With no storms to chase tonight - I spent most of this evening editing this image in Photoshop. It was shot Monday night as the severe storms raked the city and the sirens were sounding.
When I first uploaded it into my Mac - I saw it had potential - but it had major problems. It was filled with electromagnetic noise (due to the lightning) underexposed in parts of the image and because the clouds were in motion during the 15 second exposure parts of it were blurred.
I knew it would take some serious work in CS-4 but If I could bring out of the mess the epic scene I beheld with my more sensitive eyes - it would be worth it.
- I spent over three hours "fixing" bringing out of the digital -muck this final view of that amazing storm.
I call it "The Maelstrom" and gives you a good idea what was going on in the skies over Amarillo that caused us to all lose so much sleep.
SAVE A STARVING PHOTOGRAPHER - BUY THIS PRINT!
-Steve Douglass
1 comment:
Steve, it was nice meeting you and your brother while watching that Stinnett tornado. May 24th was extraordinary! I had gotten back to my west Amarillo hotel after dark while watching the vivid displays of lightning. Little did I know I would be right at ground zero for severe thunderstorm and tornado production. At one point there were 4 tornado warnings issued all around Amarillo. These storms were training over west Amarillo and then to the northeast. We had hours of drama at the hotel with strong winds and hail. The tornado sirens went off several times, although I never heard them. The roof of the Fifth Season hotel was leaking so badly that there were pools of water in the hallways. You were right that the panhandle area is the best chasing location in the country. I left to return to Seattle with a new appreciation of the beauty and power of mother nature. Your photos are a wonderful representation of that beauty!
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