When you take a trip to a beautiful place and hope to capture some memorable images, you probably imagine your destination under sunny blue skies with fluffy white clouds. That’s what I usually think of, but that’s not always the weather that I get. I just got back from a trip to Las Vegas where I attended Photoshop World 2013. While in that part of the country I also spent some time in Arches National Park and Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. As luck would have it, I had more clouds and rain than sunshine.
I was disappointed about the weather for a while but then I realized that this was actually an opportunity. I’ve been to Arches and Monument Valley before and already have pictures of sunny days; this was my opportunity to capture the geology of the Colorado Plateau in stormy weather. So, despite the weather forecasts and the clouds, I headed out on the trails with a raincoat in my pack along with the usual water bottles, snack bars, and camera gear. When the rain decided to fall I would don my raincoat with my camera inside. Then, even in the rain I could quickly open my coat, take a quick photo or two, and return my camera to its shelter. I occasionally had to wipe a few drops of rain off the front of the lens (the UV filter), but with care the camera did not get too wet.
The photo above of my approach to Monument Valley was taken from a turnout as I was heading south on US Highway 163. Though the rain was on its way, it had not yet arrived. But I did encounter stormy weather in other locations on this trip!