Late afternoon in Scottsdale

After a long day of rehearsals cooped up in the ballroom, I was hoping to get a peak at the late afternoon sky. I was hoping to eventually see one of those postcard perfect Arizona sunsets that I have seen shared before. This in fact was one of the first days that I noticed the clouds rolling before lunch so I was hoping for a cool show.

What seemed like out of nowhere, the show began. Wow, what a treat!

In a matter of an hour, this cool little hillside of cactus and rock just outside the hotel lobby was transformed and lit first from a completely ominous cloud canopy and then, like a scene change onstage, its surface was illuminated by an amazingly colorful display of light like I had never seen. Still amazes me what can be done with one light (albeit a pretty powerful one!)

A nice way to end a day in a dark ballroom 🙂

I shot a few more from the “show” (of course right?) that I will share here soon!

Incidentally, I created a course that I recently launched (kind of quietly actually) about how I create some of these HDR images. I have been meaning to do a longer post about here on the blog, but its packed with a few videos, presets, tips, tricks, and inspiration. I also have included all of the raw files to be able to follow along and/or create and process your own version. You can check it out here, or with the link below.

I have a few other courses I am in the planning stages of as well so stay tuned!