Weather Adventures at Mono Lake

       

 Thunderstorms and Monsoons Make for Interesting Photos

During the first week of August, a weak offshore low-pressure system coming in from the Pacific was forecast to produce thunder storms over the areas of Nevada and the Central California Valley. Being a storm chaser at heart, I decided to take a chance on getting some interesting weather photos, so I made a day trip over to Mono Lake which is located within the Mono Basin, next to the Eastern Sierra Range.

 Mono Lake has a most interesting history as one of the oldest natural lakes in North America and is also surrounded by inactive volcanoes in one of the youngest volcanic chains in North America. More information and photos will be coming about Mono Lake in the preceding posts.

Being part of the Great Basin Desert, at an elevation of 6,383 ft (1,946 m) above sea level, the daytime temperatures can vary at Mono Lake from around 100 °F (37.78 °C) to 70 °F (21.1 °C).  For most of the summer, Mono’s weather is more of a Mediterranean Climate, warm and dry.  However, a southerly flow can bring isolated thunderstorms that will produce monsoon weather patterns.  This was the weather that I was hoping would occur during my photo shoot.

By late afternoon, it is getting hot and as the warm, moist air meets the cooler air, thunder cells produce mirco bursts of rain. 

The mirror smooth, calm lake is on the verge of turning tumultuous.

 Smoke from a lightning strike can be seen on a distant mountain peak.

The wind drives the rain across the lake, it's time to head for cover!

A California Gull takes flight, signaling that for now, the worse has past.

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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NATURE’S LIGHT SHOW

Photographing Lightning

Here in the Southwest, on warm sunny afternoons when the humidity starts to rise, there is a possibility that thunder cells will develop over the mountains. As evening descends, if the lightning remains localized, I will be in for a special treat: to photograph one of my favorite scenes. I have always been fascinated by thunderstorms. Throughout my childhood in the southern U.S., I was mesmerized by the brilliant flashes of light and the loud cracking thunder, which was followed by a hard downpour of rain. These days, if conditions are right, I will pack up my camera gear and head outdoors in search of lightning photos.

Of all the scenes that I love to photograph, a lightning storm is potentially the most dangerous. To be as safe as possible, I will wait for lightning to form on the horizon, at least twenty miles away. Lightning can strike within a ten-mile range and a bolt can reach for five to ten miles.

I have been most successful with my lightning photos after nightfall, because with a dark sky, I can leave my shutter open and get several strikes on a frame without over exposing. As night approaches if there is lightning over the mountains, I drive out in the desert to get a closer view. After a level location away from trees is found, I set up my camera equipment close to the car. A car will provide shelter and protection during a thunderstorm; however contact must be avoided with the metal sides.

One disadvantage of night photography during stormy weather is that it’s hard to see the movement of the clouds. Because of this, I am always aware of the wind’s speed and direction. If the wind speed increases and I can feel it blowing on my face, it means the storm is headed in my direction, and I had better seek cover. I would rather not be caught outside, standing behind a large metal tripod and getting zapped by billions of volts of static electricity.

All of my lightning photos were taken with my Nikon film cameras before I made the transition to digital. Since these photos were taken at night, I used a cable release to hold the shutter open on the “bulb” setting. The camera was wrapped in a plastic bag to keep it dry, and then secured to a sturdy Bogan tripod. Most of the time, I used a Nikon 80-200mm 2.8 lens with the aperture set at f5.6 and focused on the distant mountains. I will position myself to frame the mountains in the foreground with the lightning striking over them. From trial and error, I can leave the shutter open and get numerous lightning strikes with out overexposing the frame.

The diameter of a typical lightning bolt isn’t much larger than an inch. The reason it appears so much wider is because the light is so bright. The heat produced by a bolt of lightning can get hotter than the surface of the sun, and can raise the air temperature to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

A lightning flash is usually not a single event. It can have up to 42 strokes, occurring at 0.02-second intervals between strokes, followed by a leader stroke. Lightning can and often does strike in the same place twice.

The length of a lightning bolt can be between 2 to 3 miles long, lasts 1/4th second, and carries a current of 1000 Amps at 100 million Volts.

 

 In pursuit of my photography, I strive to be as responsible as possible and take all safety precautions. Since the weather plays a significant role in my landscape photography, I always study the weather forecasts before venturing out on a photo shoot. On several occasions, after I wandered a long distance from my vehicle, I began to notice the fair weather cumulus clouds changing into cumulonimbus or thunderclouds. A couple of times the thunder was very loud and seemed to be almost overhead, so I quickly turned around, picked up my pace and did a fast trot back to my car.

 

 As a rule, thunder can only be heard from a distance of twelve miles. For an estimate on how close the lightning may be, count the seconds between when it flashes and when it thunders. When there is less than 30 seconds, the thunderstorm is within six miles, which puts you in the danger zone. If you are out in the open and cannot find shelter, protect yourself by moving to the lowest elevation. Make yourself as low to the ground as possible by getting in the lightning crouch: with feet held together, squat down; tuck your head to your chest or between your knees; hold your arms tight against your body and place your hands against your ears. This position can offer some protection by allowing the lightning a pathway to flow over your body instead of through your vital organs. Always, if possible, wait for at least 30 minutes after you hear the last clap of thunder before leaving a shelter.

For additional information, please visit
NOAA’S National Weather Service Lightning Safety Web site.

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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Chasing Rainbows

RAINY DAY PHOTOGRAPHY

Spring offers many of the best choices for outdoor photography, whether it is landscape, wildlife or macro. The climate is warmer, days are longer, and nature’s alive with color and activity. The main factor that can spoil an adventure out with the camera is spring rain. We tend to receive more precipitation during the spring season because of the changing weather patterns. In the Northern Hemisphere the weather becomes unstable when warm air flows over landmasses where the air has been cooled from the Polar Regions. This may produce moisture in the form of rain or fog. The jet stream in spring also plays a significant role in the weather, giving us severe, unstable patterns. It is formed when air masses of different temperatures meet, and the greater difference in temperature, the faster the wind velocity inside the jet stream.

 

Where I live, in the Great Basin Desert of the United States, spring rain can create favorable conditions, which add drama and excitement to a photograph. Rich vibrant colors are muted and contrast is made softer, giving a calm or moody feeling to the landscape. Reflections in pools of water or raindrops create mirror images that add interest to the scene.

 Clouds will always enhance a photograph by giving detail to a solid gray sky
or adding patterns to a plain blue sky. 

I’m a fan of rainy weather, so when the clouds move in, I pack up my gear and head out. My major concern in rainy day photography is keeping myself and my equipment dry. I use a waterproof jacket that is large enough to wear it over my camera. If I get wet, I’ll eventually dry; however water is detrimental to cameras. A waterproof backpack cover keeps my camera bag dry from the falling rain and wet surfaces when I set it down to change equipment. A small water absorbent towel tucked in my jacket pocket is handy to wipe away excess moisture. To protect my camera and keep it dry, I use the plastic elastic kitchen lid covers that come in different sizes, and are usually found in the “food storage bag” section of the store. The cover fits snuggly over my camera and if needed, I can poke a hole for the lens to extend through. Shower caps will also work, but they aren’t available in different sizes or as flexible. A lens filter helps to keep out moisture and protects the glass.

The techniques for shooting on rainy days are similar to clear weather photography, with one exception, and that is shutter speed settings. To catch the raindrops in a scene, the shutter speed should be faster than 1/60 a second. At slower speeds, they will either blur or not show up at all.

Out here in the southwestern United States, one moment it is overcast diffused lighting, and then the sky opens with a brilliance of colors. If you happen to be standing with your back to the sun when there is falling rain, you might be rewarded with an elusive rainbow. Rainbows occur when the sun shines in the direction of the raindrops, thereby illuminating them. Since the rainbow will only form opposite the sun, a tip on where to look for one is in the direction of the shadow of your head. In order to see a rainbow, the sunlight must be at angle, less than 42 degrees. When the sun is overhead, the rainbow will form below the horizon and will not be visible to the human eye.

I don’t shoot rainbows any differently than other landscape scenes. With landscapes, I will have the aperture set between f/8 and f/11 for best depth of field. The shutter speed will depend on the available light, and I usually meter toward the sky and away from the dark foreground. In most cases, a wide-angle lens is needed to frame the dome of the rainbow. On all of my rainbow scenes, I have used a Nikon 24mm 2.8 lens. I have also found that polarizing lenses are not needed to bring out the colors. Most of my lenses have sky filters on them and I do not want to expose the lens to the precipitation by changing it.

A gentle rain can enhance the scene with nature’s special effects, but when thunder cells move in, beware. Photographing thunderstorms is very exciting and one of my favorite subjects. I will cover the details on this topic at a later post.

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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