Dean M. Chriss
Photography
Factory Butte, Light in the Storm
(Click image to enlarge)
This photograph was captured on a cloudy, chilly and very windy March morning
in 2020.
There was little hope of capturing a good photograph. The light was terrible
and it was too windy to get a sharp photograph regardless. Occasionally a drop of rain
would hit my face. Knowing that anything can happen I decided to set up my tripod and
camera anyway. I wanted a relatively high vantage point for the scene I had in mind,
so I got myself and my equipment up on top of a large boulder. The cold wind seemed
even stronger up there. Oddly, I had previously thought about using the boulder to
shield myself from the wind, but I wasn't there to be comfortable. I could feel
the tripod vibrating strongly as the wind blew. As the sun came up the wind gusts
grew more fierce, but there were occasional brief lulls during which the air
seemed still. Then the sun shone through a break in the clouds. I was too
slow to trigger the camera the first two times the wind paused, but I got the third
one. The scene turned drab and lifeless a few minutes later, putting an end to the
day's sunrise photos. I made a hasty hike back to my vehicle where I had a thermal
mug full of hot tea waiting.
Also see a very
similar photograph I took one
year earlier.