Kevin Palmer

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  • This is one of many old mining relics found near Lake Geneva in the Cloud Peak Wilderness.
    Old Bighorn Mine
  • Steamboat Point is a favorite mountain of mine that I've climbed more than any other. But I've never been able to catch a great sunset from the top, until now. The 7,877' peak is close to Sheridan and easy to access year round. On the lower south-facing slope the snow is quick to melt. After the trail bends around into the forest, the snowpack is often a couple feet deep in the winter. But the summit itself is usually scoured clean by the frequent strong winds. I'd estimate winds were gusting to about 80mph up here, making it difficult to stand up straight. But it was these same winds that contributed to the fiery sunset. On warm winter or early spring days it's common to get lenticular or mountain wave clouds over the Rockies. They are caused by oscillations in the air flow after encountering a mountain range. When the sun catches them just right, the color and texture of these clouds can be truly stunning.
    First Sunset of February
  • Every day this peak is the last to see the sun in Southern California, and the first to see it rise. San Gorgonio Mountain stands 11,500' above the deserts and valleys. At this elevation the trees are stunted, and deep winter snows occasionally last through the summer. Growing up underneath it, climbing to the top has long been a goal of mine. But doing the long 19-mile trail as a dayhike would have put me on the summit during the worst time of day for photography. Camping at the top instead let me experience sunset, the stars, and sunrise. But it came at a cost of having to carry a much heavier pack more than a vertical mile upward.<br />
One of the best parts of being on a summit at the edge of day is watching the shadow of the mountain. This shadow is almost always triangular, regardless of the shape of the peak. A perspective effect makes the light rays appear to converge at the antisolar point. The haze and smoke in the lower atmosphere only amplified this effect. The mountain fully in sunlight on the right is San Jacinto Peak, which towers 10,000 feet above Palm Springs. The evening was calm enough. But towards morning the wind picked up to gale force, breaking my tent and robbing me of sleep.
    The Long Shadow
  • Steamboat Point is a favorite mountain of mine that I've climbed more than any other. But I've never been able to catch a great sunset from the top, until now. The 7,877' peak is close to Sheridan and easy to access year round. On the lower south-facing slope the snow is quick to melt. After the trail bends around into the forest, the snowpack is often a couple feet deep in the winter. But the summit itself is usually scoured clean by the frequent strong winds. I'd estimate winds were gusting to about 80mph up here, making it difficult to stand up straight. But it was these same winds that contributed to the fiery sunset. On warm winter or early spring days it's common to get lenticular or mountain wave clouds over the Rockies. They are caused by oscillations in the air flow after encountering a mountain range. When the sun catches them just right, the color and texture of these clouds can be truly stunning.
    Vertigo Inducing Sunset
  • I went on an early morning hike so I could watch the sunrise from Mastodon Peak. It's not a very high peak, but it does provide a great 360° view of the southern part of Joshua Tree National Park. There is also an abandoned gold mine below the mountain.
    Light On Mastodon
  • In the northeast corner of Mojave National Preserve is the largest and densest grove of joshua trees in the world. You can see them up close while hiking the trail to Teutonia Peak. There are a lot of old mine shafts in this area. But they are all covered to reduce the danger of someone falling in.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 1/31/14
    Teutonia Trail
  • To the local rancher it might just be a random spot on the dirt road they drive everyday. But to me it was a place I had scouted out in advance after studying topo maps, to find the best north-facing view of the Crazy Mountains. Located in Central Montana, the Crazies are always an eye-catching sight. As the highest and most prominent of the state’s many island mountain ranges, it’s jagged peaks rise straight up out of the prairie and pierce the sky. The Crazies are sacred to the local Crow Tribe, and considered ominous and unpredictable. Somewhere up there is an old tripod of mine that mysteriously vanished one night. After a fiery sunset, the clouds cleared and Comet NEOWISE soon appeared. Before it rapidly faded, mid-July was the best time to view the comet. With no interference from moonlight, the enormous dual tails of NEOWISE were visible in all their glory. The blue ion tail consists of gases ionized by UV light and influenced by the magnetic field of the solar wind to point in a straight line. The white dust tail on the other hand, consists of neutral dust particles that are more widely dispersed.
    Crazy Comet
  • Early on November 19th the moon passed through Earth's shadow, known as the umbra. Less than 1% of the lunar surface remained lit by sunlight, just missing out on totality. Scattered clouds hid the moon much of the night.  But waiting until 2AM paid off as a brief window to the heavens opened up. One of the best parts of a lunar eclipse is watching the sky darken and more stars come out. At no other time can you see so many stars beside a full moon. This was shot at the nearby ghost town of Monarch. A century ago it was a booming coal mining town, but today there is little evidence of its existence. An old water tower on top of a hill overlooks the mostly empty river valley.
    Monarch Moon
  • At 9200 feet in a beautiful valley of the Absaroka Mountains is a collection of abandoned buildings: cabins, a hotel, general store, stables, a post office, and shaft houses. This is the ghost town of Kirwin. Kirwin was established in the 1880's after gold and silver were discovered nearby. But the mines were never profitable and life was rough up here. Very heavy snowfall and avalanches were a regular occurrence. A bad avalanche in February of 1907 swept away buildings and killed 3 people. The town has been abandoned ever since, although some buildings have been stabilized in recent years. Another interesting tidbit of history is that Amelia Earhart and her husband loved this area so much that they had a cabin built. But when she disappeared it was never finished. I visited here at the end of August. The road up is steep and rocky, with river crossings that make it a fun drive. A storm was clearing and the sun came out for just a few minutes before disappearing again behind the high peaks.
    Evening in Kirwin
  • Last summer I spent some 4 hours watching this thunderstorm. From the time it formed before sunset until it receded into the starry night, it was producing a ton of lightning. Even though the storm wasn't severe it provided plenty of time lapse opportunities as I shot over 1,000 pictures. The best part is I never had to go more than 30 minutes from home. This picture is a blend of 2 images since the lightning bolt struck a few minutes after the best storm structure. The old barn/shed is one of the few structures remaining at the nearby ghost town of Monarch. In the early 1900's this area was home to thousands of people, exceeding the population of Sheridan. But after the numerous coal mines closed it was mostly abandoned.
    Monarch Storm
  • In a high valley deep within the Absaroka Mountains, the night sky simply doesn't get any darker than this. The willows and the Wood River were lit entirely by starlight. A month ago the milky way would have been in a better position in between the two peaks. But visiting much earlier in the summer isn't possible because the water level is too high. This river must be driven through, there is no bridge. Even though the sounds of moving water can be soothing, I always feel a little uneasy being next to a river at night in grizzly country. All other noises are masked out by the water, so I'm unable to hear or be heard by any wildlife that may be nearby. I left my camera here to shoot a time lapse, but the lens predictably fogged up after a couple hours. In the 1880's gold was discovered on Spar Mountain (on the left). The mining town of Kirwin quickly sprung up, but it didn't last long before it was abandoned. Several historic buildings still remain in this fascinating ghost town.
    Night in the Absarokas
  • All was quiet at 3AM in the pleasantly cool air. It felt like I was the only one awake. I was at my ‘lazy’ aurora watching spot, where I go when I don’t feel like driving far. For hours, a southward-oriented solar wind stream had been pouring energy into Earth's magnetic field. It's these conditions that eventually lead to a geomagnetic storm. Moonlight, as well as smoke from a new forest fire were conspiring to hide the glow. But after waiting for a bit the northern sky finally broke out into pillars. The colors could not be seen with the eye but the greens, reds, and purples showed up well on camera. Just when I was about to leave I heard the train horn. The crossing gate went down and soon I could feel the rumble and wind as the train cars rushed past me. I’ve never captured a moving train at night, but this was the perfect time to try. The empty train was heading north to pick up a load of coal from the mines. It turns out I wasn’t the only one awake.
    Northbound Train