Clouds, rain and storms were forecast yesterday for the Eastern Plains. So I headed out towards Bennett and was not disappointed.
![2307-0019-Approaching-Storm-CR-162](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2307-0019-Approaching-Storm-CR-162.jpg)
I made several images along County Road 162, hoping to capture big skies and weather. This was what I came for!
![2307-0007-Sky-And-Trees-CR-162](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2307-0007-Sky-And-Trees-CR-162.jpg)
Nearby, there were trees in a gully just below the ridge line. A monochrome image did justice to this image.
![2307-0011-Trees-Below-The-Ridge-Line](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2307-0011-Trees-Below-The-Ridge-Line.jpg)
After passing through Kiowa, I headed south. There were many snow banks remaining from the winter storms in the shaded north facing slopes in this area. There is bridge over Bijou Creek where I stopped. The blue and white cloudy sky was reflected in the running water of the creek.
![2307-0025-West-Bijou-Creek-CR-102](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2307-0025-West-Bijou-Creek-CR-102.jpg)
Earlier in the day, I had seen some image with ICM (intentional camera movement). ICM generally works best with low light levels. This allows long shutter speeds to be achieved without filters. In this case, I stopped the aperture down and panned the camera horizontally for this image.
![2307-0034-Eastern-Plains-Horizon-Blur](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2307-0034-Eastern-Plains-Horizon-Blur.jpg)
It was getting late in the day, so I turned back towards Kiowa. While driving, the sun dropped below the clouds to reveal a fabulous sunset just before I reached the water tower for Kiowa. The tower is located on high ground. From this point, one can see the Rocky Mountains on the horizon.
![2307-0045-Kiowa-Water-Tower](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2307-0045-Kiowa-Water-Tower.jpg)
I had a choice of two routes back home; west through Kiowa facing direct sun or north to Bennett. So it was north. After a few minutes driving, I was rewarded with clouds lit by the setting sun.
![2307-0051-Setting-Sun-Lighting-Up-The-Clouds-Kiowa](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2307-0051-Setting-Sun-Lighting-Up-The-Clouds-Kiowa.jpg)
After making this image, I turned around. By this time, the sun was lighting up another cloud bank on the east.
![2307-0057-Facing-The-Sunset](https://matchgrun.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2307-0057-Facing-The-Sunset.jpg)
Spectacular.