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Sunset Storm
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Sunset Storm



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A Stacked Shelf Cloud approaches SW Ontario as the sun sets in the background

Just a note my twitter has changed since this photo was taken it's no...
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A Stacked Shelf Cloud approaches SW Ontario as the sun sets in the background

Just a note my twitter has changed since this photo was taken it's now @spencersills
Read less
cameraCanon EOS REBEL T2i

settings Aperture f/3.5 ISO 100 Shutter 1/30 Focal Length 11/1 

upload_dateFeb, 2015

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3672

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Awards

Action Award
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 6
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Contest Finalist in A Force Of Nature Photo Contest by Focal Press
Contest Finalist in Get Inspired Magazine photo contest Vol 1
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Absolute Masterpiece
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Magnificent Capture
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Color Explorer Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Change Of Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Change Of Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Everything Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Everything Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Talent AwardsTop 30 rank
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Get Inspired Magazine photo contest Vol 1Top 10 rank week 2
Get Inspired Magazine photo contest Vol 1Top 10 rank week 1

Categories

10 Comments |
kateobrien
 
kateobrien March 11, 2015
Wow this is an amazing shot - it looks like an eye !!Fantastic work
spencersills
spencersills March 14, 2015
Thank you Kate!
ExaltedAsh
 
ExaltedAsh March 13, 2015
Amazing capture - the panoramic really gives a sense of the huge scale of these cells, well done!
spencersills
spencersills March 14, 2015
Thank you! I really wish I could capture the entire cell 360, perhaps one day.
RosieRebel
 
RosieRebel July 20, 2015
Wow....... I can't find any other words to say. Just "Wow" :)
michaelakrempelhoward PRO+
 
michaelakrempelhoward July 20, 2015
Amazing - I see big lips
Cheever2
 
Cheever2 July 21, 2015
Congratulations for Incredible work ! It's ready to bite...
JDLifeshots
 
JDLifeshots July 29, 2015
Amazing! Congrats.
Cruiser87 Premium
 
Cruiser87 June 07, 2016
Outstanding!!
SorenMoorePhotography
 
SorenMoorePhotography July 03, 2016
Wow, loads of mood in this shot!
wildwoodie56
 
wildwoodie56 August 14, 2016
Fantastic shot
stxmariner
 
stxmariner January 03, 2021
WOW !!! Fantastic capture !!!

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#Shelf cloud #ontario #severe storm #storm #storm chase #sunset #thunderstorm
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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken outside of Tilbury which is located in South Western, Ontario off the shores of Lake St. Clair here in Canada.

Time

This photo was taken during what is commonly referred to the storm community as "Magic Hour" It's the time of day where storms gather in the most energy due to peak heating. It was a hot and humid day and the sun had just started to set as this super cell crossed into Ontario from Michigan.

Lighting

I wanted this image to show the true darkness of the storm cell, to give the viewer the eerie feeling as it crosses above them, and luckily enough it just happened during sunset to allow the cell to become back lit and really show off the core of the storm.

Equipment

At this point I was shooting with a Canon Rebel T2I and a 10-22 mm Lens. The camera was mounted on a tripod and no flash. I also used a laptop and cell phone to track down the super cell as it crossed into Canada.

Inspiration

My inspiration for this photo and all other storm photos is to show off the true power of Mother Nature. Storm chasing to me is one of the most peaceful things I can do during the Summer. I get to take in all sorts of different landscapes and watch the power of nature and the atmosphere as storms begin to grow and eventually die in front of my eyes. I can often be found talking about weather all over the world on twitter @OntPhotog.

Editing

At this time I was just getting into post processing, I merged 3-4 images into a panoramic photo and did very minor corrections to issues with the merge, I than made sure the image was exposed for the storm and the highlights weren't blown out to show off the beautiful sunset happening right behind the cell.

In my camera bag

Nowadays I don't go anywhere without a camera, I am currently shooting with the Canon 6D as well as the 70D, usually carrying my 24-70 2.8, 70-200 F4 and 100 Macro 2.8 around with me. I also have my tripod, laptop and cell phone for tracking and forecasting storms which also runs my location services for Spotternetwork.org.

Feedback

I would recommend learning the basics of weather forecasting and reading weather models, the most important thing to capture a image like my sunset storm is knowing where and when it may happen. It's also important to know where the danger zone is on a storm, there's numerous hazards with chasing storms and one of the biggest is lightning, make sure you are well aware of the lightning on the storm, far too often lightning will shoot well ahead of a cell putting the photographer at risk. As far as capturing storms like this photo wise, practice makes perfect! Practice shooting even on cloudy rainy days, lighting conditions change fast under a storm it's important to be able to adjust on the fly.

See more amazing photos, follow spencersills

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