Lightning Storm from Salvation Knoll

Monsoon thunderstorm at dusk, Cedar Mesa, southeast Utah.

I was driving Utah Route 95 west from Blanding, watching the evening thunderheads pouring down rain here and there in the distance. That evening light: brilliant and seductive.

Climbing up the highway onto Cedar Mesa, there are clear views for many miles to the south and southeast, toward Sleeping Ute Mountain in Colorado, even. Great for landscape photography with lots and lots of sky.

Adding to the interest were flashes of lightning inside of two storm cells. The one nearer to me was of more interest in that I might be able to capture a bolt or two in the scenery.

At Salvation Knoll I stopped for a second try. Mounting the camera on tripod, I set it for the longest exposure, about 4 seconds at f/22 at ISO 200. Then I shot whenever a flash appeared, hoping it would be long enough for me to get lucky.

I enjoy this image because the clouds, with their rain curtains, look quite dreamy against the darker blue of the distant storms.

Photo location: Salvation Knoll on Cedar Mesa, San Juan County, southeast Utah.

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg