Love the monsoon season.
Showing posts with label monsoons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label monsoons. Show all posts
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
THEN THE THUNDER CRACKED AND I RAN
The story goes something like this…
We had a wonderful daytime thunder and lightning storm today. A bit more than the standard monsoon, though we started with blue skies in the morning and the clouds building by about 1 pm. Once the storms rolled in I decided to take a little break from the office to enjoy the rain. The smell of rain was on the freshly kicked up winds, lightning was flashing and the thunder rumbling, bringing the promise of even more exciting storm activity in the future.
Though I thought to just sit and enjoy the storm, I couldn’t resist trying to capture the wonderful activity and retrieved my camera and one of the tri-pods from inside. I started playing with the settings, trying to capture the lightning flashes. No go, through the artificial dark of overcast monsoon skies it was still daylight, so the time exposures didn’t work, all I got was white. I tried some regular shots just trying to time the lightning flashes to my clicking of the shutter but the strikes were not the crawl leisurely across the sky type of lightning, they were of the sharp rapid strike variety and far too fast for my measly reflexes.
Then some lightning flashes from behind me caught my attention and as turned from the main storm activity I noticed the stalk of an agave plant, next to its fallen comrade which was leaning against a saguaro highlighted against the sky. Due to the overcast and weird storm lighting, the vegetation was nearly a silhouette against a stormy grey backdrop. Ohhh, fun with shadows and weird natural lighting, my favorite.
I removed the camera from the tri-pod for more mobility and with light rain falling and lightning all around I bravely stepped from the cover of the patio to play with the composition of the shot. About 5 minutes in to my venture, there was a bright flash and an enormous crack as lightning and thunder exploded around me virtually simultaneously. I’ll be honest, I let out a squeak followed by a swear word, managed to jump and duck like I was dodging gunfire at the same time and ran like hell towards the safety of the covered patio. As I finished my 20 yard dash, I realized the flash of the lightning happened about the same time I shot the photo.
Could it be? Nahhh. But just incase the impossible happened…I flipped the camera to review -
Woot! I caught the lightning strike. Talk about perfect timing!
So a bit about this photo: it was taken on regular auto camera settings, not on elapsed time exposure and without the use of a tri-pod on my Canon G-10. It is a color photo and has not been enhanced or digitally altered in any way, (including cropping). Since the image is not blurry, (and trust me I moved when that thunder cracked) all I can figure is that the shutter clicked closed in the split second between the lightning and ensuing startled movement from me that followed the thunder clap.
And least to say, this image is available as a fine art print. I actually had the settings on the camera correct so it can easily be enlarged to a 20 x 30 print.
We had a wonderful daytime thunder and lightning storm today. A bit more than the standard monsoon, though we started with blue skies in the morning and the clouds building by about 1 pm. Once the storms rolled in I decided to take a little break from the office to enjoy the rain. The smell of rain was on the freshly kicked up winds, lightning was flashing and the thunder rumbling, bringing the promise of even more exciting storm activity in the future.
Though I thought to just sit and enjoy the storm, I couldn’t resist trying to capture the wonderful activity and retrieved my camera and one of the tri-pods from inside. I started playing with the settings, trying to capture the lightning flashes. No go, through the artificial dark of overcast monsoon skies it was still daylight, so the time exposures didn’t work, all I got was white. I tried some regular shots just trying to time the lightning flashes to my clicking of the shutter but the strikes were not the crawl leisurely across the sky type of lightning, they were of the sharp rapid strike variety and far too fast for my measly reflexes.
Then some lightning flashes from behind me caught my attention and as turned from the main storm activity I noticed the stalk of an agave plant, next to its fallen comrade which was leaning against a saguaro highlighted against the sky. Due to the overcast and weird storm lighting, the vegetation was nearly a silhouette against a stormy grey backdrop. Ohhh, fun with shadows and weird natural lighting, my favorite.
I removed the camera from the tri-pod for more mobility and with light rain falling and lightning all around I bravely stepped from the cover of the patio to play with the composition of the shot. About 5 minutes in to my venture, there was a bright flash and an enormous crack as lightning and thunder exploded around me virtually simultaneously. I’ll be honest, I let out a squeak followed by a swear word, managed to jump and duck like I was dodging gunfire at the same time and ran like hell towards the safety of the covered patio. As I finished my 20 yard dash, I realized the flash of the lightning happened about the same time I shot the photo.
Could it be? Nahhh. But just incase the impossible happened…I flipped the camera to review -
Woot! I caught the lightning strike. Talk about perfect timing!
So a bit about this photo: it was taken on regular auto camera settings, not on elapsed time exposure and without the use of a tri-pod on my Canon G-10. It is a color photo and has not been enhanced or digitally altered in any way, (including cropping). Since the image is not blurry, (and trust me I moved when that thunder cracked) all I can figure is that the shutter clicked closed in the split second between the lightning and ensuing startled movement from me that followed the thunder clap.
And least to say, this image is available as a fine art print. I actually had the settings on the camera correct so it can easily be enlarged to a 20 x 30 print.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
PHOTO FOR THE DAY
RAIN!!! We had rain yesterday. There's nothing like the first real storm during the summer in Tucson. I can't tell you how many people I saw standing outside, arms out, looking up at the sky, grinning like fools and splashing in puddles. And people driving with arms hanging out open car windows just soaking in the moisture. Thunder, lightning and a spectacular sunset. Yesterday was a good day.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
THE TEASER
Argggghhhhh!! Come on and rain already. The anticipation is brutal. It's like waiting for Christmas knowing you are getting the Red Ryder BB gun AND a pair of protective eye wear. It's hot (over 100) and humid. Shall we just say muggy. Yes, muggy in Arizona. Go figure. These are always the worst two weeks for weather in Arizona; the two leading up to the monsoons.
Not that it is hot, we're used to the heat. Not that it's humid. That is a novelty and it indicates there is a promise of rain. The two combined though just sucks. Add to that the anticipation of the rain - the two weeks it takes the clouds to decide they are ready to release that moisture to cool everything off and the earth determines it is ready to receive it, so we can experience the true monsoons. Thunder, lightning, dry washes running, rain curtains, everything sparkly and cleaned of the perpetual layer of dust, towering clouds, and spectacular sunsets (though the last two having started already).
One of my fondest memories occurred the first summer we were here; a completely foreign land after being uprooted from the green and lush of Massachusetts. I walked into a rain storm. This was 20 years ago and I still remember the wonder I experienced when I felt the first light drops of rain which then quickly progressed to larger, fatter and more plentiful drops within 10 steps. The realization that I was at the edge of a storm dawned and then solidified when I tested my theory and retraced my steps to return to dry land. All the difference of 20 feet. I can still hear the 'plat', 'plat', 'plat' of the rain hitting the ground changing tempo as more and more drops fell. I can see the puffs of dust as the water hit the dry, dusty ground. The traditional light brown dirt speckled with a few dark circles proximate to me, then morphing to solid dark brown at a distance, as it turned to mud. My first inclination that there might be something redeeming about this new desert home after all.
So up until it actually rains there are teasing clouds building every day, taunting rain curtains, where the rain doesn't quite hit the ground but you can see it falling, trying to make it to earth. During this time it is just plain uncomfortable. Once the rains actually fall, things cool off, the still high temperatures don't seem to matter quite as much and the humidity seems to go away. Weird, but there it is.
Not that it is hot, we're used to the heat. Not that it's humid. That is a novelty and it indicates there is a promise of rain. The two combined though just sucks. Add to that the anticipation of the rain - the two weeks it takes the clouds to decide they are ready to release that moisture to cool everything off and the earth determines it is ready to receive it, so we can experience the true monsoons. Thunder, lightning, dry washes running, rain curtains, everything sparkly and cleaned of the perpetual layer of dust, towering clouds, and spectacular sunsets (though the last two having started already).
One of my fondest memories occurred the first summer we were here; a completely foreign land after being uprooted from the green and lush of Massachusetts. I walked into a rain storm. This was 20 years ago and I still remember the wonder I experienced when I felt the first light drops of rain which then quickly progressed to larger, fatter and more plentiful drops within 10 steps. The realization that I was at the edge of a storm dawned and then solidified when I tested my theory and retraced my steps to return to dry land. All the difference of 20 feet. I can still hear the 'plat', 'plat', 'plat' of the rain hitting the ground changing tempo as more and more drops fell. I can see the puffs of dust as the water hit the dry, dusty ground. The traditional light brown dirt speckled with a few dark circles proximate to me, then morphing to solid dark brown at a distance, as it turned to mud. My first inclination that there might be something redeeming about this new desert home after all.
So up until it actually rains there are teasing clouds building every day, taunting rain curtains, where the rain doesn't quite hit the ground but you can see it falling, trying to make it to earth. During this time it is just plain uncomfortable. Once the rains actually fall, things cool off, the still high temperatures don't seem to matter quite as much and the humidity seems to go away. Weird, but there it is.
Friday, June 25, 2010
PHOTO FOR THE DAY
We are getting closer and closer to the monsoons! The clouds are developing and actually hanging around for a bit each evening.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
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