Kevin Palmer

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  • A series of lightning bolts strike in the distance beyond Spring Lake. This storm was part of a derecho that formed over Nebraska and caused extensive damage as it headed towards Illinois. Even though this part of the storm was weaker it still displayed a nice shelf cloud and put on a great lightning show.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: June 4, 2014
    Spring Lake Shelf Cloud
  • The 5 inches of snow that fell this week was extremely dry and lightweight. This allowed the gusty winds that accompanied the arctic front to lift up the snow and carve it into drifts and strange patterns. In some places, the ice at Spring Lake was left bare. Despite the warm colors, the wind chill was -10°F as the sun slipped beneath the horizon.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: January 9, 2015
    Spring Lake Sunset
  • The average temperature in space is -454° F. It wasn't quite that cold at Spring Lake, but it nearly felt like it. I've been looking forward to the milky way's return to the morning sky for months. I would have preferred warmer temperatures for my first shot of the year. But the best thing about arctic air is it often brings perfectly clear and transparent skies. Venus was just 2 weeks past it's peak in brightness, casting a nice reflection on the ice.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: February 26, 2014
    Ice and Space
  • The brightest parts of the milky way are reflected in the calm waters of Spring Lake. It was a bit chilly on this night in mid-May, but the sky was perfectly clear which was great for seeing the milky way.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: May 13, 2013
    Portrait of a Galaxy
  • In the midst of a very rainy and cloudy summer, a night this clear was a rare treat. The milky way was reflected in Spring Lake, Illinois.
    A Rare Night
  • Pink colors linger in the east after sunset at Spring Lake, IL on a frigid winter evening.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: January 9, 2015
    Wind Chill Warning
  • The hills around Lake Elsinore were filled with blooming poppy wildflowers. There were hundreds of people lined up on Walker Canyon Road taking pictures and picking the orange wildflowers.
    California Poppy Trail
  • On June 3rd, a derecho formed in Nebraska and moved across Iowa causing plenty of wind and hail damage. By the time it reached Central Illinois after midnight it had weakened. Spring Lake was hit by the northern part which wasn't as severe. But it still displayed some nice structure and put on a good lightning show.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: June 4, 2014
    Illuminated Shelf
  • I felt lucky to have seen this large bull elk on the edge of Yellowstone Lake. The first snowfall of the season had just ended. The elk was walking parallel to the road behind a buck fence which allowed me to get over a hundred shots. The elk were very active this week as they were rutting. Every night they could be heard bugling near the campground.
    Elk Call
  • A bolt of lightning strikes a couple miles away. Normally this farm field is dry, but after a very rainy week it was covered by floodwater. This storm rolled through near Spring Lake, IL.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: May 30, 2013
    Flood and Strike
  • The moon wasn't even full on this night. But the clear arctic air along with the powdery snow made the moonlight extra bright.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: February 11, 2014
    White Shadows
  • I'm not sure what animal made these tracks in the snow, but I think it was a coyote. The bright moonlight was illuminating the snow covered landscape on this clear night. Despite the subzero temperatures, this creek was not frozen.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: February 11, 2014
    Coyote Steps
  • Waves lap the shoreline in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness as the sun sets over Lake Superior. By surface area, Lake Superior is the largest lake in the world. 10% of the earth's fresh water is contained in this lake, enough to cover both North and South America with 1 foot of water. The shoreline extends 1,826 miles which is more than the distance from LA to Chicago. 40 degrees is the average water temperature.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 9/30/14
    Lake Superior Sunset
  • Near the center of town in Presque Isle, Wisconsin, lies a small park on Little Horsehead Lake. I loved the variety of colors in the trees surrounding the lake.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: September 30 2014
    Little Horsehead Lake
  • In early September I spent some time exploring central Montana. One of my stops was Lost Lake, which I only discovered by accident. As it's name implies, the lake is hard to find and information about it is scarce. Among the rolling hills north of the Highwood Mountains you would never guess there's a lake hidden away here. It's not until you walk right up to the edge of the cliffs that you can see the water. According to geologists, this lake formed during the last ice age. An ice sheet dammed up an ancient channel of the Missouri River. When the water eventually broke through the blockage, the floodwaters formed massive waterfalls over these cliffs. I was standing on top of Dry Falls, where the flow would have once exceeded that of Niagara Falls. Now the flow is only a trickle, and the water hundreds of feet below is mostly stagnant with algae at the edges. Lost Lake is located on a private ranch, but the landowner allows access if you can find it.
    Pillar of Lost Lake
  • Buck Lake is a small lake above the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone. There were at least 4 bison grazing around the edges of the lake.
    Buck Lake
  • Lake Angeline is an alpine lake located 10,500 feet high in the Bighorn Mountains. There is a small permanent snowfield located at the end of the cold lake.
    Lake Angeline
  • This was the view from my campsite in the Crazy Mountains. Blue hour is the time of day when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon and the sky takes on a predominantly blue color. This was amplified by the light of the moon, which was about to emerge over Crazy Peak on the right. At the end of the valley a lenticular cloud formed and stayed in the same place for hours. A long exposure helped to smooth out the ripples in the water giving it a glassy look. This lake, at an elevation of 8,200 feet, is fittingly called Blue Lake.
    Blue Lake
  • The northern lights are reflected in the waters of Lake Superior as clouds move in. During a very cloudy week in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, there was only one night that was partially clear. After hiking 10 miles to a campsite on the lake, I waited for it to get dark. The aurora was initially visible as twilight ended, but then it faded away. After midnight it became brighter, and the colorful pillars rose up and drifted from left to right.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 10/1/14
    Lake Superior Aurora
  • Fall foliage is reflected in Long Lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. Up above, snow was falling on the higher peaks.
    Long Lake Reflection
  • The colors of sunset linger behind Bearhat Mountain in Glacier National Park. The beautiful Hidden Lake wraps around the base of the mountain, before the creek drops to the valley below. Normally there is more snow in this view, but most of it had melted after a hot summer. The distant Gunsight Mountain and Sperry Glacier can be seen on the left.
    Hidden Lake View
  • Lake Falls is a 45 foot high waterfall that flows from Matthiessen Lake in a state park with the same name. There was mist in the air the closer you get to the falls, making it challenging to photograph without getting my camera wet.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: May 10, 2013
    Lake Falls Mist
  • When I got to Lake DeSmet for a night of stargazing, the aurora was glowing a deep red color. I ran to this point of the lake so I could look north and capture the reflection.
    Lake DeSmet Aurora
  • Grand Teton looms above Cascade Canyon along the shore of Jenny Lake on a September afternoon.
    Jenny Lake Northshore
  • From my campsite next to Upper Crater Lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness I had an amazing view in both directions. This is looking down at Lower Crater Lake shorty after sunrise.
    Overlooking Crater Lake
  • Stull Lake sits on the edge of the Cloud Peak Wilderness and provides a great view of the snow-covered Dome Peak and others.
    Stull Lake in June
  • After a very cloudy day, the clouds broke just enough to allow for a colorful sunset over Lake Geneva near Veytaux.
    Lake Geneva Sunset
  • This was the view from the lower slope of Coyote Mountain with Clark Dry Lake and the Santa Rosa Mountains in the distance.
    Above Clark Dry Lake
  • This is the classic view of Lake of the Clouds that most people see. I got here just in time to shoot a few pictures before it got dark.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 9/30/14
    Lake of the Clouds
  • The milky way looked stunning at Lily Lake, Idaho. The stars were extra clear because there was no light pollution at all, the weather was perfect, the moon was out of the way, and this was at a higher elevation. The purple spot at the top is known as the North America nebula. The 3 brightest stars in this picture form the summer triangle.
    Lily Lake Milky Way
  • Jenny Lake is a beautiful 1200 acre lake in Grand Teton National Park. Mount Moran is the peak visible in the distance.
    Jenny Lake
  • Though Greenland doesn't have trees, there was still some fall foliage in the bushes and shrubs. This was next to Cirkus Lake.
    Cirkus Lake Foliage
  • After hearing about a comet named C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE), I finally got to see it for myself on this morning. Not really knowing what to expect, I set my alarm for 3AM. I was immediately blown away by how big and bright it is. Even after most of the stars had faded out against the light of dawn, it was still visible. The long tail stretched at least 5° across the northeast sky. I’m looking forward to getting more pictures of this comet, but that is assuming it holds together. Comets are very unpredictable. 2 of them were hyped up earlier this year, only to break apart before ever getting bright. Then Comet NEOWISE came as a bit of surprise. This was taken at Fort Peck Lake, the largest in Montana. With it’s many coves, arms, and inlets, the reservoir has a shoreline of more than 1,500 miles.
    Comet at Fort Peck Lake
  • It didn't appear there would be any color at sunset, but then this lenticular cloud formed above Elk Lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. The cloud took on a fiery glow, giving the entire landscape a soft orange color as I hopped from rock to rock trying to find the perfect reflection. A lenticular cloud is nearly stationary and is formed by strong winds after encountering an obstacle like a mountain peak. It was calm at the moment, but the winds would soon descend and rage for most of the night. My tent was flattened and I was forced to relocate it to a more sheltered area. Ice was pushed across the lake and piled up. The shore would look very different in the morning. This is a 6 shot panorama.
    Elk Lake Sunset
  • It was a beautiful evening at East Rosebud Lake. The last light on the Beartooth Mountains was reflected in the calm water at the lake's outlet.
    East Rosebud Lake
  • It was a beautiful morning snowshoeing in Grand Teton National Park. This is the view from above Taggert Lake.
    Above Taggert Lake
  • There was a beautiful sunset at Rathbun Lake, Iowa, after severe thunderstorms moved through.
    Rathbun Lake Sunset
  • On my last morning in Greenland I woke up early and walked to Lake Ferguson at sunrise. There was no color in the sky at all but it was still a beautiful, calm morning.
    Lake Ferguson
  • American Alps. With countless towering peaks, alpine lakes, verdant meadows, and waterfalls, there are a lot of similarities. The mountains aren't as high, but it's more wild than the European Alps, since the majority of this rarely visited national park in northern Washington is pure wilderness. 312, or 1/3 of all the glaciers in the lower US are found within it's borders, although many of them are shrinking. While passing through in August I only had enough time for one hike. So I climbed a ridge up and around Ann Lake, which is a small, round tarn with it's own island. Sunlight began to disappear as a storm was moving in. But I should have expected to get wet, the trail started from Rainy Pass.
    Ann Lake Wildflowers
  • The milky way was visible over Elk Lake for a short time after sunset on this windy night. The high peaks in the middle are Bomber Mountain and Cloud Peak.
    Elk Lake Galaxy
  • All night long a strong westerly wind pushed all the ice across Elk Lake and piled it up on the eastern shore. But the wind calmed down at sunrise which allowed for a reflection of Cloud Peak and Bomber Mountain in the water.
    Elk Lake Sunrise
  • Fall colors are not very widespread in the Bighorn Mountains with the vast majority of trees being evergreens. But I found this colorful grove of quaking aspen trees a few weeks ago next to Long Lake. They are called quaking because of the way the leaves shake in the slightest breeze. Aspen trees are interesting because even though they appear to be individual trees, they are all clones of each other interconnected by an extensive root system. This means they are very hardy and able to quickly grow back after forest fires. Some of the largest and oldest organisms on Earth are groves of aspen trees.
    Long Lake Aspen
  • Beartooth Lake was still frozen in early June.
    Frozen Beartooth Lake
  • The snowy peaks of the Beartooth Mountains are reflected in the small Elk Lake. The water was calm before the wind picked up later in the morning.
    Elk Lake
  • Fresh snow lingers in the peaks above Lake Geneva in the Cloud Peak Wilderness.
    Lake Geneva View
  • The milky way galaxy is reflected in the calm waters of Sibley Lake. Here in the Bighorn Mountains there wasn't even a hint of light pollution and the stars were very clear.
    Sibley Lake Milky Way
  • The colors of sunset linger behind Bearhat Mountain in Glacier National Park. The beautiful Hidden Lake wraps around the base of the mountain, before the creek drops to the valley below. Normally there is more snow in this view, but most of it had melted after a hot summer. The distant Gunsight Mountain and Sperry Glacier can be seen on the left.
    Bearhat and Hidden Lake
  • In June of 2013 I drove into southeast Iowa looking for the darkest sky I could find. The stars were breathtaking around Lake Sugema, Iowa. I could see more detail in the milky way than I had ever seen before. To the left is green airglow, which is a weak emission of light by the earth's atmosphere. On this night I also saw about 15 meteors.
    Lake Sugema Milky Way
  • The views of Ann Lake in the North Cascades kept getting better as I climbed up to Heather Pass. But sunlight was getting scarce as rain showers moved in.
    Overlooking Ann Lake
  • Bowman Lake is located on the north side of Glacier National Park. It is long and skinny, and quite shallow along the edges, which allowed me to wade in and get this picture.
    Bowman Lake
  • After the storms passed off to the east, the anvil filled the entire sky with mammatus. A small clearing to the west allowed sunlight to shine through and illuminate the clouds. All the ingredients were there for an incredible sunset, so I went to Glendo Reservoir and waited. The colors did not disappoint.
    Glendo Lake Sunset
  • A vibrant sunset is reflected on Flathead Lake, Montana.
    Flathead Lake Sunset
  • It was a beautiful morning for a quick hike up to the top of Bear Butte.
    Bear Butte and Lake
  • The Big Snowy Mountains are one of several island ranges found in central Montana, rising straight out of the prairie. But unlike the surrounding mountains in a mostly dry climate, this one has it's own lake. Crystal Lake is interesting for several reasons. It is very shallow and fish do not survive the winter when it freezes solid. The lake bed is made of porous limestone. The water level reaches it's maximum depth in early summer when the snow finishes melting. But then it starts to drain. As I walked along the shore I noticed the water bubbling away in certain spots as it seeped through the ground. By early fall the lake is significantly smaller and in some years it's not much more than a puddle. The color of the water also changes quite a bit depending on the direction and intensity of the sunlight. I liked this turquoise color the best as seen from an overlook called Promontory Point. Next time I visit I want to check out the perennial ice cave which is located at the top of the 8,000' ridge in the distance.
    Turquoise Crystal
  • After studying a topo map of the Cloud Peak Wilderness, one lake in particular caught my eye. Upper Crater Lake has a perennial snowfield at the end and I knew there was a chance part of the lake could still be frozen. It was a challenging 12 mile hike to reach it, involving detours around blowdowns, plenty of stream crossings, and a steep off-trail scramble. Trees don't grow at this altitude 2 miles above sea level, and it was tough finding enough grass to pitch my tent. Relentless swarms of mosquitoes, blisters on my feet, and gear breaking all added to the adventure. When I first arrived the ice was on the far side of the lake. But just before sunset the wind shifted and blew these icebergs to where I could reach them.
    Icebergs in July
  • Vivid fall colors fill the valley of the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This state park preserves one of the largest areas of wilderness left in the Midwest The steep cliffs known as The Escarpment rises 500 feet above the Lake of the Clouds. It is a fitting name since I never did see this lake without a cloudy sky above it. On the other side of the cliffs is Lake Superior. It can just barely be seen in between two hills at the top of the picture. This picture was taken at the beginning of a 28 mile backpacking trip into the wilderness.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 9/30/14
    Escarpment View
  • Crater Lake is a beautiful lake found at 10,300' in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. Reaching it requires a steep off-trail climb. I found it interesting how the color of the lake turned to emerald but only from this viewpoint. It must have had something to do with the height and angle of the sun.
    Emerald Water
  • I can't say I miss the very humid days and nights of Illinois. But I do miss the fireflies. Their flashing lights are nowhere to be found in drier areas out west. Fireflies (also called lightning bugs) thrive in hot and humid weather. They are typically most active in the late spring and early summer. They flash their lights in the evening before quieting down when the temperature drops. I recently spent a few hours at Spring Lake, which is a place I've gone stargazing many times. This firefly entered the frame near Mars which stood out prominently as the red planet. Mars gets slightly brighter every night until it reaches opposition at the end of July, at which point it will be the brightest it's been in 15 years. Saturn is also visible, just right of center in a star cloud of the milky way. I was a little disappointed when a breeze came up and ruined the reflection, but it did provide relief from the biting mosquitoes.
    Galactic Firefly
  • Storms can either bring epic sunsets or none at all. It's all about the timing, and where you are in relation to the storm when the sun goes down. This severe MCS rolled through Miles City, Montana around 7pm. The rain slowly came to an end and a glow began to emerge in the west. I wasn't expecting much, but I found a place to wait (Spotted Eagle Lake) just in case something special happened. The sun only popped out for a couple minutes. But that was enough to light up the entire sky with intense orange and pink. A double rainbow appeared for 15 minutes, which was long enough to allow me to shoot a time lapse of it fading away. The wind died down for just a moment and the reflection in the lake made an almost perfect circle. Even though the long drive wouldn't get me home until after midnight, I'm glad I didn't leave early and miss out on this.
    Reflected Rainbow
  • I wasn't really expecting the northern lights to be this active. It was a beautiful night for stargazing, and I was only planning to shoot the milky way, but I never got to that. A slight breeze disturbed the surface of the lake most of the night. But at 3AM it became perfectly calm and the surface of Lake DeSmet looked like glass. A long exposure from a camera always picks up more colors in the aurora than the human eye can see. Oftentimes only the color green is visible. But the purple pillar on the right was very noticeable and it hardly moved at all.
    Purple Pillar
  • From left to right is Cloud Peak, Bomber Mountain, Mistymoon Lake, Florence Pass, and Lake Marion. This was a much different view with all the snow and ice compared to the last time I saw it in July.
    Overlooking Mistymoon
  • I went to Lake DeSmet at 3AM on a 5°F night with the hope of seeing the aurora. I didn't see it, but I saw this amazing scene instead. Fog was moving off of the lake when I arrived. It left behind a thick frost known as rime ice. The coating was about an inch thick over every single plant and tree branch, but only in this small area. With bright moonlight illuminating everything, it felt like I had stepped into another world.
    Moonlit Rime
  • In mid-September I went backpacking at Crystal Lake. This small lake is located at the edge of treeline at nearly 10,000 feet in the Bighorn Mountains. It was a chilly night with frost forming on my tent immediately after sunset. But soon after that the full moon began to rise out of sight to the east, illuminating the peaks to the west. Across the lake a waterfall tumbled down the cliffs and an early snow lingered above a rockfall of massive boulders. I left my wider lens behind, so I had to shoot a panorama to capture everything.
    Crystal Clear
  • The Circle Park loop trail west of Buffalo, Wyoming, passes by over a dozen named and unnamed lakes. I chose to camp at Old Crow Lake because it had a great view of the 12,324 foot high Bighorn Peak 3 miles away. At sunrise the peak took on a soft pink glow which was reflected in the outlet of the lake.
    Bighorn Peak Dawn
  • In mid-August I photographed the annual Perseid meteor shower. But this was no ordinary year, as there were twice as many meteors as normal. Beartooth Lake, at almost 9,000 feet in the Beartooth Mountains was the perfect place to watch from. I was worried about the weather, with thick clouds at sunset and a wildfire only 7 miles away. But it ended up being a beautiful night. The show got started at 1AM when the moon set, leaving the sky completely dark. While listening to every little sound around me (this is grizzly bear country) I counted 250 meteors in 4 hours. This was one of 93 that my camera captured over  Beartooth Butte. The radiant (Perseus) was to the upper right outside of the frame. As dawn approached, fog swirled around the glassy surface of the lake. Hand warmers strapped to my lens prevented the glass from fogging up. I don't know how cold it was, but I do know my water bottle froze and I was snowed on at the pass earlier in the evening.
    Green to Red
  • In mid-August I photographed the annual Perseid meteor shower. But this was no ordinary year, as there were twice as many meteors as normal. Beartooth Lake, at almost 9,000 feet in the Beartooth Mountains was the perfect place to watch from. I was worried about the weather, with thick clouds at sunset and a wildfire only 7 miles away. But it ended up being a beautiful night. The show got started at 1AM when the moon set, leaving the sky completely dark. While listening to every little sound around me (this is grizzly bear country) I counted 250 meteors in 4 hours. With my camera pointed northwest at Beartooth Butte, I captured 93 of them. I combined them all into this composite image. The radiant (Perseus) was to the upper right outside of the frame. As dawn approached, fog swirled around the glassy surface of the lake. Hand warmers strapped to my lens prevented the glass from fogging up. I don't know how cold it was, but I do know my water bottle froze and I was snowed on at the pass earlier in the evening.
    Night of the Falling Stars
  • Even though this looks like a tropical beach, it is actually Lake Michigan in Illinois. Most of the shoreline in Illinois has been developed and does not look natural. But at Fort Sheridan, there is a small stretch of beach that is protected as a forest preserve. The light made it even more beautiful shortly after sunrise on this August morning.
    Tropical Illinois
  • I woke up early to hike to Lookout Lake and shoot the sunrise. Colorful fireweed flowers were blooming along the edge of the lake and the 12,014' Medicine Bow Peak can be seen on the left.
    Fireweed Sunrise
  • The milky way glowed above Lake DeSmet, Wyoming, on a summer night. The red planet Mars is visible on the far right. I stood on a small rock in the lake for this self portrait.
    Counting the Stars
  • I loved the color of the water in Lake McDonald. Without a snowcapped peak in the picture, this scene almost looked tropical. Rocky Point is located on the southern end of the lake, near Fish Creek campground.
    Rocky Point
  • Snow covers the sand dunes at Illinois Beach State Park shortly after sunset. The soft colors of the sky in the east was reflecting on the calm Lake Michigan.
    Snow on the Dunes
  • The view from Tolmie Peak is spectacular, or at least it would be without the smoke. Eunice Lake sits in a valley below, while Mount Rainier rises above the forested ridges.
    Rainier Above the Smoke
  • I went to Lake DeSmet at 3AM on a 5°F night with the hope of seeing the aurora. I didn't see it, but I saw this amazing scene instead. Fog was moving off of the lake when I arrived. It left behind a thick frost known as rime ice. The coating was about an inch thick over every single plant and tree branch, but only in this small area. With bright moonlight illuminating everything, it felt like I had stepped into another world.
    By The Light of the Moon
  • I found these 3 fir trees overlooking Taggart Lake while snowshoeing in Grand Teton National Park. I was trying to find a shorter trail down to the lake that was shown on the map. But nobody else had gone this way and I soon realized breaking trail in snow this deep was a lot of work, so I returned the way I came in.
    Three Sentinels
  • Lake Sugema was alive on this night with insects chirping, bats flying, and bullfrogs croaking. The green lines are from a firefly that buzzed in front of my camera. Southeast Iowa has some of the darkest skies in the midwest and the milky way was breathtaking as the stars were reflected almost perfectly on the calm water.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: June 25, 2014
    Bugs, Bats, and Bullfrogs
  • It didn't appear there would be any color at sunset, but then this lenticular cloud formed above Elk Lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. The cloud took on a fiery glow, giving the entire landscape a soft orange color as I hopped from rock to rock trying to find the perfect reflection. A lenticular cloud is nearly stationary and is formed by strong winds after encountering an obstacle like a mountain peak. It was calm at the moment, but the winds would soon descend and rage for most of the night. My tent was flattened and I was forced to relocate it to a more sheltered area. Ice was pushed across the lake and piled up. The shore would look very different in the morning.
    Sky Fire
  • The deep blue colors of twilight overtake the sky as dawn approaches at Beartooth Lake.
    Beartooth Twilight
  • On my last night in Alaska I went to Chena Lake for a couple hours. I'm sure the aurora would have kept getting better, but I had to leave early since I'd be waking up at 4AM to catch my flight.
    Chena Birches Aurora
  • This severe thunderstorm rolled out of the Black Hills and approached Bear Butte Lake near Sturgis.
    Sturgis Storm
  • Fog swirls around the glossy surface of Beartooth Lake shortly after sunrise.
    Breathing Fog
  • It was half past midnight on the last day of August. A solar wind stream blowing at 700 km a second reached Earth a little sooner than predicted. The northern lights had been dancing on and off for the past few hours. But then I noticed a strange pattern, which was dim enough that I wasn’t sure it was really there. A long exposure revealed greater detail and color. The picket fence pattern is related to a rare, recently classified type of aurora called STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement.) STEVE most often appears as a bright, pinkish ribbon of light found away from the main band of aurora. STEVE may or may not be accompanied by this green picket fence, but on this night the brighter streak of light was absent. It was my first time seeing it this far south in Wyoming. Lake DeSmet provided a beautiful blurred reflection when the wind let up. This night was the first of 4 in a row that I’d capture the aurora. The weeks surrounding the spring and fall equinoxes tend to be the most favorable for geomagnetic storm conditions. But around here the weather tends to be a lot clearer in the early fall, which is why I have more aurora sightings in September than in March.
    Emerald Waters
  • The last light on Sylvan Peak is reflected in the outlet of East Rosebud Lake. There are over 60 cabins scattered around this lake, which are part of the private community of Alpine.
    Alpine Sunset
  • A colorful sunrise glows above Lake DeSmet where a small amount of winter ice remained.
    Last of the Ice
  • The Snowy Range, located in southern Wyoming, packs a lot of alpine scenery into a small area. The 2nd highest road in Wyoming makes this place easily accessible and you don't have to hike far to see some of the best views. Towering granite peaks, sparkling lakes, leftover snowdrifts, and hillsides carpeted with wildflowers all add to the beauty. I was perhaps slightly late in capturing the peak of the wildflower bloom, but I found this colorful patch of fireweed above Lookout Lake. I returned early the next morning to capture this scene under better lighting conditions. But the sunrise was a bit of a dud and this ended up being the better shot.
    Wildflowers of the Snowies
  • Just before sunrise at Lake DeSmet, fog was lifting off of the water. With the temperature at 5°F, the fog left behind thick rime ice along the shore.
    Frosted Shoreline
  • The milky way glows behind Loaf Mountain at Old Crow Lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness.
    Loaf Mountain Milky Way
  • The colors of sunset are reflected in Old Crow Lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness.
    Sunset at Old Crow
  • Darkness could not come soon enough. Reports of the northern lights were coming in from across the eastern US. Standing on a cliff nearly 1,000 feet above Meadowlark Lake, this was a spot I’d been wanting to spend the night for a long time. The highest peaks of the Bighorn Mountains stood to the north, including Cloud Peak dead center. Aurora chasing mostly involves a whole lot of waiting. Waiting for the right space weather forecast, clear skies, moon phase, and for the sun to go down. Even when conditions seem perfect the aurora can come and go at the drop of a hat. When darkness arrived, so did the clouds, along with a brief rain shower. When the clouds faded, so did the northern lights. But finally just before 1AM the glow returned. A substorm sent red and purple pillars halfway to the North Star, reflected in the water far below. It did not last long before the moon rose and drowned out the lights. Even though the display wasn’t as good as it could have been, moments like this are always worth staying up for.
    Midnight at Meadowlark
  • The view was amazing from the High Park lookout tower shortly before sunset. This is the view looking north. Meadowlark Lake can be seen on the left. Bighorn Peak and Loaf Mountain are the prominent peaks on the right.
    North of High Park
  • This was my view while I ate lunch on Cloud Peak, the highest point of the Bighorn Mountains. I timed this 25 mile long, 3 day backpacking trip with the hottest day of the year. While the temperature topped 100°F down in the valley, up here at 13,167 feet it was much more pleasant in the 60's. At this high elevation the boiling point of water is 25° cooler than at sea level. In the cirque 1500 feet below lies the Cloud Peak Glacier. It is the only glacier in the Bighorns and is predicted to be gone 20 years from now. As the compressed snow and ice slowly slides down the mountain slope, it grinds up the bedrock beneath it and forms a very fine silt called "rock flour". This flour becomes suspended in the glacial meltwater and gives the lake it's greenish-turquoise color that changes with the lighting conditions. In the hour I spent on the summit I heard the sound of numerous rockfalls. Some of them would cause a chain-reaction lasting a minute or longer.
    Top of the Bighorns
  • The fog was mesmerizing as it swirled around Spring Lake on this night. That is until it got too thick to see the stars.
    When Clouds Fall
  • The colors of sunset linger behind Bearhat Mountain in Glacier National Park. The beautiful Hidden Lake wraps around the base of the mountain, before the creek drops to the valley below. Normally there is more snow in this view, but most of it had melted after a hot summer. The distant Gunsight Mountain and Sperry Glacier can be seen on the left.
    Bearhat Mountain
  • Early on this morning the aurora once again returned to the skies of Wyoming. I went out stargazing with low expectations of seeing it. Statistically March is the most geomagnetically active month of the year. Magnetic field lines from the sun have an easier time connecting with Earth in the weeks surrounding the equinoxes. It only takes a slight uptick in the solar wind or a brief southern tilt of the magnetic field for the northern lights to brighten up. That's what happened at 10PM, and again after 1AM. Most of the time it was a "deep-sky aurora," which means it was too dim to see with my eyes, but it showed up on camera with a long-exposure. Although it did barely cross the threshold of naked eye visibility when I watched pillars rise up and dance around for a few minutes. After melting during the day, the sound of new ice shifting and crackling echoed across Lake DeSmet on this frosty night.
    Aurora and Ice
  • With snow up to my knees, camera screen and viewfinder frosted over, and batteries dying prematurely, astrophotography in winter is not without its challenges. Even a simple task like adjusting my tripod becomes tricky with bulky gloves and numb fingers. But it's worth it to be able to see this mountain lake and forest in a way that few people do. The silence and solitude on this perfectly clear night was incredible. It was the night of winter solstice, the longest of the year with over 15 hours between sunset and sunrise. When the crescent moon made it above the treetops at 3AM, the powdery snow began to glimmer and sparkle much like the stars above. It was as if there was another galaxy of stars hidden in the snow, waiting to be revealed in the moonlight. Trailing below the moon is the planet Jupiter.
    A Glimmer of Hope
  • This was the view above Mistymoon Lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness on Friday night. After hiking past this spot on the first day of my backpacking trip, I knew I would have to pitch my tent here the second night. When storms rolled through around 6:30, I was beginning to doubt if there would be a good sunset. But then the sun broke through in the west. First the sunlight painted the lower slopes of Bomber Mountain a salmon hue, but then the colors intensified further. There's something magical about a sunset at 10,000 feet. The mountain got it's name after a B-17 bomber crashed there during World War II. The crash site wasn't found until after the war and the wreckage still remains today.
    Mistymoon Panorama
  • Early in the morning a very active lightning storm passed by north of Peoria. An overlook on Grandview Drive was the perfect place to watch it approach. The overlook sits on a bluff 300 feet above the Illinois River. This is the part of the river where it widens and forms Peoria Lake. It was raining heavily with plenty of lightning bolts striking on the opposite side of the river. But from where I was it stayed dry enough to take over 400 pictures.<br />
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Date Taken: 9/3/2014
    Strike Three
  • I wasn't sure if the storm clouds would move out in time, but they did and made for a spectacular sunset over Fort Peck Lake.
    Sunset at Hell Creek
  • Later in the night the wind picked up quite a bit. But after sunset Lake Solitude was fairly calm and made for a nice reflection.
    Serene Solitude
  • In the far northwest corner of Finland is the tiny village of Kilpisjärvi. This is the only part of the country that touches the Scandinavian Mountains, and it's near Finland's highest point. The elevation and close proximity to the Arctic Ocean makes this the snowiest place in the country, and the snow here had a different quality than any other I've seen. It was so light and fluffy it could be blown off the windshield with my breath, and footprints in the deep snow pack left behind aqua-blue holes. I climbed halfway up one of the mountains, Saana, to obtain this view as the sun struggled to emerge. On the other side of the frozen lake is Sweden, with Norway to the right. This far above the Arctic Circle, trees can not grow above 600m. After this I tried climbing higher, but the route became icy, and visibility was nearing whiteout  so I was forced to turn back.
    View From Saana
  • The Chillon Castle was built on the edge of Lake Geneva in the 11th century. I was beginning to doubt the sun would break through this evening. But it did at the last minute and lit up the Chablais Massif in the background.
    Chillon and Chablais
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