Had Quite the Flyover This Afternoon

[2naSalit]

The Mother ship came in for a landing. Accompanied by a fleet that is still passing over with loud, rolling thunder that rumbles all the way across the sky.

Montana Big Sky living up to its name.

[Diamond_Dog]

1. Wow 2na those are some very dramatic photos!

Big Sky, indeed!

[2naSalit]

4. I literally could not...

Get in all in one frame! The whole cloud had to be some 60 miles across. The center is over the city on the other side of the pass.

[Deuxcents]

2. 🤩

[KarenS]

3. Both stunning and ominous at the same time.

Thank you for sharing these

[2naSalit]

35. You're welcome.

Sometimes they go past but so close that I can take pictures like a spectator on the sidelines. Living on a mountainside, sort of, gives you a unique perspective.

[NJCher]

5. I don't think I've ever seen anything

like this.

Majestic.

The power of nature.

Must have been quite a moment when you were taking those photos.

[2naSalit]

7. It was...

I had to get as many good pictures as I could before I rushed down to my friend's house to water my garden. Tomatoes are just starting to ripen and have to keep an eye on that zucchini. And I got drenched even though I was almost done watering and protected from the sideways rain because it was on the other side of the shed. It was more rain than I expected and I'm thrilled.

Yesterday it was in the 90s with a red flag warning that was supposed to extend into today. Instead we were saved by the mother ship!

It will be a good sleeping night.

[MLAA]

6. Majestic, great shots 2nasalit!

[2naSalit]

8. Thanks...

I couldn't resist.

[Easterncedar]

9. I expect to see Charlton Heston as Moses

Walking over those hills. So dramatic!

[2naSalit]

33. LOL...

He'd be really tiny!

[Easterncedar]

42. Tiny Charlton - funny!

[LoisB]

10. Wow! These are some spectacular shots 2naSalit. If the Mothership ever comes, I imagine it will look just like

that.

[2naSalit]

32. I agree. ...nt

[Mousetoescamper]

11. These are genuinely awesome photos!

I'm awestruck, as you must have been while shooting.

[2naSalit]

31. Thank you!

Yes, made me unlock my door and go back in to get the camera. I was leaving the house to go somewhere and when I stepped out in the open I saw it. No hesitation, I was going to capture that one.

[usonian]

12. Wow! Is that some kind of wall cloud?

I'd be thrilled and frightened at the same time.

EXIF says you used a Coolpix P510.

That's a GREAT camera, ready for moments like you just captured.

📷

[2naSalit]

14. That's the one!

It's a handy unit, I just wish it was smaller and lighter. 42X optical zoom is hard to live without once you're hooked.

I was going to buy something new a few years ago, never happened.

[usonian]

34. One day, mine kind of froze, so I thought it was on the way out.

Well, that was a one-timer, and it has been great ever since.

I upgraded anyway, and now it feels SO LIGHT that I carry it along with me for magic moments.

I am so glad that you did exactly that.

The Coolpix served me so long that I skipped the entire DSLR generation, and went straight to mirrorless.

But bird photos are the Coolpix's big win. Seriously, that little sensor delivers great rendition.

Enjoy that gem in good health and through great scenes.

[2naSalit]

36. Had that happen once too.

No problem since. I need to find batteries, I'm down to one. Haven't really looked because I really need to upgrade. I think I'll just bypass the mirrors and stay digital now that I kind have the hang of it.

[usonian]

49. Digital cameras used mirrors for quite a while.

The mirror was there to provide a view through the lens before the photo is taken. With mirrorless, the sensor feeds the viewfinder, so no mirror is needed. The Coolpix does the same thing, except that the one zoom does everything, so lenses don't need to be changed.

So, you can get a newer one like the Coolpix, with just the one lens and big zoom range, or a mirrorless that lets you change lenses. I often use two lenses: 14-30 and 24-200. I just love wide angles, and often shoot at 14mm focal length. There is a world of diffrtence between 24 (the usual wide setting of cameras, including the coolpix) and 20mm, which was my dream for years. And 14mm is a different universe from the 20.

The 14mm is not a fisheye. It's "normal" though you get perspective distortion when you tilt it up or down. Buildings and trees look like they are falling over.

The mirrorless models get you more pixels and more sensitive ones.

And, you know, I don't carry the new mirrorless gear with me everywhere, just the Coolpix.

[2naSalit]

51. Thanks...

I will probably go with another coolpix, I like the quality I can get with it. I'm more of a macromaniac and finding the teeny tiny flowers and try to catch them when there's no breeze.

[usonian]

54. When you put one into macro mode, it does great!

For unknown reasons, the Z model has no macro setting. It seems to just know!

But the P510 always gave me great close-ups.

I have posted some and will post some more.

I thought of a light tent, but the terrain here is rugged, and it never worked out.

[2naSalit]

16. That's the underside...

Last edited Tue Sep 3, 2024, 11:10 PM - Edit history (1)

Of a big anvil that just passed over jellystone.

[Enter stage left]

13. We left Ennis about 11:30 AM today headed towards Henry's' Lake...

The clouds looked about the same as your pictures, and 20-25 miles south of Ennis we got into quite a thunder storm. It was spectacular, but not so bad it made driving dangerous.

There is something to be said about storms in the Montana, Wyoming, and northern Idaho areas. They are really wonderfully beautiful, but can turn very dangerous quickly. Today was just beautiful.

[2naSalit]

19. Same system...

I'm just a little ways north and east of there as the crow flies. It was sunny and hot in between the early cells that came up but by this afternoon it was a parade of clouds making their way over the divide.

[Enter stage left]

20. Between Ennis & Bozeman? Driven that road too. Beautiful drive.

[2naSalit]

24. More like...

Paradise Valley area.

[Enter stage left]

27. We have driven from Mammoth to Livingston many times...

We love to stay at Yellowstone Edge RV park (we're full time RV'ers) when we can get into it. It is usually booked up to a year in advance. Spectacularly beautiful area, you're so fortunate to be there. Congrats!

[2naSalit]

57. I was...

Joking around with the owners in the cash line at Albertson's Sunday! I don't know them but I go by there all the time.

[OAITW r.2.0]

15. That looks like an "end of the world" photo.

Hope you survived the system....

[2naSalit]

23. I did in the weirdest way.

Had to go down the hill to water my garden that is placed along the side of a garage/shed which protected me from the wind and the driving rain, for the most part. I was pretty wet when I got back in the car except for the part that was covered by my rain jacket.

The worst part is that I discovered my windshield leaks. I usually keep those springy window shade up so the water goes down to the base of the windshield which is probably the least bad place for it to go. Guess I need to get that taken care of this week.

This cell and the few that followed, not as spectacular, dumped an unexpected good amount of rain.

[OAITW r.2.0]

47. I don't know why you felt compelled to water the garden at this point.

Those pics seem to show that there were a lot of cloud water to contend with.

[2naSalit]

48. The past few rain storm days...

It rained all around us and not in the garden. And when it rains, it's often not adequate for the water to get down very far into the soil. Today it might have been but I couldn't count on it so I made sure to get them well watered. The tomatoes are producing right now and they need all the water they can get, especially given the heat we've had lately. If it rains for much of the day, I'll skip watering but better safe than sorry.

[OAITW r.2.0]

55. Well, if you remember my post on the single ear of corn I posted.

A few poster said, the corn stalk wouldn't produce an ear of corn. Wrong. I actually have an ear of corn growing om a single corn plant. Might post a pic tomorrow,

[yorkster]

17. Fantastic.

[2naSalit]

45. Thank you!

[Silent Type]

18. Beautiful. I'd put on a poncho and just sit there, until close lightning.

[2naSalit]

46. Sometimes I do that.

[markodochartaigh]

21. Imagine

living a thousand years ago with only a very basic knowledge of science........

[2naSalit]

30. I think about that sometimes...

As I offer thanks for my shelter, whatever it may be at the time.

[PatrickforB]

22. Beautiful photos. I love clouds in all their permutations. You know,

Montana really IS the 'big sky' state. I remember last time I drove I-90 through Montana, I just kept driving and driving and driving and I was still in Montana. It is huge. Amazing cloud formation.

[2naSalit]

26. Yep...

More than seven hundred miles across. But the only place I have ever seen a 1000 mile marker is in Texas.

I have a whole catalogue of sky pictures, it's usually worth watching for its beauty and its danger.

[yonder]

25. Wow. Very impressive, mother ship is right.

A storm blew through our area yesterday, clearing our air for a bit, then easterly through central Idaho, laying down some 6000 unwanted, unneeded strikes - I wonder if yours was part of that same system?

Captivating photos!

[2naSalit]

28. I think so...

Yesterday it was hot and we were smothered in smoke for central Idaho, you could see it wafting this way on the satellite viewer.

This stuff is coming straight out of the south.That was not only an anvil cloud, it was the leading frontal edge, it's nice and cool now and should be for the next day or two.

[wendyb-NC]

29. Great pictures

That sky is in a ferocious mood there, it's stunning, none the less.

[2naSalit]

44. Thank you!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

37. Wow, you really caught these magnificent, dangerous clouds! Super shots!

[2naSalit]

39. Thank you, dear Peggy!

I had time to get these and get out of the way... but I watered my garden first and got pretty wet!

It rained petty good but I still needed to add water. I stopped when the lightning was really ripping, I have steel fencing around the whole thing, it was time to go inside. Exciting none the less.

Hope you're feeling better today.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

50. I'm sure it was exciting!

I'm feeling pretty good right now, but it comes and goes. Each day not as bad as before. Thanks for your good thoughts!

[Bluethroughu]

38. Wow! Those pictures are intense.

I felt as if someone pulled a blanket over my head, and it began to fall over me in an ominous way. I actually got a little anxiety in my chest.

Excellent pictures.

[2naSalit]

40. Definitely...

Need to have some kind of shelter when it hits.

[Bluethroughu]

43. It looks awsomely scary.

[2naSalit]

52. Certainly gives one pause!

[Katcat]

41. Wowza

For sure, either the mother ship or the Enterprise.

[2naSalit]

53. I wouldn't know what else to call it!

A few minutes later it got pretty windy and rainy.

[GainesT1958]

56. Beautiful...why does the theme...

From "Close Encounters" keep playing in my mind when I see this?🤔😊

[malaise]

58. Wow!

Quite beautiful
Rec

[livetohike]

59. Awesome! Disaster movie worthy. I would have

hurried home .

[2naSalit]

60. It was...

Right outside when I was walking the 20ft to my car. It was pretty intense when it unloaded on us.

[AllaN01Bear]

61. ohhh, ahhh. play the five tones .

such a lovely mothership cloud.