High Plains Storm

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My first chase up in northeastern Arizona got me this high plains storm shot and I couldn’t be happier. It was a great chase with fellow chasers Bryan Snider and Scott Wood.

High Plains Storm Over the Painted Desert

We set out a little over week ago with the decision to head north for a change as to the usual head towards Tucson. In the end either direction would have proved fruitful as Tucson blew up with storms later in the day. Nonetheless we made our way north to chase on the high desert plains. This was new territory for me so my excitement was high.

I always give my buddy Bryan a hard time for driving a Prius but his 50mpg allowed us to make a long trip very affordable. Had I driven my Tacoma it would have been at least 3 times the cost. So God bless the Prius. May it live forever.

We started tracking this large system shortly after passing through Flagstaff on our way east towards Winslow. Yes, that Winslow where you can stand on the corner. As we made our way north this system was only growing in size. Sweet thoughts of massive cloud towers, lightning and rain were forming visions in my head. I have been wanting a high plains storm shot for some time now and this day looked very promising.

After setting up our cameras for time lapsing and lightning shots it was time to be patient and let Mother Nature come to us. As it rolled in there were a few strikes but our lightning triggers were missing quite a few strikes. Frustration was hitting an all time high. Being perched above the Painted Desert area resulted in a lot of reflected light which we thought was blinding the triggers. At the time it mad sense but we continued to have problems the remainder of the day and into the night. We were all using Nero triggers and experienced a lot of missed strikes. Needless to say we are in the market for new lighting triggers.

This high plains storm shot is one of my favorites from the trip. The cloud structure, rain and lightning strike came together beautifully. Mother Nature can really cook up some goodness.

Buy this print at my online gallery