Photographing Monsoon Storms and Lightning at the Grand Canyon - 2022
What a year 2022 has been for photographing the monsoon season at the Grand Canyon. After several years of weak monsoonal showers, or what some had come to refer to as the “non-soon” the rain has returned and with it came the lightning, rainbows, and dramatic skies.
In addition to running my annual monsoon workshops, I spent much of the season on the North Rim on personal trips exploring and photographing lesser known and more remote locations such as Point Sublime, Swamp Point, Marbleview, and Toroweap. With all of the rain, the roads were more challenging to drive than in years past and required four wheel drive to safely navigate some obstacles with some sections of road blocked by downed trees along with long pools of deep water on the road.
In a future post here on the Journal, I’ll be sharing more photos of intimate scenes of the Ponderosa pines and aspen trees in the forest, photos of lichen-covered boulders, along with photos of Sacred Datura flowers and Utah agaves. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the photographs I have made of the Grand Canyon this monsoon season.
Golden morning light on Angels Window. From the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
A lone pine tree high on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon has been shaped by years of high winds. In the distance, Mount Hayden glows in the warm light of a summer sunrise.
Warm summer light fills in the blue shadows as a storm clears. From the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
The last light of the day falls upon the rim of the Grand Canyon as sky above comes alive in an array of colors. From the Rim Trail near Mather Point on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
Mount Hayden stands watch over the Grand Canyon from Point Imperial on the park's North Rim. © Adam Schallau, All Rights Reserved.
Looking down the Crystal Creek drainage from the hoodoo rocks on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. In the distance, monsoon storms fill the sky with dramatic looking clouds.
After a day of heavy monsoonal rains and severe lightning, a moment of peace falls across the Grand Canyon landscape as a rainbow graces the canyon at sunset. From Point Sublime on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
Morning light falls upon the temples of the Grand Canyon. From the North Rim of the park.
A double rainbow forms over the Colorado River and the Unkar Delta as a monsoon storm clears. From the Walhalla Plateau on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
Sunlight falls upon distant rains. From Cape Royal on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. © Adam Schallau, All Rights Reserved.
Angels Window glows in early morning light. As the sun rose on this morning, the landscaape before me was painted with warm color of light with a subtle puple hue. The air began to stir ever so gently, and the wind whispered through the tall pines along the rim of the canyon. From the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
A rainbow descends upon Claude Birdseye Point. From Point Sublime on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
After long periods of rain overnight that lasted well into the morning past sunrise, the Grand Canyon had filled with clouds and the atmopshere was thick and humid. For much of the morning, it was only possible to see about 10 feet into the canyon, but then the a slight breeze began to stir the air. Within a few minutes the clouds below the rim began to breakup, and sunlight broke through. As the clouds cleared the peaks below the rim appeared to be great ships sailing amongst the clouds. From Vista Encantada on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
Lightning erupts from a monsoon thunderstorm and strikes the Grand Canyon. Moments later, thunder echoed amongst the canyon walls below Angels Window. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
In the moments before a summer sunrise, warm light is cast upon Mount Hayden and the surrounding landscape of the Grand Canyon. From the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
As a monsoon rain shower clears, light breaks through a gap in the clouds and a rainbow descends upon the Grand Canyon. From the Ken Patrick Trail on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
Lightning strikes Isis Temple. From Cape Royal on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
Soft light and the pastels hues of a summer sunset fall across the Grand Canyon. From the Rim Trail near Mather Point on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
Dramatic storm light falls across the landscape illuminating Mount Hayden. It's brief moments of time such as this where one can get lost in the light. From Point Imperial on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
As a monsoon storm clears, a rainbow arcs above Unkar Creek. From the Walhalla Plateau on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
A double rainbow descends upon the Grand Canyon. In the distance, far below in the canyon, is the Colorado River near Boucher Rapid at river mile 96.5. From Point Sublime on the North Rim of the park.
The Colorado River carves a path through the Grand Canyon below the Palisades of the Desert. From Desert View on the South Rim of the park.
As sunset approached on this day, the wind faded away and the the canyon became very quiet. A touch of soft light broke through a gap in the clouds and Wotans Throne was painted in a golden light. From the wedding site near Cape Royal on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
Lightning strikes Brady Peak as viewed from Vista Encantada on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. © Adam Schallau, all rights reserved.
The first light of the day illuminates Mount Hayden in this panoramic view of the Grand Canyon from Point Imperial on the North Rim.
Sunlight filtered by rain falling from a monsoon storm illuminates Coronado Butte in golden light. From the Walhalla Plateau on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
Freya Castle and Vishnu Temple glow in the last light of the day. In the distsance, the Colorado River can be seen bending around the Unkar Delta. From Angels Window on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
Fine Art Prints
The photos are available as large fine art prints. I still have more photographs to add to this gallery, so please check back often to see new photos as they are added. Thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoy the photos.
Photo Gear
The photographs on this page were all made with my Fujifilm GFX 100S, a 102-megapixel medium format mirrorless camera, and Fujifilm lenses. I also used a Really Right Stuff tripod and Acratech Panoramic Head. You can learn more about the equipment I used by clicking on the links below.