Thundering Across the Plains

Thundering Across the Plains

THRO09D-72

July 11, 2009

Watched this train storm past the badlands formations of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, just after a summer shower had passed us by and broken up into puffy cumulus clouds.  The badlands of North Dakota are often overlooked for their more famous cousins in the south, but these have an interesting, rustic setting, appearing out of nowhere in the plains of North Dakota to drop into canyons and buttes.  I felt here that the higher contrast of monochrome would highlight the cumulus clouds better, and help eliminate some of the distractions that I perceived looking on the image.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  38 mm

Exposure: 1/50 sec @ f/16, ISO 100

Post-processing: Desaturation, minor curves adjustment in PS4 & LR1.4