As we have discussed previously -- including in the June issue -- there are people absolutely obsessed with monsoon storms and all the dramatic action that ensues (sometimes).
Robert Gallucci is one of those people. Rob is an award-winning photographer who lives south of Sierra Vista. He relocated to Cochise County from New Jersey years back, drawn by the storms, the high-desert landscapes, and the spectacular wildlife.
He offers workshops focused on capturing lightning storms, sunrises, sunsets, and the Milky Way over iconic landscapes in the foreground. In the spring, he works with the City of Bisbee to shut off street lights, revealing clouds of stars above the town. The Milky Way in all of its glory.
Rob says there are new techniques and technologies that help capture the elusive bolts as they strike. Given the unpredictability of lightning, in the past, it might take hundreds if not thousands of shots to get the image. With today’s new innovations it may take less than 100 photos to capture many lightning strikes.
Rob is fond of saying that southern Arizona is one of the most unrecognized and epic photography locations in the United States. Part of his mission when he moved here was to change that, to let others know that this region is every bit as beautiful and iconic as other places in the United States.
One has only to see the dust-infused colors of a southern Arizona high-desert sunrise to understand the unsurpassed beauty of this remote country. As one of the few truly expansive dark sky regions left in the country, southern Arizona provides those who look up into the infinite depth of the night sky, to take in the wonderment of trillions of points of light adrift in a cloudy sea with no shore.
“To explore the great diversity of the sky-island landscape is to know, deep in your soul, that the greatest artist is not earthbound and that, at best, we can try to humbly share the wonder with others,” he said, adding that “for a photographer, there is no greater thrill than capturing the microsecond release of that power in the sky.”
"I do not think I could ask for a better start to Monsoon 2022 than tonight. A superb strike and a rainbow at sunset to start the season. I am blessed!
We had been tracking this (river of moisture) for three days and waited all day, hoping it would stay on track through the San Pedro Valley deep in southern Arizona."
Shoot Date: June 9, 2022
Canon 5D III | EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM |ISO: 50 | MK Controls Lightning Bug
