It was a good idea. As long as I can remember, and I’ve lived in Arizona since 1971, the monsoon season has arrived right on schedule. It generally begins when we get a consistent dew point in the 50’s and runs from about mid-July through August, give or take a couple of weeks. As the afternoons heat up the thunderheads begin to build and they can pop up anywhere. It’s not like a storm you can track from California. When I first attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff I could set my watch to the daily afternoon showers and thunderstorms. But with climate change, last year’s monsoon season was dubbed a non-soon. Much like 2020.

It was scheduled as a four-day workshop. The idea was that we’d convene at 9:00 in the classroom, learn about weather patterns, how to read weather apps and radar, learn where to go for the storms that just pop up in the hot Arizona afternoons, and be ready to load the vans and head in any direction from Phoenix, located in the center of the state. Thursday wound up being a tough day with a classroom full of excited photographers and nowhere to go.

It was decided that the next day we’d head in the direction of a historically rich corridor of monsoon activity, interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson.

We had class from 9-12, lunch from 12-1, then we headed to Tucson. With no storms forming, we photographed the Mission San Xavier del Bac. It’s always a good choice for people with cameras.

It’s crazy to think of the lives, people and stories that have wandered these grounds over the centuries.

To think of the folks who have sat in these pews and prayed.

A storm cell popped up around Benson, south of Tucson. By the time we got there, this was all there was. It had mostly dissipated as quickly as it had formed. We shot until sunset then grabbed some food and headed back to Phoenix. We got back to the classroom at 11:30.

Saturday was a similar situation. We headed south of Phoenix but this time only went as far as Florence. No storms popped up on the radar…ANYWHERE, so we photographed the desert. Again we were out until 11:00.

Sunday we spent half the day in the classroom doing photo critiques with what we DID shoot and dismissed.

Again, the idea was a good one, too bad the weather didn’t cooperate. Highways has since taken this workshop off the schedule, for obvious reasons. Maybe someday, when weather patterns settle down, we can get back to it. I still learned a lot about weather and photographing storms. They can be dangerous for you and your gear so keep a safe distance from lightning and have rain gear for you AND your camera always ready.

Stay safe out there and Happy Shooting!