Like most photographers, it seems there's always some new gadget or piece of equipment on my wish list. This past Monday, the lens I've been drooling over for some time finally arrived (gotta love it when that UPS driver shows up at the door!). Of course, I had to take it out for a spin, just to make sure everything was working as it should.

It was already late, only about an hour of sunlight left so I headed towards the beach, just a mile from my home. As I left the house, I noticed some clouds heading in from the east. By the time I'd made it out onto to the beach (less than five minutes) the clouds had caught up.

I had a feeling I was about to be treated to a show as the incoming storm clouds met the light of a setting sun.

Sure enough...the sky started it's show, as if on cue. Every second brought changes in the color and light. The drama in the quickly moving clouds was mirrored in water surface. Just as the sun was about to dip below the horizon, the entire sky became a surreal tangerine orange. After that, as the sky became darker, it was the lightening that claimed center stage.

These images, and quite a few more, were shot within the relatively short time span of forty minutes. The visual dance that happens when the setting sun meets an approaching storm is always a treat.

My new lens perfomed flawlessly. I'm thrilled to be adding it to my arsenal. I actually bought it for portrait and event shooting but I'm happy to see it has a place in my bag as an all around terrific lens. I shot quite a few frames of birds on this short outing and am thrilled with those results as well.

[note: My new lens is a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR. The photo with the danger sign was shot with a different (wide angle) lens]