Title:
Arizona Sunset Monsoon

Equipment Used:
OM System OM-1 Mark II with M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO

Description / Method:
During Arizona’s summer monsoon season, you learn to keep your camera close at all times. These storms can appear anywhere, without warning — fierce, fast, and breathtaking — only to vanish just as quickly.

This summer offered only two real opportunities to photograph a monsoon, and this image was one of them. I spotted the storm forming on radar, grabbed my camera and tripod, and headed to a nearby spot I affectionately call “The Hill.” It’s only four minutes from our home but offers a spectacular elevated view of the Tortolita Mountains, with the desert floor spread out below, dotted with cactus and brush.

I set up and waited as the sky transformed. Although I own a lightning trigger, I prefer to capture moments like this entirely manually — shooting in full Manual mode, relying only on timing, instinct, and the pulse of the storm.

(FYI: I also shoot a Sony A7IV, I would love to win the Tamron lens)