Sun halo and the Kongakut River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark III, 24-105L f4 IS, ISO 50, 24mm, f9.0, 1/500th sec. I purposely underexposed this image by several stops to blacken the mountains and increase the contrast in sky.
I’m a weather-watcher when I’m in the backcountry. I have a watch that tracks the barometric pressure, and I eye the sky compulsively. After several years of watching, monitoring, and worrying, I’ve gotten a bit better at making short-term forecasts. Which is to say, I still suck at it, but I’m right more often than I once was. A plummeting barometer, high cirrus clouds, or as is the case in this image, a halo around the sun, are warning signs, and I dread seeing them when I’m guiding a trip.
The photographer in me has a different perspective. Changing weather can be magical for photography. Clouds rolling in create drama, and storms can be amazing.
When I see change on the way, I batten down the tents, put on my rain gear, and head back outside. Bad weather can yield the best photographs.
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