The cruise paddle wheeler “Queen of the West” was parked on the Columbia River the day before we left Portland. The first cruise of the season was scheduled to begin April 26th.
A heavy rainstorm had passed over about 30 minutes before I took this photo. The sky had cleared above me but the ominous clouds from the storm had passed to the east to give a lot of drama to the sky.
Maralee
Through My Lens 
Great photo!
Thank you very much.
Dramatic sky, indeed, and a great backdrop for the colorful boat.
I think they had just painted the boat for the start of the season. It was the contrast that caught my eye.
Very nice! Looks like the MS Dixie on Lake Tahoe.
Thanks. I bet the one on Lake Tahoe would be fun to take a ride on. Such a beautiful area.
Reblogged this on Amazing Fine Art.
Thank you very much.
Gorgeous contrast of clean bright colors of the ship against the dark cloudy sky background; great capture Maralee!
Thanks, Jaime. I love dramatic skies. I was expecting to see lightning at any time but it didn’t happen.
A very dramatic photo for sure… beautiful…
Thanks, Rob.
Super shot, Maralee. Do I detect any post production activity?
Yes, I did do some post production activity. But surprisingly not very much. The skies in the background were so dark and with the sun shining where I was on the boat, there was a lot of natural contrast.
Love the drama in this photo .. the sky and the intense color in the boat. Magnificent boat.
Thanks, Viveka. I think the dark skies in the background made everything work. If it had been blues skies and sunshine, I don’t think it would have been as dramatic.
You’re so right about the dark sky .. it gives everything else so much more intense. If the sky had been blue .. it just had been a nice shot, nothing more – but this is drama.