Rainburst

More than virtually any other picture I've taken, this one leaves the greatest gap between the visual beauty of seeing the scene in person and seeing it in a photo. I was camping on the A.P. with a couple of buddies, and we had just completed our leg of the hike. On top of one the highest "peaks," there was a fire platform, which we climbed. The wind was gusting and we could hear the thunder rolling over the hills. Along the next ridge there was the source of the rumbling, an afternoon cloudburst. The air felt moist and electric, and it felt like an enormous storm was brewing. As it turned out, we were visited by a gentle rain that lasted off-and-on throughout the night. I took this picture from the fire tower, and the photo simply doesn't do the scene, which carried with it scents and sounds not captured here, any justice. I have enhanced it just a bit on the computer because the "original" shot came out all washed out. The "enhanced" picture actually better captures the reality of the scene with greater fidelity than the untouched shot.