Picture This

Wicked Beauty
“A monsoon storm blows over the Dells at Watson Lake in Prescott, Arizona,” Bob Larson says of this photo. It was shot with a Canon EOS Rebel T2i and a Sigma 10-20mm lens at f/10, 1/800 second, ISO 100. ©Bob Larson

“This storm hit my house five minutes after I photographed it,” Clyde Roberts explains. Luckily, he had his Canon EOS 7D and an 18-135mm lens to capture its beauty before it struck, shooting at 18mm, f/11, 1/100 second, ISO 400. ©Clyde Roberts

“The Texas Hill Country region often has gorgeous displays of wildflowers in the spring. However, in 2014 we had very little rain,” Mark S. Holly writes. “My wife and I decided to take a chance and scout one of our favorite areas, the Willow City Loop. So, I began looking for bluebonnets in the hopes of finding a field or even a nice cluster or two but alas, I struck out! As it was nearing sunset a storm began to roll in from the west. Little did I know serendipity would provide such a perfect opportunity for a beautiful Texas sunset shot. I took as many pictures as possible in the short time the sun was setting. This was my favorite. On the way home, the storm decided to drop pea-sized hail on us but luckily we sustained no damage to the car. I was using my Nikon D800 with a new Tokina 16-28mm lens and was especially pleased with the dynamic range of this photo without having to use HDR.” ©Mark S. Holly

“I have been wanting to capture lightning over the red rocks of Sedona for a while now, and finally got lucky on a last-minute trip over the weekend,” Theresa Rose Ditson notes. “Although I was thoroughly disappointed that my low-rider car could not traverse the scenic off-road from which I truly had fantasized about shooting, at least I came away with an image from a spectacular storm that moved through just around sunset. I wish the photo could convey what the sound of the thunder was amidst all those rocky pillars: it echoed in waves and almost seemed to come from multiple locations rather than one definitive spot, truly a thunder’s ventriloquist!” She captured the image with a Nikon D810 and a Nikkor 14-24mm lens at 24mm, f/18, 0.6 seconds, ISO 64 on a Manfrotto tripod. © Theresa Rose Ditson

“The South Atlantic is generally regarded as the most turbulent ocean on earth,” Irwin H. Segel says. “This photograph was taken on the way from South Georgia Island to the Antarctic peninsula on a small ship during a period of cyclonic winds. The camera was a Nikon D7000 with a Nikkor 16-85mm VR lens at 34mm. The exposure was f/8 and 1/800 second at ISO 800.” ©Irwin H. Segel

Alan Bogart captured this image showing a massive winter storm near Boulder, Colorado, hitting a local bison herd with a Nikon D800E and a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. “I made this image through a wire fence, not wanting to risk getting too close to these fast-moving animals,” he explains. ©Alan Bogart