You can tell from the little patch of blue sky that this is really the way the sky looked. I had never seen such ominous storm clouds in my life. The strange thing is that they never produced any rain this particular afternoon.

What a very interesting composition here. I really like the diaganol lines here. Very nice job here! Chris

Very nice. I have been looking at these and I have enjoyed all of them. This one is particularly striking though. It is a bit more "compact" since the central focus is close in to the viewer. That perspective, plus the wonderful sky make it quite noteworthy. Excellent job.

Christal-This is an image I can really appreciate. Nice job contrasting the sky and the wheat. Really well placed barn and the diagonal horizon is located just right. Very nice.-Jim

Christal...smashing color contrasts...and a great old structure to add interest...my best...Marjorie

Excellent shot Christal ! Superb composition, detail, and an ominous sky combine to make this a dramatic shot. Nice work.
All the best,
Neil

Beautiful !!!

Beautiful image, very nice composition, very nice contrast with the black clouds, very nice colors and lighting

Perhaps my favorite, to date, of this series. It combines all the color with a classic approach to composition... well done! Mike

Great capture.Love contrast between sky and fields.Cheers.Andrzej

Great shot ...the dark sky is a superb contrast to the rich yellow field..fantastic place to be, no doubt!

I appreciate your support of this photo. Yes, it was a fantastic place to be on this particular day. Usually my photos have rather uninteresting skies, but this time the clouds seemed to 'cooperate'. :) Thank you all for your visits, ratings, and comments.

Hi Christal, this one I like even better than the other with the truck. You did a great job keeping the crop field luminous and bright in contrast with the sky. The sky looks a bit too dark and "fake". I don't want to sound like a super critical dude here, but I think if you could lighten the sky up just a bit (and I mean almost nothing) it would be really perfect. I especially love the super sharp edge of the field in contrast with the sky and the fact that you included some darker grass on the very foreground (it gives a sense of gravity and counterbalances the darkness of the sky).

Christal, I really enjoyed this and your other photos from the Palouse. I'd like to hear where you stayed, went. Cheers, Steve

wow, that's beautifull, impressive shot, well done Christal, I like your work. thanks for your cooment, I appreciated taht. Best Regard.

I had to laugh when I read your comment because I totally expected it from someone eventually. I even had my husband help me with this (he HATES fake even more than I do). All I can say is that I agree it looks totally unbelievable, but this is to the best of our recollection exactly how it looked. I had never seen anything like it. I actually worked up a version with a more believable gray sky, as opposed to blue and purple......but we both said "Nope"....that's not how it looked. I've struggled with these Palouse shots in general because I really don't like over-saturated photos.....I'm more of a purist I guess. But these were profoundly rich and unusual colors, and I can't wait to get back there to photograph it in other seasons as well. Having said that, I'll be getting a much more sophisticated editing program soon, and I can always play with this again and try to split the difference between believable and unbelievable. I appreciate your comment, and I especially appreciate your candor. In other words, I don't think you're a 'super critical dude'. :)

Having grown up in the Midwest, I can attest that such skies occur often on the prairie and they are terrifyingly beautiful. My first response was to think, "Oh now, better get to the shelter." Of course, I was always the kid peeking through the windows and cellar doors hoping to catch sight of the twister I wishes for and dreaded all at once. What's weird about these thunderstorms is that a patch of sky can be downright threatening, while another part of the landscape can remain golden and sunlit. I've seen these scenes in person. I believe in them. And I hope you ducked and covered.

B&W version

Wow, that's quite a sky! Actually, I remember seeing skies like that in Indiana and Colorado. Once I got suck in traffic on the way to Chicago with a tornado on the ground about a mile away... The sky was unreal. I saved this image on my computer to make a B&W version just for fun and I realized the colors were very different from the ones I see on the browser. I believe you might experience loss of saturation every time you upload your files... If so, make sure you calibrate your monitor well and convert your files to Generic RGB Profile before you save them. The Adobe RGB profile does not work well on the web. The best profiles for the web are sRGB IEC61966-2.1 or even better in my opinion the Generic RGB Profile.

Chistal, I saw this in the TRP for Landscape and just had to comment. This is wonderful -- the blue sky/yellow grain colour contrast is phenomenal. I like the position of the old barn (so that it doesn't break the horizon) and the road coming into the frame far left is a nice detail.

The warm-tone B&W Antonio posted has a certain charm -- more nostalgia and less drama.

Great image all around. I was in the Palouse in June (not yet posted) and it was so GREEN everywhere. The golden wheat here is such a contrast with my experience -- I love it.

Christal, I join the praise, and the very interesting contrast of omiuos sky and joyful sunny yellow field. I think that the darker FG line of wheat is well ballancing the composition( and the brown construction add as well...) I belive you totally ,that it looked like this, and you have really saw and photographed some very special nature landscape and weather. Beautiful.

The contrast between the smooth, golden wheat and the dark, ominous clouds is really eye-catching. I, too, have witnessed clouds like this; sometimes they coalesce and open up (with rain), and other times they pass by as people on the ground breathe a sigh of relief. It's too bad in this digital age and an image can be so dramatic that its authenticity is questioned. An authentic image should never be toned down just to be more believable to all viewers, IMO. You've captured a relatively rare and special moment; let it be and share it.

Steve.....I'm glad you like this. Thanks for your visit, and I'd be happy to give you recommendations for the Palouse. Did you get my email?

Hesam....thanks for your visit and your generous rating!

Jeff....I'm a Midwest gal too, and I've seen my share of ominous storm clouds (I was once even in a tornado). But honestly, this was unlike anything I had ever seen. Strange thing though....180 degrees the other direction was almost clear sky. Always good to hear from you, Jeff!

Antonio......I love the B&W version. After I finish loading all of my recent trip photos onto PN, I'll go back and convert some of them over to B&W. In fact, a few shots I took were actually taken with B&W in mind. You know, about the monitor calibration thing.....I venture to say that indeed you and I were looking at different things on our monitors. If my calibration isn't right and yours is, then we'd obviously be seeing different things. BTW, my program won't let me convert the files to the Generic RGB Profile. When I open up my photos on my MAC laptop, the pictures do look different, so you're probably right.....I will need to do something about it. Maybe I can get help from someone in my photo club. Thanks, as always, for your visit!

Ian.....thanks for your analysis and appreciation of this! I love your work, so it means a lot!

Pnina.....it's always good to hear from you Pnina......thanks so much for stopping by!

Stephen.....yes, if anyone would know these skies, you would. Thanks for your support of this photo. Don't you just want everyone to know how fantastic this area is?

I love the dramatic prarie skies. I lived in Alberta, Canada for many years, the skies there are also spectacular and unpredicatable. I think this is stunning.

This whole series rocks. Big time and gotta get up there. Christal you've got another beauty here. Dark skies and warm Mother Earth. The old barn, like the tracks in your other shot, adds to an already great composition. Kudos....RAY

I have really enjoyed viewing all of your PNW images. Although I have lived in Seattle for over 30 years, I have not yet visited Yakima or the Palouse areas. It certainly appears that you chose a perfect time to visit there and you have shown me what I've missed out on by not going there myself. I should have ample time to visit there myself from 2010 onwards. Thanks for showing off the beauty of the other half of Washington State.

Wow, Christal!

Don't know how I overlooked this one, surely I have been here since October! At any rate, this is a fabulous scene, and perhaps my favorite from your fine and growing portfolio. There is nothing here I don't love, especially the contrast between the angry sky and mellow grass.

Best regards, Tammy

Another great landscape, Christal. The dramatic clouds next to the sunlit grass makes for a winning contrast. It evokes the wide open prairie spaces, as does the punctuation mark of the wooden barn slightly off center. For me a real strong point in both images is the wide DOF with sharp focus from foreground to distance.

A beautiful landscape shot. Composition is great with an excellent atmospheric sky.

I love the simplicity and the composition, amazing clouds and even more amazing that they didn't produce any rain...love the golden hills and the rustic building...beautifully done Christal...you have a great eye.

I am on a Mac too and I use Spyder for calibration, I'm not sure that that was what you were referring to in your comment re: monitors and calibration. I recently discovered that my images sometimes look different after posting depending on which browser I'm using, between Firefox, my preferred browser, and Safari. Particularly the magenta's and greens, which tend to look washed out...:) Linda

Dear Christal, Thank You for Your comment! It is highly appreciated from someone who is an amazing artist herself !

I love e.g. these images from the fields. This one has an fantastic composition, the 2 dominating colors are making it a very ´catchy´ photograph, it takes all my attention. The dramatic mood is genuine and I could imagine having this image on my wall.

thanks , cheers Jana

This is my favorite combination of light and dark clouds...stunning!!

Fabulous image, Christal. Wonderful composition and I love the tonal contrasts.

Simply outstanding!

Congrats on making the first page Christal. This image is very deserving of the accolades. Very strong composition!!

great atmosphere!

Excellent work.TY. Best regards, vf