

Picuris New Mexico.

**leuius** · Mar 27 2015, 06:19 AM

Originally Posted by Lucille

Yes, I do a lot of long exposure painting with light, I have a bag full of various flashlight/torches that I have bought at Home Depot during the Christmas season when these various lights come on sale....

Most of my light painting involves cars, but I do many things. I get visions in my minds eye when I assess a scene, and I try and create it. Painting with light opens a fabulous door of creativity, and often
results in a very unique image.

Picuris New Mexico.

Totally gorgeous!!! That surrealistic style is an eye opener.

And those clouds are magnificent. Somehow, I thought NM was cloudless