Inclement Weather – Are You Ready?

Rainbow and Passing Storm, Thornton, Ontario
Nikon D800, Nikkor 18-35mm lens
ISO 200
f11 @ 1/80 sec
Nikon Polarizing Filter

 

Inclement weather can often be a landscape photographer’s best friend. This is especially true during the moments of changing weather patterns as dramatic lighting can and will likely occur. Two nights ago as a series of thunder storms were rolling through the farmland surrounding my home an incredible fleeting moment presented itself as the storms began to clear . As I looked out the window, across my backyard, I could see that there was some clearing in the skies to the west. I grabbed a camera body and lens, ran outside, and across the road into the freshly plowed field as I was certain there was going to be a glorious rainbow as soon as the sun shone through the clearing in the western sky. I did not have to wait long before my prediction became a reality and the sun lit up the field before me and cast a rainbow in the east. After capturing a few frames of the full rainbow, with a partial double rainbow visible, many of the dark storm clouds had passed and a tiny bit of blue sky were being revealed but a very interesting and ominous cloud formation had formed overhead, while a touch of the rainbow remained. The incredible opportunity presented by this passing storm cell lasted only 10 minutes. Being prepared and attuned to the ongoing weather system ensured that I was ready for this fleeting moment in nature.

 

Rainbow and Passing Storm, Thornton, Ontario
Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-85mm VR Lens
ISO 400
f11 @ 1/250 sec

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Wild & Wicked Weather

Storm Clouds Rolling Over Farmland, Bradford, Ontario

 

Today’s image is a repost of an image that was featured last summer. The approaching storm clouds that were rolling over this Bradford area farm last summer were from a storm system that ended up causing widespread flooding in the city of Toronto.

On Tuesday evening I found myself smack-dab in the middle of another wild and wicked storm system, but was unable to create any images of the storm due to its violent nature. As it turned out my daughter was to be in Angus, Ontario for a rehearsal for an up coming dance recital. Once I had picked her up from school we arrived home for a quick dinner, then got dressed for the dance rehearsal, and on our way. As we headed west along our sideroad I could see ominous black clouds looming on the horizon. It was not too long into our drive before gale force winds were blowing a significant amount of rain across the roadways and reducing visibility quite drastically. In fact driving through this rain storm was probably some of the worst weather conditions I have ever driven in, including winter storms. I can say that my trusty Subaru never faltered, even though the roadways were like flowing rivers.

We arrived at the theatre for the rehearsal on time and the storm had dissipated by the time we arrived as well. What I did not know, but became aware of afterwards was that only a few kilometres away from our rehearsal location, a tornado touched down and destroyed roughly 100 homes. The winds of this storm were estimated to be in excess of 200 km per hour. Fortunately no lives were lost.

Please do remember to click on the image to see the larger, sharper version.

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Wild & Wicked

Storm Clouds Over Winter Wheat Crop, Bradford, Ontario

Sorry for lack of posts lately folks, I have been away on a photography trip through Ontario’s Parry Sound region. During this trip Gentec International, the Canadian distributor for Sigma Lenses in Canada was kind enough to loan me a Sigma 15mm f2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens. I will be doing a full review of this lens in an upcoming post soon, but I can quickly sum it up with one word – WOW! I had a ton of fun using this lens for everything from bullfrogs, rusted old wrecks, urban scenes, landscapes, forest interiors, water lilies, and agricultural scenes (as you can see above).

The image accompanying this post was captured yesterday using the Sigma 15mm f2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens on a Nikon D800 handheld as the wild and wicked storm clouds were swiftly moving across the sky, above a golden field of winter wheat. Yesterday southern Ontario, particularly the Toronto area, was hit with a massive amount of rain which caused significant flooding. The rainfall amount came close to beating the record set when Hurricane Hazel rolled through the area in 1954. Fortunately I live north of the hardest hit areas and only received a small amount of rainfall at home however, as I was driving down a rural road near my home I noticed these ominous clouds and just had to pull off to the side of the road and grab a few images.

Do remember to click on the image to see the larger, sharper version.

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