On this first evening of monsoon storms in southern Arizona, I didn’t have much luck remotely shooting lightning amidst reddening sunset light from a western core. So, after seeing a bright flash behind me, reflected off the inside of the car where I was sheltering, I got out quickly and turned things around. Not much lightning happened this direction in-frame, but what did occur was a doozy. One very brilliant return stroke blasted off a mountainside and through the narrow core, its edges feathered by the rain, its thunderous report deeply reverberating across the desert for a nice, long time. Meanwhile, a couple more strokes hit Kitt Peak, to our south. Argh…but I was glad to snag this beauty! Rain cores of assorted sizes and depths had formed essentially all around the group of about seven monsoonal storm photographers (I was the second) who had gathered at this spot with plenty of parking room. By this time, we had many cameras on tripods, pointed every which way. Before the cores closed in, we all introduced and shared tips and stories, and cheered each other on as bolts were captured…a congenial and pleasant experience much unlike the frenzied, hyper-competitive Oklahoma “chaser convergence” crowds. Everybody got at least a couple of really nice images in various directions, without much duplication amongst us, before the action got too near and chased us away on our merry ways. Click the image to enlarge, look closely, and you’ll see one camera on a tripod in the lower-right foreground here, closer to the bushes and below the stroke.
14 ENE Sells AZ (14 Jul 19) Looking E
32.0162, -111.6359Popping a Mountainside
On this first evening of monsoon storms in southern Arizona, I didn’t have much luck remotely shooting lightning amidst reddening sunset light from a western core. So, after seeing a bright flash behind me, reflected off the inside of the car where I was sheltering, I got out quickly and turned things around. Not much lightning happened this direction in-frame, but what did occur was a doozy. One very brilliant return stroke blasted off a mountainside and through the narrow core, its edges feathered by the rain, its thunderous report deeply reverberating across the desert for a nice, long time. Meanwhile, a couple more strokes hit Kitt Peak, to our south. Argh…but I was glad to snag this beauty! Rain cores of assorted sizes and depths had formed essentially all around the group of about seven monsoonal storm photographers (I was the second) who had gathered at this spot with plenty of parking room. By this time, we had many cameras on tripods, pointed every which way. Before the cores closed in, we all introduced and shared tips and stories, and cheered each other on as bolts were captured…a congenial and pleasant experience much unlike the frenzied, hyper-competitive Oklahoma “chaser convergence” crowds. Everybody got at least a couple of really nice images in various directions, without much duplication amongst us, before the action got too near and chased us away on our merry ways. Click the image to enlarge, look closely, and you’ll see one camera on a tripod in the lower-right foreground here, closer to the bushes and below the stroke.
14 ENE Sells AZ (14 Jul 19) Looking E
32.0162, -111.6359