We are now in the season for capturing the nearly-full Moon as it rises behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona. The best time to capture this is a day (or two) before the actual full Moon so that late afternoon sunlight still illuminates Cathedral Rock. As always, The Photographers Ephemeris greatly aides in determining the best location to capture this event.
The nearly-full Moon rises behind Cathedral Rock and Oak Creek near Sedona, Arizona.
The timing on this Moonrise was late enough that the Sun would already be partially obscured by mountains and ridges to the west. So one photograph was made when the light on Cathedral Rock was most dramatic and about ten minutes later the Moon photograph was taken as it rose above Cathedral Rock. The two photographs were then combined to create this composite image.
A short time earlier there were several people on the rocks in the creek including a portrait photographer. Thankfully they got their shots and left before it was time for us to take our photographs.
Bonus: a few days earlier I shot this image of the waxing gibbous Moon using a 500mm telephoto.
Here are two views of the Moon rising behind Cathedral Rock in Sedona. The first image shows the Moon ~95% illuminated and was taken from the meadows in Crescent Moon Picnic Area. I like how the Moon lies behind the dark pillar located in the gap between two sunlit pillars.
The second image was taken on the following night with the Moon ~98% illuminated and was captured from Pyramid Trail, a location about twice as far away as the first image. This doubling of distance results in the Moon appearing larger relative to Cathedral Rock—a nice illusion.
Moon rise behind Cathedral Rock (12 August 2019).Moon rise behind Cathedral Rock (13 August 2019).
The Photographers Ephemeris was used to determine the timing and location to get the Moon rising in the gaps.
The North American Monsoon arrived in northern Arizona during the first week of July—which is an average start date. Within just a few days, we quickly transitioned from Extreme Fire Danger to High—and within a week or two—to Moderate.
Summer monsoon season is my second storm chase season—the first is in late spring across the High Plains. Second season is more about lightning, clouds with dramatic scenery, and colors at sunset. This July has been a bit more challenging than other seasons but still successful.
Here are some photographs of storms and storm-related activity during July 2018.
Early stage Cumulonimbus
A pair of developing cumulonimbus as seen from Kachina Wetlands.
Cumulonimbus over Hart Prairie.
Outflow boundaries and arcus clouds
Gust front and arcus clouds advance across Wupatki National Monument.Gust front and arcus clouds continue to advance across Wupatki National Monument.
This complex of storms was moving westward across Wupatki National Monument. I had originally planned to photograph the system from the Doney Mtn. Picnic Area but the system arrived at that location before I did. So I retreated back to US-89 and the entrance to the Monument. Both of these images are panoramas that span the northeast through south. The San Francisco Peaks can be seen at the far right of both images.
Rainbows (and maybe a tornado?)
A rainbow (and possible vortex).
As convection approached a rainbow developed and I was busy trying to reset the camera to capture the full bow. Only later, when examing the images, did I notice what might be a vortex bisecting the rainbow. Because I did not see it in real time I cannot say whether there was any rotation. It may just be a random bit of cloud debris.
Lightning
The best part of the thunderstorm season is trying to capture lightning. It’s more than just getting a photograph of lightning—it’s important to get lightning in an interesting location.
Lightning visibile from South Rim of Grand Canyon with Desert Tower in the distance.Lightning over the Painted Desert as seen from South Rim of Grand Canyon.Lightning over the Painted Desert.A composite of four images showing multiple lightning strikes on the San Francisco Peaks. These storms dropped almost 6 inches of rain in under 3 hours.
Menacing thunderstorms
Sometimes I chase storms—other times they chase me. We were mountain biking on Observatory Mesa when this thunderstorm developed and enveloped the San Francisco Peaks. It was definitely time to turn around.
A thunderstorms envelopes the San Francisco Peaks.
Sunset after the storm
And, of course, sunset after the storms can be pretty amazing,
Sunset over Grand Canyon as seen from Lipan Point.A distant thunderstorm is backlit by the setting sun at Grand Canyon.Late afternoon sun briefly lights up Cathedral Rock in Sedona.Dark skies behind Cathedral Rock.The setting sun lights up the clouds as shadows race up the face of Cathedral Rock.
Reflections
Reflections in pools of water can produce interesting images. Several days of heavy rain resulted in ponds of water at Crescent Moon Picnic Area.
The setting sun illuminates Cathedral Rock which is reflected in a small pond.
Rainfall amounts
As is typical, rainfall amounts can vary widely over even just a few miles. Here is a map showing the rain gauge amounts for July on the east side of the San Francisco Peaks southward through Flagstaff and beyond. Amounts range from 2.5 to 14.5 inches.
Rain gauge totals for July 2018.
August continues to bring thunderstorms, lightning, and flooding to northern Arizona.
Another month and another moon rise behind Cathedral Rock. This was an easy setup with the location in Crescent Moon Picnic Area in Sedona. The day before the full moon resulted in this image taken from the meadows near the entrance to Crescent Moon. There were about a half-dozen “moon chasers” there to photograph the moon rise—and there were many others who just happened to be in the right place at the right time to enjoy the event.
Moonrise behind Cathedral Rock.
The previous night (i.e., two nights before the full moon) presented another chance to capture the rising moon with Oak Creek in the foreground. This one was harder because a better position was more to the right (i.e., south) but there was nowhere to go because of trees and heavy brush. Still, I’m happy with the result.
Moon rise behind Cathedral Rock with Oak Creek.
Both nights I was testing a recently purchased lens (Nikon AF-P 70-300mm). So far, the results have been pretty good.
