This post is a collection of the various thunderstorms I have photographed in Utah’s West Desert.  I make it a point to get out and photograph the Onaqui Herd of wild horses whenever I can, especially if there is a chance of thunderstorms.  It has been rare to get great lightning, but the sunsets are absolutely spectacular even if the lightning is a rarity.  The photographs that are long (panoramic) were taken by stitching between 10 and 15 separate, overlapped images into one image.  The file sizes are enormous, as I stitch RAW files from my Nikon D810.  For example, the panoramic of the double rainbow is 21,700 X 7200 pixels!  All files are significantly downsized (1800 X 1800 pixels, at 72 dpi) for posting.  I have printed these panoramas 24″ X 72″ and you can’s spot any pixels at all.

We had another great trip photographing wild horses in Utah’s West Desert.  The Onaqui herd is unique in that if you are mindful of their demeanor, you can walk right through the herd and get very close-up, intimate photographs of these magnificent creatures.

I haven’t had much time to process the approximately 2,000 photographs I shot, but here are a few of those that I have processed thus far.  The photograph of the two red stallions on the run is a combination of the photograph I shot and a process that makes the photograph look like an oil painting.  It has a more “contemporary” look but still has details that would appear in a photograph.

Another trip to the West Desert to photograph this magnificent herd of wild horses.  The herd was hard to find, and it was much smaller than usual.  I desperately hope the BLM hasn’t rounded up this herd.

Those horses that did come to the watering hole were few in number.  Not a lot of fighting, but enough to keep you on your toes.  The sunset was spectacular (as they always are in the West Desert).  The small family band that is running to the watering hole is new to me.  I don’t think I have photographed them before.  I will have to go back and see if I have.