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peteroctb

Towering Cloud Over Busy Street

I took this picture of an amazing cloud formation while sitting in the passenger's seat and holding the camera out of the window....
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I took this picture of an amazing cloud formation while sitting in the passenger's seat and holding the camera out of the window.
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Jul, 2021

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Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

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I caught this picture of the Goodyear Blimp passing over the parking lot.

A neighborhood on a sharp, January evening.

Behind The Lens

Location

This picture was taken in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. We were about to get on the highway to head back home in Akron.

Time

This picture was taken on August 28, 2016 at 4 pm.

Lighting

It was a bright, Sunday afternoon, so I only had to utilize the natural light.

Equipment

I shot this picture with a cameraphone: SAMSUNG SGH-I577, ƒ/2.6, 1/2262, 3.546mm, ISO50. No flash or tripod were used.

Inspiration

Since my diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, I no longer drive. But I've always been a kind of busy person and I can't just sit in the passenger's seat and do nothing. So, I take pictures of anything interesting that I see as we go along our way. This cloud formation was VERY interesting to me. I took a few pictures holding the camera phone out of the passenger side window, but I kept getting the edge of the car. Just before we were going to enter onto the highway (which would change the angle of the shot and I would lose the opportunity to capture the moment), I positioned the camera inside the car as close to the windshield as possible and snapped off two pictures.

Editing

Because I shot this image through the car's windshield, a lot of the vibrancy of the actual moment that I saw with my own eyes was filtered out by the glass. Flash forward five years later when I decided to submit this photo to Viewbug, I wanted to bring all of the vibrancy back that was lost. I began by saving the original color file, then converting the copy to monochrome. I followed with a series of adjustments to the levels, contrast, brightness, highlights and shadows. This step allowed me to bring back into the black and white image the essence and nuance of what made the actual moment that I saw with my eyes so special. Finally, I added a vignette and a "bloom" effect which brought a nice warmth, beauty and softness to the image that was present in the real moment.

In my camera bag

If I'm riding in the car (as I was for this picture) I just have my smartphone camera with me. Since this picture was taken, I've upgraded to a better cameraphone device. The one I used for this picture served me well.

Feedback

If you are a passenger is a car and you want to take pictures of interesting moments as you go, my advice is to stay alert and try to look ahead and anticipate what may be a good image to capture. When you're moving at 35 to 55 mph, you have to be quick to assess, anticipate and execute. Also, be aware of any delay that may exist on your camera phone that could occur between the moment that you tap on the "take" button and when the camera actually snaps the picture.

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Towering Cloud Over Busy Street

I took this picture of an amazing cloud formation while sitting in the passenger's seat and holding the camera out of the window.... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow peteroctb

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

I took this picture of an amazing cloud formation while sitting in the passenger's seat and holding the camera out of the window....
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.