Tag: thunderstorms

North American Monsoon–August 2024

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A curtain of light rain from a dissipating thunderstorm is brilliantly illuminated by the setting sun.

Storms in August were more plentiful than in July although there were still some extended breaks in the monsoon. Rainbows remained elusive for me. I was able to photograph a few that displayed short segments but I never captured a full rainbow. Lightning, on the other hand, was plentiful and I did well in that genre.

Here is a partial summary of August monsoon photography.

04 August 2024

Mormon Lake Overlook is a short drive from Flagstaff and affords an amazing 360° view. This was one of the many days with only a partial rainbow but the juxtaposition of the rainbow and the tree in the grasslands of Anderson Mesa was a pleasing composition. A few minutes later the Sun beautifully illuminated some light rain falling from a dissipating thunderstorm. The color was intense and only lasted a few minutes.

A short segment of a rainbow above the grasslands of Anderson Mesa in northern Arizona.
A short segment of a rainbow above the grasslands of Anderson Mesa in northern Arizona.
A curtain of light rain from a dissipating thunderstorm is brilliantly illuminated by the setting sun.
A curtain of light rain from a dissipating thunderstorm is brilliantly illuminated by the setting sun.

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Storm Chasing and Photography — Spring 2018

Cumulonimbus Mammatus over Wyoming grasslands.

03 June 2018

We left Flagstaff yesterday and spent the night in Albuquerque and today we will drive the rest of the way to Denver. We will be spending two weeks in Denver visiting family and friends—and will do a bit of storm chasing if the right conditions present themselves.

We had dinner last night at the Owl Cafe—a Route 66-style diner. We’ve been here before and like the decor. The food isn’t too bad, either.

The drive from Albuquerque to Denver was interesting as we were in a post-frontal airmass and the clouds had these abstract undulations. We stopped a few times for photos along US 84 in eastern New Mexico.

Owl Cafe interior.
Owl Cafe interior.
Owl Cafe interior.
Owl Cafe interior.
Windmill and clouds in eastern New Mexico.
Windmill and clouds in eastern New Mexico.
Gate and clouds in eastern New Mexico.
Gate and clouds in eastern New Mexico.

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Lightning Across Northern Arizona — 2017

The North American Monsoon is now in full swing across the southwest and Arizona. This brings thundershowers almost every day to northern Arizona along with a chance to photograph lightning.

I have been photographing lightning for a long time with my earliest images using an old manual focus/exposure camera with film. Those were challenging because you had to guess at the exposure (although there were many fine articles online even then on camera settings). There was no way to do a quick check of the exposure to see if it was good. On the other hand, we usually shot in the evening or nighttime hours using long exposures of several seconds or more so you were usually pretty certain whether you had the shutter open at the right moment.

With digital, everything has changed. You can instantly check your image and see whether or not you captured the lightning. There are several lightning triggers on the market that will fire the shutter for you.

Here are some recent images taken in several different locations over the past few weeks.

Twilight lightning over the North Rim, Grand Canyon.
Twilight lightning over the North Rim, Grand Canyon.

These were mainly in-cloud flashes so the best option was to leave the shutter open for 10-15 seconds. The longer exposure also allows some stars to appear in the image.

Lightning near Kendrick Peak in northern Arizona.
Lightning near Kendrick Peak in northern Arizona.
Early evening thunderstorms move into Flagstaff, Arizona.
Early evening thunderstorms move into Flagstaff, Arizona.
Sunset lightning in Sedona, Arizona.
Sunset lightning in Sedona, Arizona.