High Sierra Topix

For photographers this weekend has potential to be alot more productive than the usual Sierra sunny blue skies weather.

Early this week forecasts were hinting the probability of the first good bout this summer of monsoonal flow coming up. And indeed midday radar shows thunderstorms are building today over our eastern deserts and southeastern Sierra areas. This water vapor loop shows it well:

http://sat.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/loops ... =wv&size=4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Supposedly will pick up more strongly tomorrow over whole range, peak Sunday, and may linger into Tuesday. May also cause some activity over higher areas of the Coast Range with cells possibly moving into San Joaquin Valley areas. Its always a rare California day when during summer we get to smell wet grasses, grains, and stickers in the air.

Sitting here at lunch at work with Subu set to do a road trip up somewhere in the Central Sierra this weekend. Pile of topos in for SR88, SR4, SR108 areas and my new Aether 70 backpack is set up and full for any short ideas away from the highways. Maybe catch some clouds for a dawn pond or lake reflection? And midday given some good diffuse light condition clouds, am hoping to find some good wildflower landscapes at some of my favorite volcanic zones. Guessing it is about time for acres of mule ears on crest area Merhten Formation andesite.

Yep it was uh rumbling Saturday afternoon though wasn't able to capture anything with my 4x5 as best light was fleeting and raindrops kept my big gear in the pack all afternoon. Well did take it out once but then pitter-patter too soon and back it went. But all that was easy stuff for my little digital SX130:



Sunday morning made up for that by exposing 8 sheets. In my exploratory rambling late Saturday morning saw some great peak, lake, flower stuff, I went back to Sunday early when light was optimal to nail. Then jogged back to the Subu drove a few miles and huffed it up sweating to a ridgeline before light got too harsh to capture this landscape of peaking volcanic community wildflowers and snowy peaks with the view camera then for the record again with the SX130:

very pretty, Dave.. i'm guessing the monsoonal flow wasn't timed exactly as you had hoped..

I just noticed this topic. I managed to get some shots during the monsoon that were more dramatic than perhaps otherwise. Mostly we were trying to keep dry.