Theme: storm over Mt. Shasta

[Hazel Grant]

This is an older photo of Mt. Shasta in Northern California where i used to live. It was taken on a beautiful summer day. Those clouds tend to swirl around it often. Since the Mt is an inactive volcano, I wondered what it might look like if it started to"wake up." So, I adjusted colorings, added some "fire" and applied denoise.

[Diane Miller]

Wow -- I love this! Great drama in the clouds and very well brought out! I love the dark base provided by the trees and the dark treatment of the mountain. The small light patch of cloud halfway up the left border grabs my attention a little but that's a small nit for a gorgeous image!

Wind blowing at the altitude of the top causes these lenticular clouds, which are much-coveted by glider pilots. Quite a few come up from as far away as the Bay Area for the soaring conditions.

[Dennis Bishop]

This deserves extra points for creativity. I like the color you added. You mention the clouds swirling . . . I'm not sure how literally to take that and if you did something in processing to accent it, but those lower two rings of clouds look like they're spinning. With the clouds being so important to your story, I'd be inclined to select the whole sky and use a Levels adjustment layer to brighten the whites and midtones in it and follow that with a Curves layer to increase the contrast in the sky.

[Mitch Carucci]

Great clouds! I think they are lenticular. Makes me want to become a nephelococcygian (cloud watcher). Colors are great.

[Hazel Grant]

Good idea re the layers. No, I did not swirl the clouds. they form that way naturally.

[Wendy Kates]

Wow...the layers of swirling clouds is really dramatic...I love this too!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Wow, Hazel, what a dramatic image. I like the vertical composition

[Nancy Bell]

Your really captured the selective lighting very well! This is totally outstanding!

[Kerry Perkins]

That is really cool Hazel! I've been to Mt. Shasta a couple of times but never got to see that phenomenon. I like your processing, it adds drama and does make the mountain look active! Great job!

[Anita Bower]

A creative approach to these fabulous clouds. Love the blue!! (My favorite color.) I like the colors added--creates a semi-alien look. Unfortunately, I don't quite understand Dennis' suggestion, nor what it would accomplish. Very nice work!

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . Unfortunately, I don't quite understand Dennis' suggestion, nor what it would accomplish. . . .

This is what I was thinking.

[Anita Bower]

I'm ashamed to admit that I'm having difficulty seeing the difference between your post, Dennis, and the OP.

[Dennis Bishop]

I'm ashamed to admit that I'm having difficulty seeing the difference between your post, Dennis, and the OP.

Hmmm. I'm having the same difficulty. Here's a side-by-side with the OP on the left.

[Anita Bower]

Thanks, Dennis. Having them side by side allows me to see the subtle differences. I like what you did.

[Diane Miller]

Interesting comparison, and definitely easier to see side by side. I'm still taken with the dark mood of the OP. To me, it isn't "too low contrast" or "underexposed", which is a valid criticism of some images. But for this very dramatic image, the OP conveys a mood of mystery suited to an amazing atmospheric phenomenon.

If anything, I might go halfway in between at the most.

After viewing it several times, I love it as much as I did the first time I saw it, which isn't always the case for many images. It's something very special!

[Judy Howle]

Outstanding image, love those clouds and what you did with the color. I do like Dennis' lighter version of the sky, but maybe not quite that bright.