Milky Way and Storm

I was driving through South Dakota Friday evening, on my way back to Louisiana from Yellowstone. There was a storm way off in the distance and I love lightning shots, but my buddy and I were in a hurry. The storm was impressive with lots of lightning. I finally decided to take a few shots so I pulled into a rest area. After a few minutes, my eyes had adjusted to the dark and I realized that the real story was the Milky Way and how it interacted with the storm (which, according to google maps, was 80 miles away in Nebraska). I switched to my wide angle Milky Way lens and came away with one of the most unique photos I've ever taken:

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …2020-9434-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A

That is a great composition! Very nice.

sandwedge wrote in post #19092570
I was driving through South Dakota Friday evening, on my way back to Louisiana from Yellowstone. There was a storm way off in the distance and I love lightning shots, but my buddy and I were in a hurry. The storm was impressive with lots of lightning. I finally decided to take a few shots so I pulled into a rest area. After a few minutes, my eyes had adjusted to the dark and I realized that the real story was the Milky Way and how it interacted with the storm (which, according to google maps, was 80 miles away in Nebraska). I switched to my wide angle Milky Way lens and came away with one of the most unique photos I've ever taken:

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …2020-9434-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

Wow, awesome!

That's a stunner! I feel like this is a once in a lifetime kind of shot. Amazing!

sandwedge wrote in post #19092570
I was driving through South Dakota Friday evening, on my way back to Louisiana from Yellowstone. There was a storm way off in the distance and I love lightning shots, but my buddy and I were in a hurry. The storm was impressive with lots of lightning. I finally decided to take a few shots so I pulled into a rest area. After a few minutes, my eyes had adjusted to the dark and I realized that the real story was the Milky Way and how it interacted with the storm (which, according to google maps, was 80 miles away in Nebraska). I switched to my wide angle Milky Way lens and came away with one of the most unique photos I've ever taken:

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …2020-9434-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

I really like the shot as it almost looks like the Milky Way is crashing into the earth.

Awesome.
Spectacular capture.
Really interesting interaction.

What a fantastic capture! The core of our galaxy along with Jupiter & Saturn there. That storm just adds the sugar on top. Great image. Congrats!

Should be in the "Best Of" in my book!

Very best,

This composition is awesome! I love it.

Question though: (I am a photographer hobbyist at heart, so I am always learning, please do not take this question the wrong way)
Is this an 'image', 'photo' or a composition consisting of two or more images?

kezug wrote in post #19094544
This composition is awesome! I love it.

Question though: (I am a photographer hobbyist at heart, so I am always learning, please do not take this question the wrong way)
Is this an 'image', 'photo' or a composition consisting of two or more images?

Thanks. It's a single image. Standard processing to bring out the Milky Way, and I think I had to bring the highlights in the storm down.

The storm is really far away and it was very clear where we were. I stopped for the storm photo, but soon realized that the Milky Way and it's interaction with the storm was the real photo opportunity. Like virginie24jb said above, it was probably a once in a lifetime type of shot for me.

sandwedge wrote in post #19094978
Thanks. It's a single image. Standard processing to bring out the Milky Way, and I think I had to bring the highlights in the storm down.

The storm is really far away and it was very clear where we were. I stopped for the storm photo, but soon realized that the Milky Way and it's interaction with the storm was the real photo opportunity. Like virginie24jb said above, it was probably a once in a lifetime type of shot for me.

Thank you for the explanation and WOW on getting this as a single image.