No Wheels--No Problem

It's that time of year when the clouds in South Texas might be high and wind-blown, which to my eye makes them not only dramatic and unique but also perfect for shooting in infrared.

A few days ago I checked the sky and my first thought was to curse the boy who wrecked my car and robbed me of the chance to drive around looking for something to photograph, but after a few moments of consideration I realized that there must be a way to bring home a decent shot without a car.
Sounds like a no-brainer now, but at the time I was worried.

Because I live in a typical suburban neighborhood, when I want serious clouds in the frame the main thing is to get out someplace where there's visibility instead of just trees and houses.
I hit the streets on foot and headed to the nearest place that offered such views, knowing that I only had a drainage ditch's width of clear sky but hoping for the best.


Timing is almost everything.
The dramatic clouds I was watching were in a good place while I was out there, which sounds simple but they were moving very fast across the sky so a bit of luck was involved--I don't usually sit around in the sun for hours waiting for better conditions.


The deciding factor for these pictures, however, is that I was down in a concrete-lined drainage ditch a good 4-6 meters below street level and shooting up at trees and powerlines on the edge of it.
This eliminated a huge mess of suburban crap that would have blocked my view of the clouds or cluttered the space between, which would have ruined their value as a background.

I'm pretty sure the powerline shot is one of my best over the last year or so.



.