Storm Chasing in Central New Mexico

 

Here in New Mexico, we rarely see those magnificent, photogenic supercell storms like the ones in the Great Plains, so we have to be content with smaller storms.

Late last month, weather forecasts seemed favorable for some isolated thunderstorms in central and southeastern New Mexico.  My friend, Alan, and I opted for the possibilities in central NM, closer to home (round trip roughly 230 miles), doable in half a day.

By noon RadarScope was showing a couple of promising cells about 30 miles southwest of Vaughn, moving west to east.  So we had time for lunch at Penny's Diner . . .

. . . then drove a few miles south of Vaughn on US 285 to be in position for the approaching storm cell.

When found a good viewpoint about 1:30, there was already a cell nearby, but it didn't look very interesting (on the left in the photo below).  The cell we were interested in was about 10 miles directly west of our position (circled).  

BTW, this is the same area where almost exactly two years earlier we saw a pretty good cell and, briefly, a tornado.  To see images from that trip, click here.

We watched and waited (and pushed the shutter button) as the cell moved directly toward us.

While we waited, we saw this on the highway behind us:

Any guesses about what it is?

Meanwhile, the storm cell was coming right toward us . . .

Detail from left side of the photo above this one.

. . . so we decided to move around to the side of it for a different view by driving 15 miles back to the northwest near Encino:

Here's what it looked like from the north side as it traveled from west to east (right to left in the three images below):

Clearly there was a lot of turbulence, which you can see in the photos above, but no rotation that would spawn a tornado.  

To give you a better sense of the turbulence, I zoomed into the heart of the cell.  This photo is enhanced by processing to increase the contrast and detail; it's my "shot of the day."

It reminds me of some of the illustrations by French graphic artist Gustave Doré (1832-1883):

As we headed for home, I looked back at the storm from a distance:

If you would like to see these images in a larger format, please visit my photography website, Todos Juntos Photography, by clicking here.

Enjoy!

Rainbow Sky

 

Yesterday was a day of heavy overcast and light rain alternating with clear blue New Mexico sky . . .

6:58 am

8:17 am

The waves of dark and clear were the remnants of tropical storm Alvin, which spun up in the eastern Pacific on the west coast of Mexico a few days ago, then blew north through Arizona and New Mexico.

As sunset approached, the western sky was clearing as the heavy clouds moved east over the Sandia Mountains, so I grabbed my camera to photograph our house and some yucca plants against the dramatic dark sky in "golden hour" light.

While photographing one of the yucca plants, I noticed a light curving line in the dark sky . . .

. . . and realized it was a rainbow forming right before my eyes:

As the sun sank lower in the west, the rainbow faded, leaving only the left and right ends visible:

But as the rainbow faded, a new show was beginning.  The setting sun was now illuminating the departing overcast cloud layer.  

Here's the view looking west and up as the trailing edge of the clouds was passing overhead:

Looking toward the Sandia Mountains in the east . . .

Looking northeast . . .

and southeast . . .

At last, the sun dropped below the horizon, leaving soft colors on the clouds:

If you would like to see these images in a larger format, please visit my photography website, Todos Juntos Photography, by clicking here.

Enjoy!

Albuquerque Classic Car Show

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air coupe convertible

A couple of weekends ago my friend, Alan, and I went down to Old Town Albuquerque to photograph the 39th Annual Car Show, sponsored by the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs and the Albuquerque Museum.  

There are more than 60 car clubs in New Mexico, and this year's show included over 200 vehicles of all makes and models ranging from the 1920s to the 1990s, some beautifully restored, others works in progress.  Here are a few examples:

1940 Chevrolet

1959 Austin Healey "Bugeye" Sprite

1956 Ford Thunderbird

 

1950 or '51 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup

The highlight of this year's show were the lowriders -- cars with lowered bodies like this one . . .

1947 Pontiac

and this one:

1959 Chevrolet Impala

Lowriders are usually outfitted with hydraulic systems that allow for height-adjustable suspension, like this one . . .

1961 Chevrolet Impala

and this one . . .

1997 Lincoln Town Car

Besides being beautifully restored, many lowriders are decorated with custom interiors . . .

. . . and exteriors:

Perhaps the most incredible exterior decorations were the engraved designs on the chrome of this lowrider:

 

and the graphic on the trunk lid:

Here's Alan chatting with the owner (who bears a certain resemblance to the guy depicted on the trunk lid):

If you'd like to learn more about lowrider culture, click here for a 5-minute video about a lowrider builder.

Because all the cars were parked pretty close together, it was difficult to get a clean photo of just one car.

So I spent a fair amount of time just photographing exterior details:

2001 BMW 28

A few had illustrations on their hoods, ranging from religious icons . . .

. . . to secular ones:

And some of the exhibitors were just having fun:

If you would like to see these images in a larger format, please visit my photography website, Todos Juntos Photography, by clicking here.

Enjoy!