Fire Wave


Posted by E.J. Peiker on Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:09 pm

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Fire Wave - Valley of Fire, Nevada
XF-IQ3100, 40-80mm @ 40mm (~25mm FF equiv.), ISO 50, f/11, 3s

My plan for this morning was to make a foray into Nevada and Visit Valley of Fire State Park.  The weather forecast was for partly to mostly cloudy with only a 10% chance of light rain - generally monssons occur in the afternoon and evening and dissipate by midnight or so.  I got there a bit before dawn and made my way to the Fire Wave formation.  Just as I got there and took this picture, a light sprinkle started and some lightning was seen in the distance.  This quickly turned into a gullywasher with lightning all around.  I was about a mile from my car in the most torrential downpour I had ever been in.  I took off my shirt to protect the camera and headed back as fast as I could given that the trail was now a river (yeah I know I should have had something to protect it with me but there was literally no sign of rain a few minutes before I got drenched).  Lightning and thunder, which initially had a decent space, became simultaneous and nearly blinded me with it's brightness. I can still smell the really strong smell of ozone and remember reading from accounts of people that have been struck by lightning that the only thing they remember is the strong burning smell right before they were struck. I though I was done for but I made it back to my car, despite one slip but catching myself and saving the camera. No more than 30 seconds after getting into my car soaking wet and starting the car to crank the A/C to aid in drying out the camera , lightning struck the parking lot that I was in and it shut down all the electronics in my car. It took a while for it all to reset and work again. Super Scary - while I wasn't hit directly, I was definitely in the elctrical field of the lightning strike that was probably about 100 feet away! Then driving back to the main park road, I opted not to cross the wash to get back out as you read a lot of stories in the desert of vehicles having been washed away when crossing a wash and this flow was strong and I didn't think it would be a good idea to put my life at risk a second time today. I was the only person there. About 20 minutes later, a ranger appeared on the other side of the wash - he was going through the park to clear it out. He tested the wash with his truck and he got across to me OK so he said I could try it and gave me some tips on how to drive through it to minimize the risk and said he would rescue me if I didn't make it but I got across OK. Later I ran into him again and he said he almost couldn't get back across 10 minutes later in his high clearance 4x4 as the water had risen to about 3 feet from about 2 feet and was running really fast  (my vehicle is standard SUV clearance with AWD). At that point they closed most of the park, there were only 2 of us there - had the other car, a small Nissan been trapped on the wrong side of the wash, I think he'd still be there tonight. I waited for quite some time at the east entrance to the park and the thunderstorms just got worse and worse - the worst I have ever seen. There was so much water running through that they said they would likely not reopen today as it was just too dangerous...  This is the one photo I got as I was approaching the Fire Wave just before all hell broke loose. Many lessons learned today - despite nearly 35 years in the desert, even an experienced desert rat can be humbled by Mother Nature and her unpredictability!

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by Mark Boranyak on Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:15 am
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Wow. Nice image. The story that goes with it grabs one's attention for numerous reasons.

Thanks for sharing. 

Mark
 

by Jens Peermann on Thu Jul 20, 2017 8:53 am
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This shot caught my attention because of the unusual colors. But after seeing the overcast - extremely unusual for Valley of Fire, but then, weather hasn't been as usual anywhere for quite a while - and reading your story It doesn't look all that unusual any more.

You had a lot of luck on that shoot. Missed by lightning and almost getting washed away. Good thing you weren't shooting at Little Finland, which is about 20 miles away on the other side of the Virgin River (Lake Mead). In order to get there you not just cross a wash, you will be driving in it for about 12 miles.

Regarding photo shoots in Nevada state Parks, I found this page on Carolyn Wright's website. I've known about it for quite some while (and still struggle to find any sense in it) and it's enough for me to do only very little - if any at all - photography in Nevada State Parks.
A great photograph is absorbed by the eyes and stored in the heart.
 

by Keith Bozeman on Thu Jul 20, 2017 11:14 am
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A great photo with an amazing story to go with it. The colors are just amazing. I wanted to go here when I visited the park but the high was 108 on the day that I was there.
 

by Carol Clarke on Thu Jul 20, 2017 4:53 pm
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Amazing image, and even more amazing account of your experiences!  You are obviously not wanted for a sunbeam just yet.  :wink:
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by jtanner on Fri Jul 21, 2017 8:04 pm
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Amazing image made even more so by the story behind it! Glad you made it through to shoot another day!! That shot must hold some strong feelings for you.
 

by Ron Day on Fri Jul 21, 2017 9:23 pm
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Super image and what an amazing experience you had that morning!
 

by John Labrenz on Sat Jul 22, 2017 12:21 am
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Awesome image!
Quite the adventure...glad things turned out OK.
 

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