by Zack Schnepf
When it comes to photography, I get excited when I see a storm in the forecast. Many of my favorite images are taken before, after, or during a storm. It doesn’t always work out, and there are risks to shooting in stormy conditions, but there is potential for dramatic light and atmospheric conditions that can turn a normal scene into something extraordinary. Galen Rowell wrote a lot about transitional light and atmosphere and it is in those transitional moments when you can often capture things you normally don’t get to see. Rainbows, lightning, a fresh coat of snow, or massive cumulus clouds catching the setting sun. In this article I’ll talk about many of my own experiences photographing before, after, or during storms and illustrate some of the incredible and dramatic things you can see.
This first image is a perfect example of how a storm can turn an ordinary scene into an extraordinary one. While photographing the Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley, I found this spot and knew I wanted to come back if conditions became interesting. Sure enough, a thunderstorm rolled through that afternoon. It was moving fast and I was on the other side of the dunes, so I ran as fast I could to get back to this spot. I arrived just in time to capture this scene. A few moments later the dappled light on the dunes was gone and storm was dissipating. For me, the dramatic clouds and dappled light make this image, something I would only see during a storm.
During my trip to colorado last fall with Sean Bagshaw we encountered several storms. It would have been so easy to take the day off and catch up on sleep, but both Sean and I know the potential of shooting around storms, each time we would get really excited for the potential to see some dramatic storm conditions. The two images I’ve included here are both good examples of beautiful scenes that were transformed into something incredible with the dramatic light and atmosphere afforded by the storms.
This next image is one of the more unique scenes I’ve witnessed in person. I had been watching the forecast and saw a chance for a break in the storm track. I arrived at 2am to start hiking through the deep powder. It was still snowing hard and there was no sign of it letting up, but I persisted in knowing that if it did clear there would be the potential for something special. Sure enough, as I reached the top of Tumalo mountain I looked back toward Mt. Bachelor and saw one of the more awe inspiring sights of my life. The clouds were parting around the mountain and the landscape was bathed in a dreamy purple/pink predawn light. I’ve never seen anything like it. A great example of the type of light and atmosphere you only see around storms.
Sometimes the storm itself is the subject. This thunderstorm rolled over Kevin McNeal and myself several years ago while photographing on Steptoe Butte. We watched the storms build and move toward us, we both were pretty excited as we don’t get the opportunity to photograph lightning very often in the Northwest. This image was captured as the sun was setting into the storm and the lightning was firing away.
This image is one you might not expect to be a storm image, but in fact it was taken during a clearing rainstorm. I was teaching a workshop with Adrian Klein and Kevin McNeal in the Palouse. We headed out for sunrise even though it was not looking very promising. It was cold and rainy, but we persevered. We didn’t see a sunrise on this morning, but about 30 minutes after sunrise the clouds started to break up and the sun shone through the falling rain creating the atmosphere in this scene. If you look you can see the sun filtering though the rain in the background.
Sometimes it’s the aftermath of the storm that makes an image spectacular. This image was captured at the end of a 2 week cold wet snow storm near Mt. Hood. I saw a clearing coming up on the forecast and decided to really commit to capturing this image which I’d been trying to capture for some time. I backpacked in and camped for four days on this ridge above mirror lake. It snowed non stop for the first three days, but on the final day the storm cleared revealing the most pristine snow scene I’ve ever witnessed. Everything was coated with a thick icing like layer of snow creating one of my all time favorite images.
This last example is my favorite image. It was taken in the Enchantment Lakes wilderness in the Stuart Mountain range of Washington. After a brutal backpack trip into the area, I quickly dropped all my gear and scouted the area for sunrise the next morning. I only had a few minutes before the light was gone. I set up camp and went right to bed. I woke an hour before sunrise, but when I peeked my head out of my tent I saw the early dawn light was already illuminating the clouds of an approaching snow storm. I literally jumped out of my tent, grabbed my gear and sprinted to the spot I scouted the night before. I arrived just in time to capture this scene before the storm clouds obscured the rising sun. The snow storm blocked the sun for the rest of the trip, but it was all worth it for this one incredible image of a snow storm lit up by the sunrise.
As you can see, there can be incredible opportunities for photographing around storms. You do need to be careful, as I’ve had a few close calls photographing during storms as well, but the potential for dramatic light and atmosphere keeps me coming back to photograph storms more and more.
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