A few days ago we did a trail run down Kelly Pocket to the confluence with Pumphouse Wash. This is about 6 miles round trip. We started from the upper end and ran downhill to the confluence then turned around and ran back up to our starting point. It was interesting that my running times were about 1 minute per mile faster on the uphill.
Water flows through erorded channels in the sandstone in Kelly Canyon.Trees and sky are reflected in the narrow and shallow pool.A shallow pool in Kelly Canyon.Several larger pools can be found at the confluence of Kelly Canyon and Pumphouse Wash
We stopped to take some photos (maybe that was why the downhill was slower) of the canyon. It was nice to see that there remained some water in several pools and these were very pretty in the morning light.
The trail in Kelly Canyon.This used to be a fun ramp for mountain bikes up and over the downed tree. But time has taken its toll and both the ramp and tree .
In just a few more weeks the leaves will be changing color and this small canyon will be worth another visit.
Storms in August were more plentiful than in July although there were still some extended breaks in the monsoon. Rainbows remained elusive for me. I was able to photograph a few that displayed short segments but I never captured a full rainbow. Lightning, on the other hand, was plentiful and I did well in that genre.
Here is a partial summary of August monsoon photography.
04 August 2024
Mormon Lake Overlook is a short drive from Flagstaff and affords an amazing 360° view. This was one of the many days with only a partial rainbow but the juxtaposition of the rainbow and the tree in the grasslands of Anderson Mesa was a pleasing composition. A few minutes later the Sun beautifully illuminated some light rain falling from a dissipating thunderstorm. The color was intense and only lasted a few minutes.
A short segment of a rainbow above the grasslands of Anderson Mesa in northern Arizona.A curtain of light rain from a dissipating thunderstorm is brilliantly illuminated by the setting sun.
A small sliver of the rising Moon is visible in the gap in the clouds and casts a long reflection on the lake.The Moon rises higher in the gap and casts a more diffuse reflection.The Moon bridges the gap in the clouds.
Using The Photographers Ephemeris I realized I could photograph the rising Moon looking down the length of Upper Lake Mary from the Narrows picnic area. Arriving early I was able to shoot several photographs of the distant clouds (more on that later) reflected in the calm water. By using a 5-stop neutral density filter (ND) I took long exposures (2-6 seconds) which had the effect of smoothing the surface of the water.
A pre-Moon rise, long-exposure shot of the lake and distant clouds.Long-exposure shot of Upper Lake Mary with residual twilight glow in the western sky.
So what about those clouds? There was a dissipating cumulus congestus cloud to the east but also some anvil clouds from distant thunderstorms in eastern Arizona. Would there be a gap in the clouds? Would I be able to see the Moon? Yes, there was; yes, I did.
As the Moon barely cleared the top of some distant clouds it cast a long reflection on the lake. Because there was only a very small bit of Moon showing the reflection had very sharp edges. As the Moon rose higher and more of it showed the reflection became wider and had less distinct edges. Even more interesting, the Moon was causing parts of the distant clouds to glow and these also cast light reflections on the water. It was very interesting and beautiful. And it only lasted a few minutes as the Moon rose higher and was obscured by the distant clouds.
After an early start to the monsoon in late June, the monsoon went on an extended break. For much of July, high pressure remained to our west resulting in northwest to northeast flow across the region. Consequently, tropical moisture had to take the long route over the eastern Pacific Ocean, across the Pacific Northwest, then southward across the High Plains and Rocky Mountains. By the time it arrived, much of the moisture had been depleted, especially in the lower levels. The resulting storms were generally weak and produced little rain, and even less lightning.
Here is a summary of what I did manage to photograph during that period.
11 July 2024
Weak storms produced little in the way of rain but did result in a nice sunset.
Sunset and reflected sunlight on Lake Mary.
15 July 2024
A few strong storms formed on the north side of the San Francisco Peaks and I positioned myself at the entry to Wupatki National Monument. There was very little lightning but I did get this photograph that shows the landing point of the bolt. I also got power poles.
Lightning on the north side of the San Francisco Peak showing the landing point of the bolt.
16 July 2024
Radar indicated some storms south of Mormon Lake–a favorite spot for shooting storms because of its expansive views. This storm produced only a few visible bolts of lightning but I did manage to capture this one–along with the waxing gibbous Moon.
Distant thunderstorm with lightning.
21 July 2024
While taking a short hike to Alfa Fia Tank near Snowbowl and the San Francisco Peaks I was happy to see some convection developing that had nice reflections in the water. Look closely and you will also see the ducks.
Reflection of developing storms in Alfa Fia Tank near Snowbowl in the San Francisco Peaks.
23 July 2024
I was confident that Grand Canyon would produce good storms with possibilities for lightning and rainbows. It didn’t. The best I could do was shoot this ultra-wide view of the clouds using a 12mm fisheye lens.
Ultra-wide angle view of Grand Canyon from Navajo Point.
24 July 2024
The next day in Sedona was a bit better. Although there was some lightning I managed to miss it all because it was never in the direction that the camera was pointed. Look carefully in the upper left corner of this image and you can just barely see a few filaments of the lightning stroke which occurred to the left of the camera. I should have shot this with a wider field of view. On the other hand, the sunset was pretty good.
Heavy rain falling from a monsoon thunderstorm.Another great sunset in Sedona, Arizona.Sunset in Sedona.
26 July 2024
A few days later I tried something different and concentrated on getting the very early stages of convective development over the San Francisco Peaks. A bonus was catching the reflections of the clouds in Marshall Lake. By the time I left there was lightning and I was able to capture a few bolts.
Reflection of developing clouds in Marshall Lake, Arizona.Reflection of developing clouds in Marshall Lake, Arizona.Lightning over Marshall Lake with the San Francisco Peaks in the distance.
Time-lapse of convection developing over the San Francisco Peaks (200x speed).
While shooting these still images I had another camera capturing time-lapse video. It’s always fun to see the development of clouds in time lapse.
26 July 2024
This was a last-minute decision as the radar showed storms developing west of Flagstaff. I drove to Mormon Lake hoping for sunsets, rainbows, and lightning. Two out of three isn’t bad.
Sunset colors on thunderstorms and anvil clouds.Lightning west of the San Francisco Peaks.In-cloud lightning in the anvil of a thunderstorm.Lightning from a distant storm located over Grand Canyon. Wish I had been at the Canyon.Radar screen capture showing location of storm relative to my position.
This storm was located over Grand Canyon and was producing lightning bolts into the canyon. I wish I had been there instead.
How hot was July, anyway?
July 2024 was the second hottest July on record. Only July 2023 was hotter.
Number of days with the maximum temperature >=90°F in Flagstaff. 2024 was the second hottest July; only 2023 was hotter.Mean monthly temperature for July. 2024 was the second hottest July on record; only 2023 was hotter.July total rainfall from the Flagstaff raingauge network.
Total rainfall for the month was below average but not anywhere near record territory. Thank goodness for that!
We had a break in the summer monsoon resulting in several nights of clear skies. I took advantage of the weather to do some astrophotography. I had a few targets in mind and settled on the North American Nebula and Pelican Nebula located in the constellation of Cygnus.
North America Nebula in the constellation Cygnus.
I ended up at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument because of the very dark skies there (they are an International Dark Sky Park) and because of the nice parking lot for setting up the photography gear. Once everything was set up, I pulled out the camp chair and relaxed looking up at the sky while the camera was busy taking photos. While staring at the stars I saw a bright meteor move through the constellation Cygnus. Checking the camera I was happy to see that the meteor had been completely captured in the field of view.
I captured 77 images each 60 seconds in duration. After grading the images I ended up with 70 usable images for stacking. I used Starry Sky Stacker for the alignment and stacking and rnc-color-stretch for the post processing to bring out the colors and detail.
I’ve taken photographs of the North American Nebula twice before (2019, 2020) but this was the highest quality set of images and it had the meteor. A successful evening.
