Föhnmauer
Foehn wallcloud. The highest peaks of the Southern Alps are marking New Zealand’s water divide. Here, the sky’s color changes from rainy grey to deep blue just within a few meters. Crossing this meteorological border seems like a miracle and no one can stand from looking back into the rain in disbelief. The orographic induced uplift of the air on the western side of the mountains range causes clouds with continuous rain. The quick moving air passes the highest peaks and – now dry - descends into the eastern valleys by heating up at a higher rate compared to the western side. This causes the foehn effect with higher temperatures on the east side of the mountains.
March 2002
Pentax MZ5, Sigma 70-300mm, f/8, 1/250sec, Kodak Ektachrome E6, ISO 100, polarization filter, tripod