Another thunderstorm, South Padre Island, TX; Nikon D700/35 mm 2.0 AI lens

[paullgj]

Thunderstorm, South Padre Island, Texas.  Nikon D700, 35 mm f 2.0 AI lens, polarizer.  Shot using hyperfocal marks, f8. 

[Erik Lund]

Very nicely framed! a bit too saturated for my taste though,,,

[Frank Fremerey]

Following Erik's intensity remark: Is that due to the natural light situation and half a stop under exposure or did you ramp up the contrast and saturation to make it look more intense than it might have looked en nature?

I like the intensity the way it is.

Only thing I wish for was more spatial resolution. This could be equipment or post processing.

I feel the sand crumble is more coarse than it really might have been.

[golunvolo]

"Beautiful  framing" is the first thing that came to mind so I completely agree with Erik there. Saturations works for me, it is closer to personal taste and closer to the light at home in south Spain.
If I half close my eyes, I can taste Mondrian in the patches of color.
   Thanks for sharing!

[paullgj]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the comments.  I processed the image in ACR and CS6.  The lighting is natural, but I did use the shadows/highlight tool a bit to lift the shadows (they were blocked a bit) and the highlights in the clouds were pulled back somewhat to give emphasis.  Alas, this is not natural in situ sand, as to why it appears so coarse.  We've had a lot of beach erosion in South Texas so what you see has been pumped in from the bottom of a nearby ship channel, a darker color and somewhat coarser.

The picture was taken in June 2016, right at the time of the solstice - we're only about 150 miles from the Tropic of Cancer, so the lighting is intense.  Usually the skies here are somewhat hazy and milky, but when there are thunderstorms the haze disappears and a deep blue results.

I was basically trying the old 35 2.0 AI lens for use as a walk-around and I like the results, color and sharpness, at least at f 8.  Trying to "lighten the load" in preparation for travel.  Had considered a number of mid range zooms but I may just go with primes.

[Ron Scubadiver]

Sweet!  Then again, living in Texas tell me I don't know what blows in from the Gulf...  I just might hop in my car and go there.  It's not far from Houston.

[paullgj]

Sweet!  Then again, living in Texas tell me I don't know what blows in from the Gulf...  I just might hop in my car and go there.  It's not far from Houston.

Ron,

Today it is a little hazy, but we're expecting thunderstorms Thursday and Friday.  I guarantee you, there's plenty of scenery, the kind that you photograph, on South Padre Island right now.  This weekend the "Island" will be overflowing.

Gene

[paullgj]

Sweet!  Then again, living in Texas tell me I don't know what blows in from the Gulf...  I just might hop in my car and go there.  It's not far from Houston.

Come on down!  This is what the Gulf looked like last week (6/26/17).  I'm sure you'll find lots of subjects to photograph both on and off the beach.
Major Sunday afternoon beach hangouts are Boomerang Billie's Beach Bar and Wanna Wanna's.  Be advised the heat is excessive and there are long waits on the causeway to get on and off the island during the weekends.

[Ron Scubadiver]

Ron,

Today it is a little hazy, but we're expecting thunderstorms Thursday and Friday.  I guarantee you, there's plenty of scenery, the kind that you photograph, on South Padre Island right now.  This weekend the "Island" will be overflowing.

Gene

I can't go this weekend, and I am not home.  The secret location will be revealed later.

[David H. Hartman]

I'd try taking the yellow saturation down a bit in LCH. Maybe red and magenta also. I'd play with it some. If doing this in Photoshop I'd do it on a separate layer and then you can fade the opacity to get just the effect desired.

I like the sky and the sea. The sand is a bit over saturated for me.

Dave

[Peter Connan]

Beautiful!

[CS]

I am really liking that first image as you present it. I'm not normally much of a fan of over saturation, or too obvious HDR, OTOH, I'm not much of a fan of dull, washed out, images either. I think you hit the sweet spot in that mix. 

[rosko]

I really like the first shot, mostly the colour : duality blue/yellow works very well for me.

The saturation seems normal as colours are brighter and more saturated around tropics areas.

Great picture !