Thursday, July 23, 2015

Dust Storm!

I won't call it a haboob... it wasn't that big of a deal. But look how incredibly quickly the sky changed. I took the photo below on Friday (7/17/15) at 6:45 PM. Those rocky hills in the background are the northernmost border of Joshua Tree National Park, and that thunderhead cloud was growing quickly. Thunderstorms were predicted, and hopefully rain was on the way!
Thirty minutes later (7:15 PM) I took the shot below. In this short period of time the skies had gone from blue to yellow-brown, the wind had kicked up, and although there was no immediate rain, the smell of wet creosote was in the air.
Three minutes late (7:18 PM) my phone started making a weird beeping noise. Here's the screenshot from my phone:
Like I said, it really wasn't a big deal. I didn't notice a huge amount of dust in the air, although the sky certainly looked unusual. I decided to use the strange light (the sun was almost blocked out, although the photos don't do it justice) to take some granddaughter silhouette shots.





Using a texture and Photoshop, I doctored these up a bit to give them a more eerie, otherworldly look...


Thanks for stopping by! Linking with Skywatch Friday. Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world!!

36 comments:

  1. I love your resourcefulness and making use of the situation. Great pics.

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  2. This kind of editing is wonderful.

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  3. Nice shots again and a start to the desert patine for your yard art.

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  4. Great photos, bit of a change from the rain we are having at the moment

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  5. That rolled in very quick. Dust storms do create a very eerie colour to the sky. Love your photos.

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  6. That's an impressive serie of photos of this phenomenon.
    Great idea to put your granddaughter in front of the sun in the haze.

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  7. Wow, that is a fast moving storm. I love the silhouette shots of your granddaughter. Happy Friday, have a great weekend!

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  8. really neat. glad it wasn't bad.

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  9. It really hit us down here in Palm Desert. The mountains "disappeared" and the wind arrived. Good thing I didn't wash my car!
    Cheryl Ann

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  10. Beautiful settings. Very well taken.

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  11. I've never been in a dust storm, so was amazed to see how different your photos appeared. Love the silhouettes.

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  12. your last treatment could make the cover of a dystopian novel.

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  13. Wonderful photos of your granddaughter!
    Have a great week-end!
    Lea

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  14. Your granddaughter must have enjoyed getting out in the unusual weather! Does she gets bored of posing for camera? My daughter gives me a lot of trouble to pose for me, hence I ask :D

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  15. Great pictures all.

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  16. Haven's seen a dust storm in a good long time, but here in Texas we expecting beetles and grasshoppers to blow in soon!

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  17. Fascinating shots of the changing light. And your granddaughter looks delightful.

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  18. Fascinating shots of the changing light. And your granddaughter looks delightful.

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  19. Wonderful shots of the changing light, with your granddaughter in the middle of it all. I love the first shot with your newly acquired truck.

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  20. Great shots. The dust storms scared me when we lived in Brawley One friend came home from Indio in a big sand storm and one side of their car was sand blasted down to the bare metal - they had to have the car repainted. I think I would have found a place to park and wait.

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  21. Awesome photos! Those with your granddaughters are beautiful!

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  22. Awesome photos! Those with your granddaughters are beautiful!

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  23. Beautiful pictures, love how you have captured these in the sunset :)

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  24. Lovely sunset, and the silhouttes of the cute kid is so lovely.

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  25. I am always fascinated by your posts, the images and dust storm weather are a world away from my own experience. Your granddaughter is proving to be a really great companion and these photos will be so good to look back on as she grows older. And what fun to choose your own car art - looks as though it has come straight out of a Steinbeck novel!

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  26. The silhouettes are great. We've had too many of those alerts on our phone the last couple of years, although not about dust storms!

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  27. I've never seen a dust storm, we just don't get them here, not dry enough, however the last photo is my favourite :-)

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  28. great pics indeed..and I love your editing versions as well..the last one is sooo cool

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  29. Amazing how quickly the weather conditions changed. The silhouette shots are absolutely awesome!

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  30. That yellow sky and the ringed sun are eerie indeed. Glad the dust wasn't any worse and good to know the weather alert thing worked... I'd rather be over-warned than not know at all.

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