Driving north from Gallup, NM, on August 24 I passed through two intense thunderstorms and was fearful that my plans to photograph Shiprock rock from my DJI Air 2S drone would go for naught. But as I saw the rock in the distance the weather cleared some, the rain stopped, and the winds calmed. I drove along the east side of the south dike for a few miles, parked, and launched the drone as sunset neared. Heavy clouds to the west prevented the sun from lighting up the rock and I was down to about 10 minutes of flight time. Suddenly the rock began to glow and I maneuvered around the south dike for several compositions using the dyke as a leading line. I saw a sandstorm moving in from the right so time to land. As I was packing up I was enveloped in a dust cloud so my caution was rewarded with a safe drone recovery.
This is a five-shot bracket merged in LR PhotoMerge, ISO 200, F2.8, 24mm. I'm aimed roughly north at about 350 feet up. All of the haze in the atmosphere created sort of a dreamy look which I liked a lot.
