CLEARING STORMS

Many spectacular landscape photographs owe their drama to a clearing storm. A storm’s aftermath can leave snow-covered trees, raindrops on flowers and leaves, fog, mist, and the sun breaking through clouds. As the storm is breaking, try to determine where the sun is, and what it could illuminate if it breaks through the clouds.

I used my local knowledge to make this first photo of Yosemite’s El Capitan. In winter the sun strikes the west side of this rock at sunset, so I knew that if the sun peaked underneath the clouds there was a chance for dramatic light. The second shot shows the east side of the same rock as the sun broke through remnants of a spring storm.