We were driving back to AZ from CA, when my wife and I saw this haboob approaching from the south. It was coming fast so we pulled off of the interstate, with a plan to find a place to park and get out of the storm. But, as we pulled off of the exit ramp, instead of turning away from the haboob, I turned toward it, down the short road leading from the off ramp to the edge of the desert, grabbed the camera and jumped out of the truck. I tried to stay calm (really tempted to say composed here) as I tried to compose as many shots as I could, especially when I saw the dust-devil developing.
The whole time I was shooting, my wife was yelling for me to get back in the car and get away from the storm. Minutes later, we drove away, stopping on the overpass to take a few more shots of the haboob as it crossed the interstate.
We were about a mile down a side road trying to find cover, when we found a short wall and clump of trees along the entry to an abandoned resort. We pulled up tight against the wall, to avoid getting sandblasted. While we waited for the storm to arrive, I jumped up on the wall and continued taking images of the approaching dust wall, diving back into the truck as it engulfed us. About an hour later, after the haboob and accompanying thunderstorm passed, we were able to continue on our trip home, passing several haboob induced accidents along the way.
Specific Feedback Requested
Thoughts about the composition. I could have cropped into the scene and highlighted the dust devil more, but I wanted the effect of the overwhelming haboob to be the subject.
Does the brighter foreground (was illuminated from the side, before the storm darkened this too) create a distraction, or does it provide contrast with the approaching haboob.
Technical Details
Nikon D850, Nikon AF NIKKOR 50 mm 1:1.4D, ISO 900, 50 mm, f/16, 1/1000 sec. Processing in LR with cropping for composition.