Storm Light In Arches National Park
Recently in Utah, we had a day where the storm light just didn’t quit. Snow and rain squalls were moving around Arches National Park the entire day, creating extraordinary light. Storm light is something that the landscape artists of the Hudson River School, one of my main inspirations, captured in the 19th century. It is literally what the term implies. As a storm moves in or out of an area, there can be a mix of sunshine and storm clouds, creating an amazing range of light and shadow on the landscape. To the Hudson River School, there was a deeper meaning to storm light in their paintings. Can you see it in this Asher Durand painting?
First Harvest in the Wilderness by Asher Durand 1855
Storm light is something I’ve been fascinated with ever since I was a kid. As a photographer, it is something I chase even more than epic sunrises and sunsets. It’s something I always hope to see and photograph in the wide open, arid landscape of the Southwest. When you don’t live in an area, you are limited to the weather while you are there.
On a trip to Moab, Utah, we were blessed with a day of storm light. When I left the cabin we rented, I noticed what I thought was fog, but it turned out to be an isolated rain squall. We were staying just a few minutes from Arches National Park and spent the day there capturing the following images.
Utah Storm Light 1 by Richard Lewis 2026
Utah Storm Light 2 by Richard Lewis 2026
Utah Storm Light 3 by Richard Lewis 2026
Utah Storm Light 4 by Richard Lewis 2026
Utah Storm Light 5 by Richard Lewis 2026
A Glimpse 0f The Sun in Window Arch by Richard Lewis 2026
Utah Storm Light 6 by Richard Lewis 2026
Utah Storm Light 7 by Richard Lewis 2026
Utah Storm Light 8 by Richard Lewis 2026
Utah Storm Light 9 by Richard Lewis 2026
A Storm On the Devil’s Garden by Richard Lewis 2026
The above images were made on a single day and started just after sunrise and continued until late afternoon, when my wife and I were literally exhausted from driving and hiking around Arches National Park. I’ve always advocated for photographing your local landscape because you can take advantage of all different light at all different times. When you travel, you are limited to the light that is there when you are. Fortunately, in Moab, Utah, amazing light was there, and I was able to make a portfolio of work in a single day.
Enjoy!
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These are amazing!!!
Just stunning. Storms are drama and you really show it in these!
Amazing photography Rich. I definitely see Hudson River School influences in them.
Beautiful photography Rich! I definitely see Hudson River School influence in them.
Rich, every single one of these is a masterpiece, but that arch window shot?? That’s the one. The storm light framed through the arch like that is just otherworldly. We’ve shot together enough that I know how hard you have to work to be in the right place at the right moment — and you absolutely nailed it here. I get full panic mode every time I’m in the Southwest and the sky starts doing something dramatic — brain goes into overdrive trying to decide where to point the camera first! But you kept your cool and came home with an incredible set.