A storm blew into California.  A big storm.

There haven’t been many this year.  It’s been dry with lots of wind and little rain.  I decided it was time to venture back out to the desert for a few days, alone, to photograph that weather.  There is nothing like watching a storm in the desert.

It makes me feel alive.

I headed out the morning the storm hit and by the time I reached the desert, the winds were howling and dust was blowing.  Sheets of ethereal rain dotted the landscape, shifting and changing every second.

Watching a storm cross the land, sometimes with thunder and lightning, winds whipping up dust devils and veils of rain and snow falling like silken threads from the clouds to the earth is something that is pretty much unmatched.

Exciting.  Beautiful.  Magical.

The storm performed for three days in the desert, longer than I thought it would.  Everywhere I turned there was something fresh and new happening in the sky.   From every vantage point, all up and down the desert spilling out from Death Valley and beyond.

It made me realize that the power and wonder of nature can and always will outstrip anything that man does.  No filmmaker, painter or photographer can adequately capture the energy and vibe that is carried in a storm.

Because Nature is The Ultimate Artist.

 

For Pete.