summer lightning storms

Taken last summer during some lightning storms in our area. Which do you prefer and anything I could have done better?

Wonderful shots. I like the first one better. It seems more ominous and therefore more fitting with the scene. Imo

I like them both, but I agree with Brenda, the first image is more "ominous."

I think they are great, but I'd try to fix the wide-angle distortion which is evident in the leaning lines in the lower left.

Thanks for the comments so far...I will look in to correcting the distortion tonight. Amazing how you can look at an image a dozen times and not see something as obvious as that!

For me, the second shot has a slightly more dynamic lightning capture. Try adding a bit of gradient filter to the upper cloud areas to darken slightly, and add some contrast/clarity to make the clouds have a little more "sinister" look and feel. Even crop it a touch off the bottom and top to give it a more linear look that matches the shape of the hill outcrop. An option is to turn on "Image Edit OK" to your signature if interested in examples. Cool image.

Wow, so beautiful. I like the second shot just because of the intensity of the lightning. Both great shots though.

Is that a grass fire on the hillside across the river?

Second shot for me.

Both are nice shots. I prefer the 2nd shot.

BigLobowski wrote in post #16758413
For me, the second shot has a slightly more dynamic lightning capture. Try adding a bit of gradient filter to the upper cloud areas to darken slightly, and add some contrast/clarity to make the clouds have a little more "sinister" look and feel. Even crop it a touch off the bottom and top to give it a more linear look that matches the shape of the hill outcrop. An option is to turn on "Image Edit OK" to your signature if interested in examples. Cool image.

Thanks for the input and compliments. I used the adjustment brush to add some contrast to the clouds already, but I agree, maybe a little more wouldn't hurt. I am going to try and find some time this evening to play around with the distortion and crop...(no lightroom at work...). I have also turned on the allow editing feature if you want a go at them.

chadmcm wrote in post #16758595
Is that a grass fire on the hillside across the river?

Second shot for me.

Yes, a storm from the day before sparked a fire on the hillside. We made our way up to some friends property to capture these images as the next storm came in. On the left side of the 2nd image, what looks like a lot of smoke rolling in is actually dust from wind picking it up. About 10 minutes later, there was a huge downpour that put the fires out. It was a pretty incredible storm that evening.
The image attached was taken when we took shelter at home about 15 min from the first 2 photos.

f2photos wrote in post #16758724
Thanks for the input and compliments. I used the adjustment brush to add some contrast to the clouds already, but I agree, maybe a little more wouldn't hurt. I am going to try and find some time this evening to play around with the distortion and crop...(no lightroom at work...). I have also turned on the allow editing feature if you want a go at them.

Just to be clear - I like the images they way they are - really nice actually. Just another take on them:

Original:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …ephotography/13​153333335/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …ephotography/13​153462373/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …ephotography/13​153481824/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …ephotography/13​153322333/

I agree that they are pretty good from my original edits too. I really just wanted to get a second look from someone who has the non family/friend critique. I like what you did with img# B0108. The lightning strike has more impact with the cloud looking more sinister.