Nikon
Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S
Photographs on this site made with the Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S.
Field notes
Field notes with this glass
When Tempests Touch Earth
A terrifyingly beautiful convergence of weather and rock plays out across the high-altitude karst plateaus of the Dinaric Alps. In this wild, wind-scoured highlands environment, ancient limestone outcroppings claw through a thin carpet of alpine grasses, giving way to rolling green valleys that stretch into the horizon. Overhead, a monstrous shelf cloud of a severe mountain thunderstorm boils across the sky, dragging sheets of distant rain while a low, fracturing sun beams an intense, golden light underneath the front, casting the entire landscape into a stark, apocalyptic contrast.
How to capture
To capture an intense atmospheric event like a supercell or shelf cloud over a mountain range from a National Geographic perspective, a photographer must closely track localized weather patterns and secure a high, unobstructed vantage point well before the front arrives. An ultra-wide lens, such as a 14-24mm, is crucial for encompassing both the sprawling, rocky foreground and the towering vertical structure of the storm cells. Using a shutter speed of around 1/125s balances the need to freeze the motion of wind-whipped grasses while capturing crisp structural definitions within the rapidly moving cloud underbelly, while dynamic-range bracketing handles the severe contrast between the dark storm center and the brilliant sunset break.
