Storm Clouds

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The late spring storms have been intense this year.  Since I have such a long drive home I have managed to "run" into my fair share.This one approached rapidly while I was getting gas at my favorite exit 104.  It was in and out in the time it took to fill up and pay for my gas.

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 Just a few days later on 17N

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 and finally while not as mean looking as the other two this one packed a punch and I actually had to pull off of 95 and sit in a parking lot of a McDonald's for a good 30 minutes while it dropped buckets of rain and shook my car with thunder booms and lots of lightening.  An hour later, the sun was shining and we were out in the driveway talking.

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 Sure hope this is it for these storms, I am so over it.

Reflections

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I took this while riding over a bridge in the Northern Neck a few weeks ago. I just thought the clouds looked cool over the bridge.   It was just an ordinary shot though so I was wanting to try something new with it so I opened up the Lightroom 5 develop module, dropped the exposure and then activated the all new radial filter.  From there I brushed over the circular mirror to highlight the bridge and clouds and reset the expose in the circle to its original setting, then I set the feather to 65% to ensure a smooth transition and that was it.  It literally took less than one minute to make the adjustment.  I think it's such a cool effect.  Not something you can use all the time, but with the right shot it can be lots of fun.  Have a great day.