Category: Mountains

Desert Dichotomy: Prickly Pear and Snow Peaks in the Weavers Picture of the Week - Congress, Arizona

Snow-capped peaks of the Weaver Mountains in the background with desert vegetation in the foreground on a sunny morning.
Desert Dichotomy: Prickly Pear and Snow Peaks in the Weavers – Early morning light bathes the Weaver Mountains, revealing a rare sight as winter’s frosty blanket contrasts sharply with the resilient desert flora of Arizona.

Greetings again from the heart of what’s suddenly become the Arctic Circle’s kissing cousin, our own Weaver’s Winter Wonderland. This week’s spotlight, Desert Dichotomy, is yet another snapshot from that astonishing February storm that dared to blanket the Weavers in snow. This time, I’ve dared to pair the icy peaks with the sopping-wet desert flora upfront, striking a contrast that even a snowbird might find chillingly beautiful.

It’s been a month heavy with winter portraits, an oddity for us desert dwellers, and an outright betrayal for the snowbirds who come here seeking sanctuary from their shovel-laden driveways. Bookmark your favorite image, friends, because the mercury is on an upward trajectory. Soon, as you fan yourself on a patio sweltering under a 115° sun, these images might be the only breeze you’ll feel. You’ll find larger copies on my website <Jim’s Page> and Fine Art Americas <FAA Link>.

Decisions, Decisions

There I was, knee-deep in mud, the cold nipping at my every extremity, and it hit me—I was actually having fun. A realization dawned, brighter than the sun glinting off the snow: Photography, with its promise of eternalizing a moment, is the lifeblood of my existence. It’s not the accolades or the Instagram likes; it’s the mud, the cold, and the hunt for the perfect shot.

Background and Evolution

In 2002, this website was a digital photo album devoid of captions, context, or care. As all things do, it evolved into a monthly newsletter recounting the high-stakes drama of our lives—Queen Anne and I versus the Wild. The Alaska expedition of 2016 demanded daily updates, transforming the newsletter into a casualty of efficiency. After returning to our home in Arizona, we switched to weekly posts, turning my Sunday mornings into a spirited race against my verbosity.

Feedback from you, dear readers, nudged me towards improvement. Books on writing, a thesaurus thick enough to serve as a murder weapon, online classes, and software soon became my weapons of choice in a battle against mediocrity. The downside? What once was a quick jaunt through my thoughts now takes days of meticulous crafting. In my quest to hone the written word, I nearly forgot the joy of wrestling with alligators—metaphorically speaking.

Frequency Insights

Buried in an internet rabbit hole, I unearthed a nugget of wisdom: The best newsletter frequency is once or twice a month. My inbox, swollen with the daily messages from overzealous websites, confirmed this truth. Too much of a good thing, and I’m out in the garage, hunting down the unsubscribe mallet.

Looking Ahead

Hence, we pivot. The weekly parade will cease, creating a monthly spectacle beginning in April. ‘The Picture of the Month’ will emerge, promising less inbox clutter and more breathing room for storytelling and photography. Imagine—more comprehensive tales, less repetition, and an inbox as unburdened as a desert sky.

Your seat on this journey is reserved; your input is invaluable. In the comments below, let us know your thoughts on our impending metamorphosis. With this shift on the horizon, we’re poised to dive deeper, travel further, and share the essence of our adventures with renewed vigor.

To more unhurried adventures and the promise of untold stories waiting just beyond the lens. Here’s to less time spent with the thesaurus and more pressing the shutter button.

Until our trails cross again;
jw

Peeples Valley Pastoral: A Chilly Morning Among the Cottonwoods Picture of the Week - Peeples Valley, Arizona

Cattle grazing in a field with frost under cottonwood trees at sunrise in Peeples Valley, Arizona
Peeples Valley Pastoral: A Chilly Morning Among the Cottonwoods – Cattle calmly grazing in Peeples Valley’s frost-kissed fields, with majestic cottonwood trees standing guard on a cool morning.

The enchanting snowscapes we’ve shared recently have sparked a sense of wonder and hope. They offer more than just a visual feast; they promise water—our desert’s lifeline. While winter’s chill entices snowbirds to the desert’s warm embrace for leisurely golf, the irony is stark; these dry, sunny days often come at the expense of precious groundwater pumped tirelessly to maintain verdant fairways.

Yet, behind this recreational facade lies a stark reality that Arizona has grappled with for over 20 years: an unyielding drought. It has depleted reservoir levels at historic lows and water tables, setting the stage for ecological challenges. From bark beetle infestations decimating Ponderosa pines to our iconic saguaros standing beleaguered under the strain of aridity, the impact extends beyond plant life. Wildlife, too, has felt the pinch, venturing ever closer to human settlements in an urgent quest for hydration.

In this delicate balance, even humans’ habits are shifting. Golf courses, once lush and abundant, are re-evaluating their water use. Cities across the Southwest, including Phoenix and Las Vegas, face the reality of water scarcity. We are reminded that water is a finite resource that requires our respect and careful management.

A Silver Lining in the Clouds

Nature’s wheel turns, and recent winters have brought whispers of change. Snowflakes and raindrops have graced our arid state more generously, hinting at a shift in the tide. Could this be the beginning of the end of Arizona’s long dry spell? Our hearts cling to hope.

We understand that recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. One season of abundant rain doesn’t herald the end of a drought; it is merely a single step. The land is thirsty—its water tables are like empty wells waiting to be refilled. Our great reservoirs, Lake Mead and Powell, exhibit their white rings—a bathtub’s stain that marks levels of plenty long gone.

This Week’s Reflections

This week’s images—a frozen puddle and grazing cattle in a frost-touched field—are snapshots of this hopeful chapter. They’re visual stories of the land in a rare, quenched state, testaments to the resilience and adaptability of life in Arizona.

As we marvel at the snow-capped peaks and frost-adorned fields, let these recent rains be a sigh of relief and a symbol of nature’s enduring cycle. It’s a cycle that echoes resilience and renewal, qualities deep within the Arizonian spirit. While we cherish this momentary abundance, let’s carry forward the wisdom it brings—to live in harmony with our desert’s rhythms and conserve every resource.

Close-up of a frozen puddle in a frosty field with the Weaver Mountains in the background on a cold Arizona morning
Morning Freeze: Ice Takes Hold in Peeples Valley – A stillness descends on Peeples Valley as dawn reveals a frozen puddle amidst the fields, with the majestic snow-capped Weaver Mountains in the distance.

Our beautiful, rugged state narrates stories of the past and hums with songs of the future, a reminder that as we hope for wetter winters, we must also adapt with creativity and care. We step forward with a sense of stewardship, treasuring each precious drop and each frozen morning as gifts to be respected and protected.

May our appreciation deepen for the water that sustains us and the entire tapestry of life that thrives in our majestic desert. Until the next rainfall, we remain vigilant and thankful, for we understand the value of the desert’s offering.

I invite you to view these moments captured in time, visit my website <Jim’s Site> and Fine Art America page <FAA Link> for larger versions, and witness the unusual beauty that unfolds when winter visits the desert.

Until next time, keep your canteens handy and your humor dry.
jw

Survey and Looking Forward

As we close the chapter on our March survey, there remains one last chance for your valuable feedback. Your insights are like the spring rain that nurtures this newsletter’s growth. Stay tuned—next week, we’ll unveil the survey results and explore what lies ahead for Arizona’s landscapes and this newsletter. Your voice matters, and I eagerly await sharing our future with you.

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Winter’s Veil: Snowy Peaks Along AZ 89 Picture or the Week - Congress, Arizona

Road leading to snow-covered Weaver Mountains in Arizona under blue skies
Winter’s Veil: Snowy Peaks Along AZ 89—The scenic Route AZ 89 cuts through the arid terrain, leading towards the snow-laden Weaver Mountains. It captures a rare and serene moment of winter’s touch in the heart of Arizona’s landscape.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, snow days were the surprise holiday every kid dreamed of. Schools shuttered—not just for our safety, I reckon, but for teachers to catch a break, too. We, oblivious to any danger, greeted the snow with the enthusiasm a child could muster. Clad in mittens, we carved new paths with our sleds, turning the white blanket into our playground. Then, the West Coast called, and I bid farewell to those spontaneous winter celebrations—until the desert showed me it, too, could play host to such marvels.

Fast forward a few decades to last month’s surprise in the desert. Snow days, they returned, albeit cloaked in an Arizona guise. The saguaros, sentinels in their own right, stood frosted—a sight as unexpected as snowflakes in the sunshine. And just like that, the desert transformed into a wintery ballroom, with creatures great and small stepping out for a dance in their frost-touched finery. The desert, it seems, had been harboring its childhood joy, awaiting just the right moment to release it into the wild.

School’s Out For Everyone

The desert flora isn’t just tough; it’s runway-ready, even in the cold. Take the plant in Desert Glow—it might look like a typical weed, but as the sun breaks, it turns into a golden firework. You could say it’s the desert’s way of holding onto the warmth any way it can, glowing defiantly against the nippy morning air.

Imagine, if you will, the desert’s snow day transforming into an arena for the most endearing of animal antics. Jackrabbits accessorize with fluffy earmuffs, while roadrunners trade their famed sprint for graceful glides across the ice. Enter the mule deer, the unexpected champions of snowball mischief. They masterfully dip their noses into the snow, crafting frosty pellets in their nostrils only to launch them at unsuspecting quail. It’s as if the desert whispers its tales of frolic and play under the winter sky. Here, amidst the silence of the snow, the fauna engages in a playful dodgeball match, where snowballs fly, and laughter echoes through the crisp air.

Out here, snow angels are more like snow lizards, and snowball fights are postponed due to lack of thumbs. But the quails seem delighted by the extra fluff on the ground and the coyotes? Let’s say they’ve never seen their shadow quite like this before.

Backlit desert plant glowing with a straw flower-like appearance at sunrise
Desert Glow: Sunrise Illuminates a Wild Shrub – A desert plant, bathed in the warm morning sunlight, transforms into a beacon of golden radiance against the tranquil backdrop of the Southwestern wilderness.

The Photos

The quest to capture nature’s impromptu art show was not without its slapstick moments—convincing a cactus wren it wasn’t auditioning for March of the Penguins or mistaking a cholla’s frosty disguise for a benign bush, a prickly mistake I won’t soon forget. Yet amidst these playful blunders, a simple desert shrub, caught in the soft glow of dawn, stole the show, its silhouette aglow with a warmth that only the morning sun could paint.

However, the lead in this week’s wintry saga is Arizona 89, our gateway to the high country. This asphalt ribbon, featured in Winter’s Veil, guides us from the snow’s gentle beginnings at the Weaver’s base, ascending to a crescendo of white in Prescott, where the snow day is not a mere memory but a living joy for children who, much like I once did, greet the snow with hearts wide open and sleds at the ready.

As the sun sets on our desert snow day, we’re reminded that life can sparkle, even with a chill in the air. And just like the desert after a rare snowfall, we come out on the other side, a little bit stronger and much more enjoyable. For a closer look at the day’s enchantment, I’ve posted larger versions of this week’s images on my website and Fine Art America. Feel the crisp air and witness the silent dance of winter in the desert by clicking [here for my website] and [here for FAA].

I’d love to hear about your most unexpected nature encounters! Please share your stories in the comments below, and let’s swap tales of when the weather went wild. Did you snap any cool critter pics? Let’s see them!

Until our next frosty surprise, keep your gloves close and your camera closer, but don’t put your tongue on the frozen glass.
jw

March Survey

Don’t forget to take a minute to fill out our March survey. Your feedback is as rare and valuable as snow in the Sonoran, and it helps us keep our content as fresh as a winter bloom. You’re all set if you filled it out last week—thank you! If not, here’s another chance to help shape our newsletter. Find the survey [here] or at the top of this email.

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Lone Winter Sentinel: Snow Graces the Date Creek Range Picture of the Week - Congress, Arizona

Snow-covered unnamed peak in the Date Creek Range, contrasting with dark storm clouds and the desert landscape
Lone Winter Sentinel: Snow Graces the Date Creek Range – The Date Creek Range is under a theatrical sky, with its highest peak adorned in a stunning snowcap amidst the desert’s earthy tones.

Imagine a tranquil blanket of white embracing the Weaver Mountains in Congress, turning the rugged landscape into a scene straight from a winter fairy tale. In my previous tales, I might have painted a picture of winter in the desert as a predictable season, with just enough chill to remind us it’s not always sunny in Arizona.

The Unpredictable Dance of Winter

But let’s be honest: predicting our winter weather is as straightforward as dancing with a hula hoop while bouncing on a pogo stick. Sure, if our weather patterns were a simple hula hoop spinning predictably around our waists, we could anticipate where it would land next with the precision of a well-practiced trick. “It’s all physics,” you might say. Given the Earth’s tilt, orbit, and seasons, one could forecast the weather with the same confidence as predicting the hoop’s path.

Yet, here’s the twist in our meteorological tale: what happens when you throw a pogo stick into the mix? Suddenly, the predictable rotation of the hoop is interrupted by leaps and bounds, each jump adding a new layer of complexity. That’s Arizona’s winter for you, where every jump in temperature and every bound of precipitation defies expectations, much like our unpredictable twins, El Niño and La Niña, who I’ll introduce to you next.

Ride that Pogo Stick, Cowboy

Enter the mischievous twins of climate variability: La Niña, the cool little sister with a dry sense of humor, and El Niño, the warm-hearted brother who likes to stir the pot. They lead in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) drama, a global weather narrative with plot twists dictated by fluctuating ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific.

While not the sole scriptwriters of Arizona’s winter tales, these siblings can certainly add surprising chapters. La Niña tends to skim moisture away from our skies, while El Niño generously spills warmth and rain across our desert stage. Understanding their patterns is like getting a peek at the rehearsal — it doesn’t give us the exact timing of every line. Still, it helps set the stage for the season’s performances, allowing us to anticipate whether we’ll need an umbrella or a sunhat as we step out into the year’s unpredictable acts.

These brats—er, I mean children- represent our Pogo stick’s up and down cycles. The El Niño bounce is associated with increased rainfall and warmer temperatures, while the La Nina phase brings the downward thrust of drier and cooler temps. These fluctuating climate patterns don’t have a regular cycle but can last 9-12 months (or years) and occur every two to seven years. Being able to predict these ocean temperature variants means that meteorologists need to consider what drives them. To paraphrase the most significant line from the movie Jaws, “I think we’re going to need a bigger computer.”

Our Photo

That’s a partial answer to why our exceptional winter storm was a delight and allowed me to get a series of great shots for this month’s project—which brings me to this week’s image called Lone Winter Sentinel.

On the morning after the snowfall, I intended to capture some images of the sugar-coated weavers, so I drove north on Route AZ89 and stopped along the roadside. As I faced north, I focused on the Weavers, medium-sized mountains with 4000-6500 foot peaks. After firing off several variants, I turned back to my trusty stead—the Turd—and that’s when I spotted snow on our other mountains—the Date Creek Mountains. These are minor mountains around 3,000 feet, but this morning, the snow revealed where in their midst they hid their NBA center. The contrast of white among the brown desert peaks made me walk across the highway to get a better shot. I think of them as our HO-scale Rockies.

Close-up of morning sunlight highlighting the patterns in a patch of snow in Peeples Valley
Dawn’s Glimmer: Patterns in the Snow – The first light of dawn casts a golden glow on the intricate snow patterns in Peeples Valley, highlighting nature’s subtle artistry.

Kids These Days

Before you go, let me share a bit of humor from this week. Queen Anne and I enjoyed an evening out at our local country club. Our server, a bright young woman, wore a ‘Kinzie’ name badge. Intrigued by her unique name, I ventured, “Kinzie, that’s quite distinctive. Reminds me of the Kinsey Report, doesn’t it?”

“No, it’s short for Mackenzie,” she answered.

“Oh, like in Mackenzie Phillips?”

“I don’t know who that is,” was her answer.

About halfway through my explanation of who Mackenzie Phillips was and the shows in which she stared, her eyes began to glaze over. I was losing her. I gave up and told her, “Go ask your mother.”

Kinzie said she would, pointed to another waitress on the floor, and continued, “That’s her, over there.”

When I glanced at the woman she pointed at, it dawned on me—her mother was also part of the generation more acquainted with digital downloads than with Mackenzie Phillips. I realized I was fishing for cultural references in a stream where even the concept of a mixed tape might be considered an archaeological find.

Thus, the moral of my story: When your pop culture references fall flat, or if you’re curious about the bygone era of hula hoops and pogo sticks, it might be more straightforward to say, “Go ask your mother—or better yet, your grandmother. They might teach you the lost art of keeping entertained without Wi-Fi.”

As is our norm, there are larger versions of this week’s image on my website, and you can view them by clicking on these links: < Jim’s Webpage> and <FAA Post>. Be sure to show up next week when we continue to play in the snow. We always look forward to reading your comments about photography, the weather, or even Mackenzie Phillips.

Until next time, keep your snowshoes handy and your humor dry.
jw

March Survey

This is the second week of our month-long survey. It’s unchanged from last week, so if you were kind enough to answer it, you’re done. I’m asking you to answer some questions about how we’re doing. The survey below will appear over the following weeks, but I only need your opinion once. At the end of the month, I’ll review your input and discuss any decisions we make. I dislike taking these surveys as much as you do, so I’m keeping it short. Mark the first pair of questions with a single answer, but the third is multiple choice. Tick all the boxes that apply to you.

If you don’t see the form in your email, you can get to it by clicking on the email’s title line or using this link <Survey Link>.
Thanks in advance for helping us.

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Snow-Capped Majesty: Winter Embraces the Weaver Mountains Picture of the Week - Congress, Arizona

Snow-covered Weaver Mountains with clouds caressing the peaks, viewed from Congress, Arizona
Snow-Capped Majesty: Winter Embraces the Weaver Mountains – A serene morning in Congress, Arizona, as snow blankets the Weaver Mountains, with clouds tenderly skimming the peaks.

I’m often dumbfounded when I encounter snowbirds flocking at the Denny’s cash register complaining about our January rain. Frequently, I’ll interrupt their griping with local folklore. I’ll say, “The natives have a word for this weird weather pattern.”

“Oh ya,” their curiosity peaks, and they’ll ask, “What do they call it?”

“They call it winter,” I respond as I walk past them out the door, but I can always hear their groans behind me.

Yes, Virginia, the Sonoran desert gets rainy in the winter. It’s not our wettest time of the year. That honor comes with the summer monsoons. The dueling wet seasons are why our desert is home to the famous saguaro cactus. The winter months provide enough water for these giants for a spring bloom, and the monsoons provide water for the seeds to germinate. I’m unsure how the behemoth cactus scheduled the weather around their needs.

Understanding Arizona’s Two-Faced Winters

Arizona’s winters showcase a dual personality, much to our visitors’ fascination—and sometimes frustration.

The Gulf of Alaska pens the first act of our winter weather. These storms script our late December and January, bringing a chill that bites through the desert air. They’re the colder of our two patterns, and though the California mountains tend to hoard most of the moisture, they occasionally let enough slip through to grace us with a frosty spectacle.

Then, as if on cue, February presents a delightful intermission with weather so perfect it feels like paradise remembered. Daytime highs coyly flirt with the 70s and 80s, while the nights, crisp in the 40s and 50s, are ideal for a lover’s embrace or a solo serenade under the stars. It’s when we remember why we endure the scorching soliloquies of our summers.

But the final act belongs to the Pineapple Express. These storms spun from the warm waters around Hawaii and debuted around March and April. They bring a wetter, warmer embrace, coaxing the delicate plants from their frosty fear. Yet, this is no guarantee of a tender ending—Easter snow has been known to make a dramatic cameo.

Our rains are brief, a fleeting audience to our desert stage. They come and go, cleansing the air of Phoenix’s smoggy shroud and leaving behind a verdant carpet that transforms the desert floor. It’s a weekly show, though some complain it’s too often on weekends. But we Zonies? We wouldn’t have it any other way.

First Glimpse

When one of these Arctic Blasts cuts through the air, it’s as if the mountains around our house don an exquisite coat of powdered sugar. While the sight is breathtaking, the sun’s warm embrace usually coaxes the snow to leave by noon. However, this January presented an extraordinary spectacle that graced the Weaver’s and Date Creek Ranges with a full, snowy embrace from crest to base. This was not just a fleeting visitation but a rare, all-encompassing transformation that demanded to be captured.

On that magical morning, the urgency of the moment overtook me. Coffee, usually the first crucial step of my day, was forgotten. Dressed against the chill, I grabbed my camera gear and drove up the hill, driven by a compulsion to immortalize the scene before the sun could chase the frost away. March’s theme, the Weaver Winter Wonderland, is thus a tribute to this exceptional event. Through my lens, I hope to share the beauty of snow in the desert and a rare moment that reminds us of nature’s capacity for surprise and wonder.

Photographs

This week’s image is titled Snow-Capped Majesty, and it shows the area where AZ 89 scales the mountainside to the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park and Yarnell. I’m happy with the clouds cascading down the slope and the morning light reflecting off the glowing grass. This scene rarely happens, but when it does, I’m glad I moved here to witness it.

Our second image this week was taken later after all but traces of the snow had disappeared. I named it Chilly Dawn, one of the lower hills among the Weavers having a bit of frost in the air. Those of you with sharp eyes know that this was taken at a high elevation in Peeples Valley because of the appearance of the Juniper trees.

Early morning light casting a chilly haze over the hills above Peeples Valley, Arizona
Chilly Dawn: Hazy Morning Light Over Peeples Valley Hills – The early light of dawn bathes the hills above Peeples Valley in a soft, chilly haze, capturing the tranquil essence of an Arizona morning.

I hope you enjoy viewing my photographs as much as I share them with you. Perhaps we should bookmark and save this series to dig them out in July when it’s 118° outside. Queen Anne and I look forward to your comments about the photos or your winter memories. I have posted larger versions on my website < Jim’s Web> and Fine Art America <FAA Link> should you want to look closer. I’ll have more from Weaver Winter Wonderland next week, so return then.

Until then, keep your socks and humor dry.
jw

March Survey

I need your advice. Since it’s already March, it’s time to consider spring cleaning. To keep my customers happy, I’m asking you to answer some questions about how we’re doing. The survey below will appear for the next four weeks, but I only need your opinion once, so answer the questions once, and you’re done. At the end of the month, I’ll review your input and discuss any decisions we make. I dislike taking these surveys as much as you do, so I’m keeping it short. Mark the first pair of questions with a single answer, but the third is multiple choice. Tick all the boxes that apply to you.

Thanks in advance for helping us.

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Storm-Lit Skies Over Date Creek Range Picture of the Week - Congress, Arizona

Golden-light silhouette of Joshua Trees with a dark, stormy sky over Date Creek Range in Arizona.
Storm-Lit Skies Over Date Creek Range – Caught in the golden embrace of the setting sun, the Date Creek Range and its Joshua Tree sentinel defy an impending storm. Can you spot the elusive rainbow?

In last week’s US 93 escapade, I put the pedal to the metal, racing the encroaching dark clouds to bask in the vanishing golden hour. I even detoured to Burro Creek campgrounds, where the only thing I found was…more clouds. Alas, as soon as I wrapped up my Burro Creek pit stop, those looming clouds won the race, swallowing the sun whole.

Disappointed, I set aside my camera’s relentless search for that perfect shot and started a leisurely drive home. No rush, right? Queen Anne was busy wallowing in precious metals at the jewelry store with her gal-pals, and I had miles of asphalt ahead of me. Soon enough, the highway carried me through the Joshua Tree Parkway, and then it began—Arizona’s version of ‘will it or won’t it’—raining from the sky.

Yes, this arid state has two kinds of summer rain. First, there’s the gully washer, the frog strangler, the cob-floater, a torrential rain that I can’t even see the house across the street. This type of downpour is the VIP guest that shows up uninvited, fills up the washes, and turns rattlesnakes into accidental Olympians. You should see them. Snorkels on their snouts, doing the backstroke like they’re auditioning for ‘Snakes on a Swim Team.’

Then there’s the other kind, today’s specialty: a rain so indecisive it could give Hamlet a run for his money. It’s like the weather gods couldn’t agree, and we get this annoying drizzle that teeters on the edge of being useful. You find yourself in this wiper-limbo, perpetually toggling between ‘kinda need it’ and ‘oh, the horror of that screeching noise.’ The local washes don’t even bother to fill up; rattlesnakes smirk and break out their snorkels for practice laps, just waiting for the next aquatic extravaganza.

Just when I was about to award myself the title of ‘Arizona’s Rain Philosopher,’ the universe decided to show off. The sun, ever the dramatic artist, slipped beneath the heavy cloak of the western clouds, making a brief but stunning encore. It was as if it said, ‘You thought I was done for the day? Hold my solar flare.’ And just like that, the golden hour was back on stage for its final act.

Dodging highway traffic and raindrops, I perched myself by a barbed-wire fence to capture what I’ve aptly named Storm-Lit Skies Over Date Creek Range. The Joshua Trees pop like jack-in-the-boxes from a golden sea of creosote, crowned by the glowing Castle Rock. For the eagle-eyed among you, squint a little harder. A subtle rainbow makes a cameo on the right of the taller Joshua Tree.

If you’re squinting at this on your smartphone, do yourself a favor—upgrade to a bigger screen. Trust me, this photo deserves it. You can see the bigger versions by browsing my website [Jim’s Page] or checking out my Fine Art America gallery [FAA Page]. Do make sure to swing by next week. The best is yet to come.

Till next time
jw

Techniques: Capturing Storms: The Drama Before, During, and After

Grab your umbrellas and wellies because today, we’re talking storms. And I don’t mean the kind you have with your spouse over who left the toilet seat up. We’re diving into the cinematic, the dramatic, the eye-candy kind of storms that would have made even Ansel Adams pause and say, “Well, would you look at that!”

Ah, the golden hour. That ethereal moment before the sky erupts into a Van Gogh painting or descends into gloom. But have you ever tried capturing a storm during this time? The universe throws you a curveball, saying, “Hey, here’s beauty and chaos, all wrapped in a corn tortilla of opportunity.” Remember Ansel Adams’ Clearing Winter Storm? The dude knew when to click that shutter.

You might think, “Jim, storms are just wet messes! How am I supposed to capture that?” Ah, my dry-weather fans, this is where things get electrifying. Capturing lightning requires some specialized equipment or mad reflexes. But the results? They’re shockingly good.

The storm has passed, but don’t pack up that camera yet. The sky now looks like hungover clouds meandering aimlessly, bumping into mountains, and trying to remember where they parked their cumulus cars. The aftermath can offer as many Kodak moments as the storm itself.

So, the next time you see those dark clouds looming, don’t just think about whether you’ve left the laundry out. Think about the once-in-a-lifetime shots that could be waiting for you. Embrace the wild mood swings of Mother Nature. After all, when the weather can’t decide, it might just be helping you make up yours about that next epic shot.

Do you have any of your own storm-chasing or weather-defying photography tales? We’d love to hear them! Please share your stories in the comments below, and let’s swap some epic weather adventures.

Mount Ord’s Pine-Covered Heights Picture of the Week - Rye, Arizona

Mount Ord from the west side, showing its majestic peaks and pine-covered heights.
Mount Ord’s Pine-Covered Heights – Behold the awe-inspiring Mount Ord as it stands tall, adorned with lush pine-covered peaks. The afternoon sun casts its warm glow, revealing the rugged beauty of this majestic mountain.

Welcome back to the final episode of our Mazatzal Mountains tour. This week, our magic bus has made it over the last mountain pass, and we’ve stopped in Rye, the quaint community nestled at the bottom of the final grade leading to Payson. Here, the Beeline Highway exits the Mazatzals, bidding farewell to the majestic mountains that have enchanted us throughout our journey.

This week’s featured photograph, Mount Ord’s Pine-Covered Heights, captures the awe-inspiring grandeur of this majestic peak. Standing tall at 7,128 feet, its proud summit is crowned by a lush and verdant pine forest, gazing serenely at the world below. Mount Ord’s presence commands the landscape like a sentinel guarding the horizon. While it may not claim the title of the tallest peak in the Mazatzal Range (that honor goes to the 7,903-foot Mazatzal Mountain hidden behind the camera), being the highest point in Gila County is no small feat—perhaps deserving a participation trophy for its natural splendor.

Near the mountain top, the dark green foliage is an honest-to-goodness pine forest. It’s a sight to behold, and, unfortunately, a locked gate restricts access to this cool, refreshing forest on the unpaved service road leading to the summit. However, the image allows us to appreciate the beauty of this hidden gem from a distance.

Another fascinating feature in the photograph is a rugged and dramatic limestone layer emerging from the Earth’s embrace, seemingly carved by the hands of ancient giants. These yellowish rocks bear the story of a primordial ocean, etched into their very essence through eons of geological transformations. This layer of limestone formed millions of years ago in the sea and was later thrust into its current location during the continental crash that shaped the Rocky Mountains. This geological history makes the Mazatzals a part of the fender dent of that ancient collision.

Close-up of an exposed limestone ridge, showcasing its jagged and fractured formations.
Jagged Elegance: The Thrust of Limestone – Intricate and sharp, the exposed limestone ridge reflects the Earth’s geologic history. Bathed in the warm glow of the backlit sun, this natural sculpture reveals the forces of nature at work.

The second image we’ve posted this week is a closer look at the limestone layer on the west side of the highway. One particular jagged piece looks like a shard of glass ready to be used in a bar fight. I’ve also captured a beautiful Claret Cactus in full bloom for those seeking variety beyond the rocks.

Close-up of a claret cactus with its vibrant, sunlit flowers in full bloom.
A Burst of Color: Vivid Claret Cactus Flowers – Midst the desert landscape, the claret cactus graces us with its vivid flowers, glowing like radiant gems in the sunlight.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our magic bus excursion through the Mazatzals and that you’ll appreciate the beauty of these mountains, even more the next time you drive up to Payson. As always, I invite you to view larger versions of “Mount Ord’s Pine-Covered Heights” on my website by following this link [Jim’s Website] or on Fine Art America using this link [FAA Page].

Next week, prepare to venture off the beaten path as we leave the comfort of our magic bus behind. In embracing cooler climes and untouched wilderness, we’ll embark on an invigorating hiking adventure to uncover the hidden gems of nature’s gallery.

Till next time,
jw

Techniques: Mastering Back Lighting

In photography, an outdated rule advises shooting your subject with the light behind and to the side of the camera. While this approach works well in about 80% of cases, there’s still the other 20%—those tricky backlit situations. Today, I’ll share how I tackle such challenging conditions during the shoot, and next week, we’ll delve into post-processing in PhotoShop to perfect these images.

A common concern in modern digital photography is preserving the highlighted details in a scene. Overexposing the highlights can lead to blown-out areas and loss of detail and information. Fortunately, many cameras, including mine, have a helpful tool to address this—the zebra stripes.

Zebra Stripes - The stripes are an exposure tool that warn you when the light is too bright for the camera sensor to capture.
Zebra Stripes – These are an exposure tool that warns you when the light is too bright for the camera sensor to capture.

Zebra stripes are diagonal lines that appear in your viewfinder, indicating areas where the light is too bright to be captured by the sensor. You can control when and where these stripes appear by setting the zebra threshold in your camera’s menu. For my workflow, I put the value to 100% to ensure a clear indication of potential overexposure.

Zebra stripes might appear in the sky or other bright areas when shooting in backlit conditions or during early morning or sunset. To tackle this, I slowly point my camera toward the bright area the stripes indicate until they disappear. This process helps me find the minimum exposure adjustment needed to avoid blowing out the highlights. Once the lines vanish, I half-press the shutter button to lock in the focus and exposure.

While holding the shutter button half-pressed, I recomposed the scene to my desired composition before fully pressing the shutter to take the shot. Finding the right half-press point takes practice, but with digital photography, you can afford to experiment and learn from your results.

Remember that when you review your shots taken using this method, the sky, and clouds might look perfect, but the ground could appear too dark with limited details. Don’t worry; next week, we’ll explore post-processing techniques in PhotoShop to enhance these images and achieve the perfect balance.

Until then, practice your zebra dance and keep saving those highlights!