The heat of the mid-afternoon sun had begun to ease as the skies in the south had darkened. There was a tension in the air as the storm rolled up the coast. The wind picked up and palms began to whip stiffly in the breeze. It was coming fast and then it was upon us, the sky opened up and released its water. The rain was warm and wet and delicious, rinsing the sweat salt from my skin, easing the warmth that pulsed underneath.

I went out into a storm on the beach in Panama to enjoy the rain and then as it ended the most amazing, dramatic skies appeared. I rushed back to our room for my camera and headed down to the beach. I knew I needed to underexpose to increase the drama of the sky and dramatic skys are great on their own but the picture is so much stronger if there is something with some visual interest in the foreground. I remembered that there had been a boat down the beach so I hurried down there. I knew I wanted to use a wide angle lens to get as much of the sky as possible but that also mean that the boat would appear smaller so I waded out to get as close as possible, (I was chest deep in the water). I really am happy with what I got. I feel like the photo has a strong sense of the drama of the passing storm and the boat adds some visual weight to the foreground. I did have to lighten the boat with the Brushes tool in Aperture to make it pop a bit more.

-Russell Berg