Well, technically, during a lull in the storm. The clouds were moving very fast, with light and shadow moving over the empty fields and office parks, and I waited several minutes for the sun to play over this scene.
I particularly liked the contrast of the dead brown tumbleweeds scattered around the bright green meadow.
My one regret with this photo is not being able to capture the steep drop-off into a wash right below the frame. I could get the wash, or the sky, but not both.
The large barn-like structure used to be a packing house for the Irvine Ranch farms, and is now split between a motel (the La Quinta Inn) and a group of restaurants.
That’s a fabulous picture. The contrast in the colors — both the tumbleweeds and brilliant green meadow, and the sky and the buildings — is wonderful. I think you definitely made the right choice to keep the sky over the wash. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that area except to view the buildings from the other side, from the freeway.
Thanks! I really lucked out being there at the time – I’d stopped by the household hazmat dump to drop off some old telephones (it turns out they’re closed on rainy days) and saw this on the way back to the freeway.