Sunset, Before the Storm by Breanna Butler
Sunset, Before the Storm by Breanna Butler CC BY-NC 4.0
I took this photo in September, 2022, before Hurricane Ian made landfall. My husband and I were enjoying the nice weather outside before the oncoming storm arrived. Because of where we were located, we did not need to evacuate. But, it was my first time riding out hurricane level winds. This photo was taken from my front porch, and I cropped it so that the sky, with its windblown clouds and sweeping colors, is the feature instead of the asphalt driveway and white fence.
The cropped image is not as busy compared to the full image. The trees give a nice border of contrast and highlight the gradient created by the colors. The crop removes the “blandness” of a man-made manicured lawn and focuses directly on the drama of nature. The only editing done was the crop. This photo was taken with my Google Pixel phone instead of my trusty DSLR, but it got the job done.
Hi Breanna! Thank you for sharing this image with us! There is nothing quite like the sunset when there is a hurricane nearby. They have the most beautiful colors but there is something eerie to them as well. I like how your cropped image removes all the background noise from the bottom of the photo. Now the focus is much more on the beautiful sunset rather than the yard and road behind it. Another interesting way to crop this image may be to try and arrange it to make the shrub and the bottom left the focal point. I could see this causing some issues with image resolution though, so your idea is probably superior.
Hi Breanna,
Strom clouds are always so interesting, I was immediately drawn to the sky behind the trees so I’m glad to see you chose the sky as your focal point for the derivative. You’ve really increased the awe factor by zooming in on the dramatic sky scene. Alternatively, it could have been interesting to zoom in on the flowers you have in your yard as well. Do you know the name of that plant? I find it very interesting with all its varied shapes. Thank you for sharing! 😊
I’m sorry – I do not know the name of the plant. It’s pretty low maintenance too with bright orange blossoms in the spring/summer.
Hi Breanna,
These colors are gorgeous! I think that your decision to cut out the ground and just focus on the sky and the tree line was great, and I also like the way that the tree on the left acts as a natural frame. This would make a great website or social media banner, I think. I’m not sure how to improve on it, but if I had to suggest something, I think it might be interesting to exaggerate the aspect ratio even more, allowing more of the image to be taken up by the sky.