Birth of a Thunderstorm.

A developing thunderstorm climbs high into the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean south of Panama. (Santiago Borja)

Click for full size. This astonishing photo was taken by a pilot.

Taken from a plane at the moment of a lightning flash, it illustrates both the ferocity of a turbulent atmosphere and the beauty of Mother Nature. A strong, roiling updraft; a smooth, flat anvil; and the overshooting top — all features of intense developing thunderstorms.

The photo was taken over the Pacific Ocean from the cockpit of an airplane. The photographer and pilot, Santiago Borja, says he was circling around it at 37,000 feet altitude en route to South America when he captured this spectacular view.

Borja said it was difficult to get the shot in near-darkness and during a bumpy ride. “Storms are tricky because the lightning is so fast, there is no tripod and there is a lot of reflection from inside lights,” Borja told The Washington Post in an email.

“I like this photo so much because you can feel the amazing size of the storm and its power,” Borja said. “But at the same time it’s wonderful how peacefully you can fly around it in still air without touching it.”

[…]

The photo was taken with his Nikon D750 camera south of Panama on a Boeing 767-300.

Full story at Washington Post.

The Daily Bird #46

Bad photographs of Cliff Swallows. Click for full size.

Mikko Lagerstedt.

“Capturing emotion of places through photographs.” That’s the tagline on Mikko Lagerstedt’s website, and it is delivered with power and beauty.

STILLNESS OF NIGHT

THE WHOLE UNIVERSE SURRENDERS

PATHWAY

Spending an entire evening under the stars in near pitch darkness, photographer Mikko Lagerstedt captures spectacular landscapes of frozen tundra and misty mornings of Iceland and his native Finland. With a camera mounted on a tripod he takes a multitude of exposures as the light gradually changes. Certain elements are then stitched together digitally and enhanced with Photoshop and Lightroom—a process he candidly shares in tutorials and presets he sells on his website and blog. The resulting images are a result of hours of photography, editing, and a keen sense of color and composition to create heavily modified images that are almost hyper-realistic.

Mikko Lagerstedt’s galleries are to be lost in, gazing with wonder, awe, and near heartache from the sheer beauty of this planet of ours. To say the emotion of the landscapes is well captured is a complete understatement.

Via Colossal Art.

Jasmine Pollinators.

From rq. Gorgeousness, all the way around. Click for full size.

The Daily Bird #45

A wet Daddy Robin, getting back to the business of feeding youngsters. Click for full size.

Luscious.

Sour Cherry, from rq. I just want to reach out an pick one. Click for full size.

The Daily Bird #44

Eurasian Collared Dove, click for full size.

Poppies III.

Bees love purple, and so do I! Magnificent poppies and beautiful bees from rq. Click for full size.

Celestial Guidance.

From Lofty:

I went for a bike ride today and stopped for lunch at a park bench in the weak sun. Imagine my surprise when I glanced at the GPS display and saw it had been replaced by a rainbow noodliness! I knew immediately what deity had sent the message, that old reprobate Yahweh only sends monochrome daubings of beardie weirdies these days. Anyway I managed to capture the message just before it faded from view. My new found guidance led me to spot one of the few flowering eucalypts out at the moment, and a fallen floret became my mascot for the day.

Click for full size.