Landscape,  Lens-Artists,  Themed galleries,  Travel in general

Gallery: stormy skies overhead

June 15, 2025 / 64 Comments

The storm starts, when the drops start dropping. When the drops stop dropping then the storm starts stopping.

Dr. Seuss

There are many quotations about storms, most of them advising us on how to deal with the figurative storms that threaten to rock our lives. But this one made me smile, so I had to use it.

After all, storms are inevitable (both the figurative and literal sort), so why not try to smile about them? That’s what I want to do for Beth’s inaugural ‘Stormy’ Lens Artists challenge this week. I want to show how bad weather needn’t throw you off course when travelling. How with the right attitude and a bit of flexibility, even a stormy day can be fun!

Stormy travels

Whatever the weather, when travelling it would be a waste of a day to stay inside. And with the right clothing it’s always possible to get out and explore. However, I have to admit to disappointment on occasions. Our boat ride on Lago Todos los Santos in Chile should have afforded stunning views of the surrounding mountains, but we saw none of them! I’d have liked to have seen more of the Lofoten Islands than was possible through the snowstorm that coincided with our brief visit. And a visit to Kaesong in North Korea was cut short when a tropical storm led to the authorities requiring all tourist groups that could do so, to return to Pyongyang to wait it out. But on all those

On other occasions however what may look like a washout can prove to have benefits. When we visited Kamikochi National Park in Japan another tropical storm meant that most hiking paths were closed, and the Japanese Alps hidden by low clouds. But the path by the river was accessible and the autumn trees had their own beauty in the misty wet conditions. A near-blizzard over the Grand Canyon gave us some strikingly different shots of that much-photographed landscape.

Kvaløya Island near Tromsø in Norway looked suitably atmospheric in the low clouds. Telegrafbukta too, where my friends and I even picnicked in a hailstorm! Dramatic views over the Bay of Kotor were some compensation for braving the rain at Cetinje Monastery in Montenegro. And even our soggy visit to the Banaue rice terraces in the Philippines earlier this year wasn’t without its high points, as the greens were enhanced by the weather.

I’ve included all these places, plus a few more, in the gallery below. I hope you don’t get too wet looking at them 😆

Storm clearing, Kaštel Kambelovac, Croatia

[my feature photo was taken at the same spot]

Lake Todos los Santos, Chile, in heavy rain

From the bridge to Austvagoy Island, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Lofoten Museum in the snow, Austvagoy Island, Lofoten Islands, Norway

An empty highway in North Korea, taken from a bridge at a roadside service station

[this road would be almost as deserted in good weather as very few North Koreans have reason, or permission, to travel south to the border]

Rain in Kamikochi National Park, Japan

Snowstorm over the Grand Canyon, seen from the North Rim

Grøtfjord, Kvaløya Island, near Tromsø, Norway

Stormy skies over Telegrafbukta, Tromsø, Norway

Rain at Cetinje Monastery, Montenegro

View over the Bay of Kotor, rain clouds clearing, Montenegro

View of rice terraces near Banaue, Philippines

Clouds clearing above Wahiba Sands, Oman

Stormy winter clouds above Druridge Bay, Northumberland, north east England

A stormy summer night in Sibiu, Romania, as seen from my hotel room

Rainy days

Rain, in my opinion, is however best enjoyed from a cosy interior, or being left behind as you take to the air! So to finish here are few photos taken looking out through rain-spattered windows.

Click on any photo for captions

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