{"id":117359,"date":"2023-10-24T05:12:19","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T11:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=117359"},"modified":"2024-10-23T04:21:51","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T09:21:51","slug":"an-incredible-shelf-cloud-over-bear-river-mbr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/10\/24\/an-incredible-shelf-cloud-over-bear-river-mbr\/","title":{"rendered":"An Incredible Shelf Cloud Over Bear River MBR"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, I am sharing a few images of an incredible shelf cloud over Bear River MBR<\/span><\/a> that I was thrilled to see and photograph yesterday morning.<\/p>\n

\"Eastern<\/a>Eastern view of a shelf cloud over Bear River MBR on October 23, 2023 – Nikon D810, f8, handheld, 1\/80, ISO 400, Nikkor 18-200mm at 18mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

When I am going to Bear River MBR, I leave home about an hour before sunrise. My drive north yesterday was punctuated by lightning flashing ahead of me in the black velvet sky. I knew I might be driving into stormy weather, but I was committed to going to the refuge, so I kept driving north.<\/p>\n

As the sky began to brighten, I could barely make out the shape of a towering cloud. The lighter it became, the more evident it was that I was heading into some rain. In fact, it started pouring before I reached the Forest Street exit on I-15.<\/p>\n

As I headed west, I was mesmerized by the low-hanging, gorgeous cloud formation in front of me. I was looking at the eastern side of a shelf cloud. Of course, I had to jump out and take photos!<\/p>\n

\"Shelf<\/a>Shelf cloud over Bear River MBR looking towards the north on October 23, 2023 – Composite – Nikon D810, f8, handheld, 1\/250, ISO 400, Nikkor 18-200mm at 18mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Immediately I knew that in order for me to show this shelf cloud formation I would have to get south of it. I jumped back into my Jeep and headed south on Forest street then west once I got past the cattle gate. As soon as I reached the first pull over spot I jumped out and took a series of images of the shelf cloud.<\/p>\n

I didn’t have a wide enough angle lens to get most of the shelf cloud in one frame but I knew I could stitch individual images together later in Adobe PhotoShop.<\/p>\n

My primary goal was to photograph as much of the cloud as possible before the vibrant colors dissipated.<\/p>\n

The image above is a composite of three photos showcasing the breathtaking shelf cloud that loomed over Bear River MBR yesterday. The colors in my cellphone snapshots weren’t as vivid as they appeared in real-time.<\/p>\n

\"Single<\/a>Single frame of the amazing shelf cloud over Bear River MBR on October 23, 2023 – Nikon D810, f8, handheld, 1\/250, ISO 400, Nikkor 18-200mm at 18mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

The shelf cloud stretched from just east of the Promontory Mountains all the way over the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains, approximately 30 miles or so.<\/p>\n

I was in awe of this cloud, and I knew that even if I didn’t photograph a single bird or animal, my hour-long drive in the dark and falling rain was so very much worth it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"Shelf<\/a>Shelf cloud from West to East at Bear River MBR on October 23, 2023 – Composite – Nikon D810, f8, handheld, 1\/500, ISO 400, Nikkor 18-200mm at 18mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a Shelf Cloud?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A shelf cloud<\/span><\/a> is a type of cloud that is usually seen during thunderstorms. It looks like a wedge or a shelf hanging low in the air and is attached to the base of a thunderstorm cloud. Shelf clouds form when a gust front pushes warm, moist air upwards, causing the air to cool and condense into a cloud. They are often associated with squall lines, which are lines of thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain.<\/span><\/p>\n

My last image is a composite of five photos. The images I used for this panorama were taken just nine minutes after the first, more colorful composite image above. Timing matters. By then, I was getting close to the beginning of the auto tour route, but I jumped out of my Jeep to photograph the cloud one more time.<\/p>\n

I love what I do. I love what I get to see with my eyes and through my viewfinder. This shelf cloud? It was an awesome early morning gift bestowed on me by Mother Nature. She freaking rocks!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click the composite images to view them larger.<\/p>\n

P.S., next time I see a cloud this amazing I need to remember to capture it on video. I kicked my own bottom yesterday when I realized I should have done that and didn’t.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge landscape photos plus information about the refuge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, I am sharing a few images of an incredible shelf cloud over Bear River MBR that I was thrilled to see and photograph yesterday morning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[124,1148,10893,26,7641],"tags":[14510,970,14512,4007,4008,6253,4764,4101,4720,14511,4620,5672,4378,14513,11852,14509,4018,9390,4427,1006,30,7640],"class_list":["post-117359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-miscellaneous","category-utah","category-weather-phenomena","tag-arcus-clouds","tag-autumn","tag-bear-river-mbr","tag-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","tag-box-elder-county","tag-cloud","tag-cloud-formations","tag-clouds","tag-composite","tag-cumulonimbus-clouds","tag-fall","tag-flats","tag-morning","tag-panorama","tag-ranchlands","tag-shelf-cloud","tag-sky","tag-stormy","tag-tree","tag-unusual","tag-utah-2","tag-weather-phenomena"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/bear-river-mbr-shelf-cloud-october-23-2023-mia-mcpherson-1295.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-uwT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":98748,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/01\/07\/winter-great-blue-heron-photos-from-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":117359,"position":0},"title":"Winter Great Blue Heron Photos From Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge can be a great location to take winter Great Blue Heron photos out on the frozen marshes and wetlands during January.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Blue Heron lifting off from a shelf of ice, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/great-blue-heron-lifting-off-from-ice-mia-mcpherson-0627.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/great-blue-heron-lifting-off-from-ice-mia-mcpherson-0627.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/great-blue-heron-lifting-off-from-ice-mia-mcpherson-0627.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/great-blue-heron-lifting-off-from-ice-mia-mcpherson-0627.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59926,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/09\/02\/mirage-as-seen-from-bear-river-mbr-auto-tour-route\/","url_meta":{"origin":117359,"position":1},"title":"Mirage As Seen From Bear River MBR Auto Tour Route","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Whatever this mirage was, it got my attention and I felt I had to stop and take photos of this naturally occurring optical phenomena, I mean I don't see things like this everyday!","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fata Morgana or Superior Mirage? 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