Stormy Landscape

I'm a bit behind with my photos, so here is another one from the fall:

Stormy Landscape

We were visiting friends and as I looked out the window, the incredible light in the storm clouds caught my attention. Fortunately, my friends know me and did not comment when I grabbed my camera and ran to the door.

A few hundred meters further lay some fields, which made a wonderful counterweight to the clouds in the sky. While I was still standing and thinking about the composition, the sun broke through the clouds and shone on the grass below. In that moment, everything came together and I simply pressed the shutter release.

Oak Tree in Rapeseed Field

Last week we experienced some lovely fall weather. I was driving when the storm clouds parted to let the sun light up a rapeseed field. I stopped the car at the next safe opportunity and ran out with my camera before the light changed again.

It turned out that the weather stayed like this for a few minutes more than I anticipated and it was on the way back that I got the best images of the oak tree with the orange leaves in the bright yellow and green rapeseed field.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Oak Tree in a Rapeseed Field"][/caption]

Much to my chagrin, I was only carrying a JPEG-only tiny compact camera. This really shows at larger print sizes, but for online viewing it is a moot point.

Aside from the cliches that there is no substitute for the right light and that the best camera is the one you have at hand, there is another lesson that I draw from this experience:

Wear sturdy boots when you take a walk in the fields or spend an hour cleaning up your dress shoes. (Yes, it I did. ;-))