HailDrifts Archives - Bliss Photographics

Posted on August 18, 2020August 9, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Hail Covered Devils Tower

I worked the storm that led to this photo for almost 3 hours. “Devils Tower” here is Hail Covered White. This was taken about 10 days ago when Crook County Wyoming made national News with it’s weather. I doubt more than a few dozen people saw this phenomena from this direction or at all… Sun only lit it up for a few minutes while I was working this storm over volcanic neck complex with several long lenses. I have never seen the Tower covered in hail before. I believe this is as white as I’ve ever seen it. The storm that dropped all this ice clearly visible on the three Missouri Buttes too was a big one. It ran east to west about 20 miles south of where I was observing it from.

I’m just starting to work this timeline finishing the images and writing appropriate narratives for each. Lots of lightning captures from this storm. This capture is at the end of the timeline.

Remember these posts are all book pages in my eventual coffee table book. Currently it’s over 1800 pages long about life and times up here in Wyotana. Admittedly the tower and the Buttes are all Wyoming. I’m standing about 4 miles south of Montana in northernmost Wyoming. I consider about 10 miles either side of the border (Wyotana).

Bear in mind this in early August, not winter. It was 80 degrees when I took this. An ice covered national monument is always an interesting image I think lolol. At the time I actually said “WoW out loud. Slathered with hail appears to be the towers fate . I hope no one was on the trail walking around it. If so they saw it up close and personal. All the while “slathered” too lol.. Hopefully no one was hurt. Hostile Environment sometimes up here. 📷

Location Pass at Rockypoint Wyoming, Trail Creek Road, Campbell County Wyoming.

Title: Hail Covered Devils Tower

Posted on August 9, 2020August 8, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Rainbow With Hail Drifts

Mid-day the rainbow arch is very low to the ground. Rainbows late in the day are tall portions of a semi circle arch. Your just seeing the outside top edge of a big circular rainbow if you were in a plane looking from above. This is a pretty low bow…😜

IT looks like a sheet rainbow but that is only because the telephoto lens I’m using is looking at the base of this rainbow about 6 miles out. Telephotos CRUSH perspective by covering a LOT of distance into a small frame. There are a couple of ranch homesteads out in that country but you sure can’t see them from this vantage point. One of my limitations is the actual topography that I am on. I’d love to have a 1000 foot high peak around here with a good road up to the top …..👅 📸

This storm had a shaft of hail that JUST missed us. It did leave obvious drifts of white hail off in the distance. Way out looking across the Montana / Wyoming border just up into Montana from where I stand in Wyoming. The rainbow spans the border between the two states. I’d say the base of this bow is at least a mile wide from my perspective. The further back I get, the wider it will look within the limits of the rain area. So distance is usually your friend with long lenses. (I think that is rule #136 of photography).

Title: Rainbow With Hail Drifts

Posted on May 23, 2020May 14, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Backcountry Rainbow Hail Drifts

Spring time thunderstorms moving through the area are much appreciated in giving us a little more moisture for the apparently soon to be dry summer so typical of Wyotana. Our annual precipitation amounts are BARELY above desert at 14 inches per year. Not this day though 😀

This happened May 13th late in the afternoon as a series of smaller storms moved through the area. This thunder storm went on into South Dakota and grew as it went but wasn’t particularly violent. It was however strong enough to dump enough hail to cover the ground off in the distance under the “rainbow”. I didn’t think there is supposed to be a bucket o hail at the end of the rainbow but something with a bit more glitter. “Clever Girl” got slushed on but fortunately the hail was a bit further east. This capture looking almost straight east along the Montana / Wyoming border. I’ve been known to move my position to avoid hail a time or two. It’s usually not a huge area that get’s hailed on but reading the storm isn’t necessarily straight forward as I’m not “Bill Paxton” in the 1996 movie Tornado.

The Rainbow is right at 5 miles away from my viewpoint. The first tree on the right is at least 1/2 mile out. Telephotos CRUSH perspective jumping over lots of ground before you get to the “foreground” of the frame lol.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands (Wyotana)

Title: Backcountry Rainbow Hail Drifts