Preston James
@desertskychaser97.bsky.social
Welcome everyone! I’m a photographer who loves Arizona and I take pictures of our beautiful landscapes and amazing skies! Feel free to follow as I share photos and videos of my travels and adventures.
Milky Way core in Arizona during the summer time.
June 10, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Milky Way core in Arizona during the summer time.
Hey everyone its been a while since I've posted any pictures but we have an impactful weather maker on its way here for us in Arizona so here's to hopefully a wet summer ahead for us here in state 48. #arizona #Monsoon #Thunderstorms
May 29, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Hey everyone its been a while since I've posted any pictures but we have an impactful weather maker on its way here for us in Arizona so here's to hopefully a wet summer ahead for us here in state 48. #arizona #Monsoon #Thunderstorms
Yesterday West of Phoenix, AZ near sunset! Was a very chilly and windy storm chase day. Missed a lot of lightning but captured some bolts. Overall my first chase day in May for thunderstorms in Arizona wasn’t that bad. #azwx #storms #rainbow #lightning #desert #omegastormsystem
May 6, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Yesterday West of Phoenix, AZ near sunset! Was a very chilly and windy storm chase day. Missed a lot of lightning but captured some bolts. Overall my first chase day in May for thunderstorms in Arizona wasn’t that bad. #azwx #storms #rainbow #lightning #desert #omegastormsystem
I still cannot believe that about a year ago I would witness a geomagnetic storm so powerful that the northern lights would dance across the skies of American southwest deserts of Arizona! #Arizona #NightSky #NorthernLights #Space #Astronomy #Astrophotography #Photography #Stars #Cactus #Saguaro
May 2, 2025 at 5:53 AM
I still cannot believe that about a year ago I would witness a geomagnetic storm so powerful that the northern lights would dance across the skies of American southwest deserts of Arizona! #Arizona #NightSky #NorthernLights #Space #Astronomy #Astrophotography #Photography #Stars #Cactus #Saguaro
Monsoon 2025 will slowly arrive in about a month and a half! Scenes like this will hopefully break out all across the desert southwest! #monsoon #Arizona #Weather #Lightning #Storm #sky #Bluesky #photography
April 26, 2025 at 5:35 AM
Monsoon 2025 will slowly arrive in about a month and a half! Scenes like this will hopefully break out all across the desert southwest! #monsoon #Arizona #Weather #Lightning #Storm #sky #Bluesky #photography
Twister in the desert? Well, there is at least two types of twisting storm related features in this shot from last monsoon season! Gustnadoes aren't that rare for Arizona, but funnel clouds aren't all that common either and this photo has both! #Monsoon #Arizona #Storms #Nature #Photography
April 9, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Twister in the desert? Well, there is at least two types of twisting storm related features in this shot from last monsoon season! Gustnadoes aren't that rare for Arizona, but funnel clouds aren't all that common either and this photo has both! #Monsoon #Arizona #Storms #Nature #Photography
July nights in Arizona! - July 22nd, 2024 #Monsoon #Night #Storm #Thunderstorm #Arizona #Photography #Weather #Landscape #Nature #Summer #ArizonaMonsoon #Desert #Sony #SonyAlpha #Sony7RIII #Rain #Clouds #NOAA #SouthwestUSA #Southwest #NightSky #Stormy
March 22, 2025 at 7:15 AM
July nights in Arizona! - July 22nd, 2024 #Monsoon #Night #Storm #Thunderstorm #Arizona #Photography #Weather #Landscape #Nature #Summer #ArizonaMonsoon #Desert #Sony #SonyAlpha #Sony7RIII #Rain #Clouds #NOAA #SouthwestUSA #Southwest #NightSky #Stormy
Excited to see the first forecasts for Monsoon 2025 show an active season over the summer! #Arizona #Monsoon #Lightning #Storms #Thunderstorm #Southwest #Photography #Sunset
March 22, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Excited to see the first forecasts for Monsoon 2025 show an active season over the summer! #Arizona #Monsoon #Lightning #Storms #Thunderstorm #Southwest #Photography #Sunset
Harquahala Mountains getting blasted with cloud to ground lightning last summer during the annual Arizona Monsoon season! #AZwx #Weather #Storms #Nature #Lightning #Thunderstorms #Rain #Photography #Mountains #SonyAlpha #Arizona #Monsoon
March 18, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Harquahala Mountains getting blasted with cloud to ground lightning last summer during the annual Arizona Monsoon season! #AZwx #Weather #Storms #Nature #Lightning #Thunderstorms #Rain #Photography #Mountains #SonyAlpha #Arizona #Monsoon
During summer in Arizona, it becomes very hot but also at times throughout the summer humid and stormy! During the evening hours powerful desert thunderstorms are common around higher terrain features like mountains! #Monsoon season cannot get here soon enough! #Arizona #Storms #Rain #Lightning #WX
March 14, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Our largest winter storm of the season is about to bring feet of snow in the higher elevations of central and northern Arizona! Sedona, AZ may even get a couple of inches as well! Winter has been lackluster for much of the season but better late than never I suppose. #Winter #Arizona #Snow #AZWX
March 6, 2025 at 10:51 PM
America's National parks and forests are sadly under attack! Saguaro National Park has already announced closures of visitor centers during certain days of the week due to lack of funding and resulting staffing. Saguaros are resilient and strong we must be too in this fight to protect our parks!
February 23, 2025 at 8:02 AM
America's National parks and forests are sadly under attack! Saguaro National Park has already announced closures of visitor centers during certain days of the week due to lack of funding and resulting staffing. Saguaros are resilient and strong we must be too in this fight to protect our parks!
Truly love Tucson and miss this place every day! Moving back to Tucson within the next year and a half is going to take some work but will be totally worth! I miss the sweeping sky Island Mountain ranges and endless vistas! Saguaro National Park I hope you stand tall and strong in these tiring times
February 19, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Truly love Tucson and miss this place every day! Moving back to Tucson within the next year and a half is going to take some work but will be totally worth! I miss the sweeping sky Island Mountain ranges and endless vistas! Saguaro National Park I hope you stand tall and strong in these tiring times
Since winter essentially never really impacted most of Arizona this season other than a few weak systems dropping around 6" I think I'm ready to move into spring so we can warm up and enjoy hiking season during the spring wildflower season and enjoy our amazing sunsets! #Arizona #Cactus #Sunset
February 19, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Yesterday was pretty special with my special person ❤️ Grand Canyon national park featured cool weather but with tons of wildlife. Flagstaff also looked nice with snow ❄️
February 16, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Yesterday was pretty special with my special person ❤️ Grand Canyon national park featured cool weather but with tons of wildlife. Flagstaff also looked nice with snow ❄️
Just a couple of months and we will start to see the blooms on cacti here in the desert southwest! #Spring #Flowers #Cactus #Arizona #Photography
February 12, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Just a couple of months and we will start to see the blooms on cacti here in the desert southwest! #Spring #Flowers #Cactus #Arizona #Photography
Summer meteor showers just hit different! I'm ready for more nights under absolute darkness in the mountains. #Stars #Meteor #Galaxy #Astronomy #Astrophotography #Nightsky #Photography
February 10, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Summer meteor showers just hit different! I'm ready for more nights under absolute darkness in the mountains. #Stars #Meteor #Galaxy #Astronomy #Astrophotography #Nightsky #Photography
Even with the cooler weather on its way this upcoming week, Spring will be here before we know it! Blooming ocotillos, Prickly Pear, Saguaros etc... I cannot wait to get out hiking when the weather starts to warm up here in the coming months. #Flowers #Hiking #Arizona #Landscapes #Photography #AZwx
January 26, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Even with the cooler weather on its way this upcoming week, Spring will be here before we know it! Blooming ocotillos, Prickly Pear, Saguaros etc... I cannot wait to get out hiking when the weather starts to warm up here in the coming months. #Flowers #Hiking #Arizona #Landscapes #Photography #AZwx
Storms at sunset are always such a vibe ⚡️🔥⚡️
#Arizona #storms #monsoon #sky #sunset #photography #timelapse
#Arizona #storms #monsoon #sky #sunset #photography #timelapse
January 24, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Storms at sunset are always such a vibe ⚡️🔥⚡️
#Arizona #storms #monsoon #sky #sunset #photography #timelapse
#Arizona #storms #monsoon #sky #sunset #photography #timelapse
Winter weather might be finally coming to visit state 48 AZ! Looking forward to a change and possibility of some rain in the deserts and higher elevations may see some accumulating snow! #Arizona #Winter #Photography #Forest
January 23, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Winter weather might be finally coming to visit state 48 AZ! Looking forward to a change and possibility of some rain in the deserts and higher elevations may see some accumulating snow! #Arizona #Winter #Photography #Forest
Early monsoon scenes often feature stunning sunsets with virga rain that evaporates before hitting the ground. During this period the smell of rain is so vivid and widely enjoyed by Arizonans because we know the wet season is on the horizon. #Arizona #Sunsets #MonsoonSeason #Storms #Saguaro #Cacti
January 19, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Since much of the country is experiencing a deep freeze right now, I figured I would share this photo from Tucson, Arizona from years ago when we get cold wet winters here in the southwest region. #Winter #Cold #Snow #Photography #Landscapes #Weather #Arizona
January 19, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Since much of the country is experiencing a deep freeze right now, I figured I would share this photo from Tucson, Arizona from years ago when we get cold wet winters here in the southwest region. #Winter #Cold #Snow #Photography #Landscapes #Weather #Arizona
Monsoon 2025 cannot get here soon enough! ⚡️🌵⚡️ #thunderstorm #timelapse #photography #weather #arizona #arizonamonsoon
January 17, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Monsoon 2025 cannot get here soon enough! ⚡️🌵⚡️ #thunderstorm #timelapse #photography #weather #arizona #arizonamonsoon