Mamma Mia

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 29, 2012679 views43 comments

Mammatus from a tornadic supercell thunderstorm in central Kansas a couple days ago. I was stuck in a motel in Oklahoma for 5 days last week after wrecking my car in an accident that left me with a broken finger and lacerated head. Thought my storm chase this season was finished, but after getting my crumpled car back, i headed out one-handed for a few days of chasing--ended up catching 4 tornadoes in Kansas--see M&N for the first of the bunch.
5Dmkii; 70-300, 1s at f/11
C&C welcome!

Comments

43 comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on May 29, 2012 at 1:10 AM

Whoa Stan! Glad to hear you are OK. Doesn't look like the crash slowed you down one bit though, because this image is excellent. The mammatus with sunset light are beautiful.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Coskun on May 29, 2012 at 1:27 AM

Those are some crazy clouds alright. I've only seen these a few times so far and they are quite epic.

Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments

Comment posted by Youssef Ismail on May 29, 2012 at 1:40 AM

Outstanding! End of the World stuff quality.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 474 Posts, 5555 Comments

Comment posted by Navin Sarma on May 29, 2012 at 1:46 AM

stan, awesome light, detail, and shapes!! just a cleanup of dust spots and print it large!

Registered on July 17, 2011, 233 Posts, 1373 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on May 29, 2012 at 1:53 AM

Thanks, Navin--yeah i thought i got all the spots but it looks like i missed a couple. It was very windy (usually is when tornadoes are around) and there was lots of blowing dust to deal with.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Gordon on May 29, 2012 at 5:06 AM

Very cool. I can feel the force..

Registered on May 31, 2007, 224 Posts, 1490 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on May 29, 2012 at 8:47 AM

Get well and sweet clouds.

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on May 29, 2012 at 9:26 AM

Hey Stan, Glad you are doing ok after the crash! These clouds are awesome with such interesting shapes. I can feel the power in them. The light is great. Not bad for one hand...

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Windom on May 29, 2012 at 10:04 AM

Mamma Mia is right! Quite a sight but I'd be heading in the opposite direction as fast as possible. Hope the fingers and head heal quickly and the car can still outrun the weather.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 176 Posts, 2302 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on May 29, 2012 at 10:45 AM

I like the golden light cast on those turbulent textures.

Registered on April 1, 2010, 196 Posts, 1592 Comments

Comment posted by John Fan on May 29, 2012 at 11:28 AM

Crazy clouds!

Registered on August 24, 2010, 135 Posts, 489 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on May 29, 2012 at 11:38 AM

Great light on these so cool clouds. Just some noise reduction and mucho removal of dust spots, and it's a keeper.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on May 29, 2012 at 11:44 AM

Stan, this is incredible. Never seen anything like this. Outstanding image.

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Nicolaus Wegner on May 29, 2012 at 11:59 AM

Sorry to hear about the accident but it looks like your persistence paid off. The dust spots have probably already been mentioned?

Wicked clouds...wow...

Registered on February 21, 2010, 133 Posts, 1509 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Schwarz on May 29, 2012 at 12:50 PM

Glad to hear you are OK. Spectacular shot.

Registered on November 29, 2006, 236 Posts, 1210 Comments

Comment posted by Nathan Apodaca on May 29, 2012 at 1:19 PM

Amazing clouds! The colors and smooth shapes are great.

Registered on November 16, 2011, 67 Posts, 1127 Comments

Comment posted by Todd Liotine on May 29, 2012 at 2:58 PM

I'll take your word for it on the type of cloud. Its a very cool photo looks like you've got a lot of dust spots on there. I dig the color as well.

Registered on July 1, 2008, 131 Posts, 671 Comments

Comment posted by Karsten Wrobel on May 29, 2012 at 3:37 PM

wild stuff, sort of apocalyptic, though I'm glad I don't live in a tornado area... probably wouldn't even have recognized these as clouds... this has serious abstract qualities and looks good no matter what direction you look at it

Registered on November 1, 2008, 117 Posts, 851 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on May 29, 2012 at 4:32 PM

Wow! Just to see these would be a rush but to capture them as well as you have here has got to be a high flying feeling. sorry about your finger (must not have been the one you work your shutter with). This image has got to be some consolation. Your usual perfection of color and clarity. Very, very nice

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Haxby on May 29, 2012 at 4:59 PM

Awesome. Glad that you made it through the wreck o.k. Always wanted to do the storm chasing and this is just what I have always wanted to get. Well done. Hope you're 100% soon.

Registered on July 6, 2006, 126 Posts, 647 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on May 29, 2012 at 5:47 PM

Wow, sorry about the crunched car!! Glad you're ok. These clouds are SO neat looking - I've never seen anything quite like that before. Reminds me of an old Lava Lamp!

Neat stuff!

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Yiming Hu on May 29, 2012 at 7:42 PM

Glad that you are OK now, Stan. The cloud formations are amazing.

Registered on April 28, 2011, 38 Posts, 733 Comments

Comment posted by Leo Collazo on May 29, 2012 at 8:27 PM

Amazing capture Stan! I can see so much movement, and the glowing color of the clouds is awesome. Glad you're OK!

Registered on August 4, 2011, 19 Posts, 69 Comments

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on May 29, 2012 at 9:45 PM

Stan, glad you made it out of the accident in relatively good shape! These clouds are amazing, almost other-worldly!

Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Graham on May 29, 2012 at 11:35 PM

Great glow and texture to the "butt" clouds as my 8 year calls them :). Glad you had a productive visit to our great state.

Registered on August 22, 2006, 842 Posts, 2824 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on May 29, 2012 at 11:38 PM

Flat out awesome, Stan. The shapes of the clouds and that light are unworldly. Glad to hear you are okay. Incredible image.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Enrique Vizcarra on May 30, 2012 at 12:20 AM

Wow!!!!! Beauty and danger !!!! :)

Registered on September 10, 2009, 223 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by Joseph Campisi on May 30, 2012 at 12:39 AM

Great image of my favorite type of clouds (along with lenticulars) Stan!

Glad to hear that you're alright!

Registered on November 24, 2008, 304 Posts, 3211 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on May 30, 2012 at 1:36 AM

That's some serious cloudage Stan! Great capture. Sorry to hear about your accident.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Moore on May 30, 2012 at 7:19 AM

Wow! Never seen clouds like this before. Good stuff

Registered on January 12, 2010, 84 Posts, 388 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on May 30, 2012 at 1:54 PM

Frickin' awesome Stan! Couldn't have been dreamed up better in studio for a movie or something. The drama is wonderful in the sky and I love the gradient in light too. Awesome capture.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Shawn Thompson on May 30, 2012 at 1:57 PM

Damn, I love Mammatus clouds! Awesome.

Registered on July 20, 2011, 22 Posts, 102 Comments

Comment posted by Marco Presi on May 30, 2012 at 3:54 PM

Wow.. it looks very nice to me. Very beautiful abstract. I wonder how it looks if flipped (rotated by 180°)

Registered on February 21, 2012, 5 Posts, 18 Comments

Comment posted by Michael J Greene, on May 30, 2012 at 11:49 PM

Cool shot Stan! There are dust bunnies all over the place and evidence of noise in the darkest areas of the clouds, but still probably one of the very best cloud abstracts I have ever seen. Have you thought about flipping it upside down?

Registered on June 18, 2009, 86 Posts, 2317 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on May 31, 2012 at 1:06 AM

Incredible, that's it!!!!

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on May 31, 2012 at 2:29 AM

That's impressive. The cotton candy looks great, it just needs to be pink

. I see getting in a wreck hasn't slowed you down. Nice work Stan!

Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on May 31, 2012 at 2:36 AM

Thanks folks! Not sure why i would want to turn it upside down--maybe someone could explain that one to me...

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on May 31, 2012 at 12:03 PM

What the!!?

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Bruce King on May 31, 2012 at 12:38 PM

Really cool stuff! The different shapes and density (?) of the upper and lower clouds are really interesting. Glad to see it wasn't your trigger finger.

Registered on January 14, 2010, 276 Posts, 2212 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on June 1, 2012 at 4:13 AM

hey stan - wild compelling sky. hope you're recovering well.

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Andreas Resch on June 1, 2012 at 4:33 AM

Wow ... what a cloudscape. Great moment, Stan.

Registered on November 14, 2007, 322 Posts, 6101 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on June 1, 2012 at 9:28 AM

A truly amazing sky! Wow! Sorry about you and your car.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on June 1, 2012 at 4:49 PM

Thanks so much foe all the comments, folks!
Bruce--i wish it were my trigger finger, would have much preferred that to my most important fretting finger! (guitar)
Am scheduled for surgery on tuesday--im hoping for the best!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments