Kevin Palmer

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  • After riding out this severe thunderstorm outside of Faith, South Dakota, the conditions came together for a spectacular sunset. I stopped on this two-track road in the middle of a prairie, trying not to get stuck in the mud. Gorgeous colors filled the sky in every direction, with occasional flashes of lightning.
    Two Track Heaven
  • At 8:25pm, the 1st of 4 tornadoes that I saw that evening emerged from the rain shaft. This was the strongest tornado of the day, with the NWS rating it an EF-3. But it roped out about 3 minutes later.
    Tornado Road
  • A Delta Aquarid meteor burns up in the sky above the Pryor Mountains. The glow in the distance is light pollution from Billings.
    Pryor Mountain Meteor
  • While my main camera took a time lapse, I used my backup camera to take a few additional shots of the lightning to the west. The lightning was very frequent and I stayed out as long as I could until taking shelter in my car. This storm brought 1.5" hail which left some dents on my car.
    The Other Side of Sunset
  • kevin palmer, pentax k-5,<br />
night, sky, stars, starry, clear, august, summer, space, astronomy, astrophotography, aurora, aurora borealis, northern lights, color, colorful, red, purple, green, north, trees, Brockway Mountain, Copper Harbor, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, evening, twilight, clouds, samyang 10mm f2.8, trees, ISS, International Space Station, satellite, trail, Lake Superior, Great Lake,
    Above and Beyond
  • Golden sunlight illuminates the Buffalo River valley. I really loved this view. I chose a nearby campsite so I would be able to watch the sunset, the night sky, and the sunrise from this ledge on the Goat Trail.
    Illuminated Valley
  • Clouds light up over the Mississipi River at sunset near Muscatine, Iowa.
    Sunset on the Mississippi
  • A storm begins to block the sun as it gets closer near Emden, Illinois
    Sunshine and Storm
  • Redbud and Creek
  • Two For One
  • Meteor at Hunter's Point
  • Claustrophobia
  • A group of trees grow against a wall in Kaskaskia Canyon.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: January 6, 2015
    Against the Wall
  • 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
  • Normally I like to explore a location during the day before taking pictures there at night. But the Southern California traffic robbed me of the time to do that here. Arch Rock was a little bit hard to find in the dark, but it wasn't too bad. I just had to be careful to avoid rattlesnakes. The 30 foot long arch is located near the White Tank campground in Joshua Tree National Park. The eastern part of the park has very dark skies the farther you get from the desert cities. To illuminate the scene, I shined my headlamp on the rock wall opposite the arch. A soft, warm light was reflected backwards. I was grateful the skies cleared up long enough to see the milky way. A few minutes after this clouds started to cover the sky as monsoon thunderstorms moved past the area.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: August 19, 2014
    The Opening
  • Cave-in-Rock is a cavern carved out of a limestone bluff along the Ohio River. The 500 foot long cave has a skylight at the end so it's not completely dark, and a side room where bats were sleeping on the ceiling. Discovered in 1739 by a French explorer, this place has a colorful history. It was first used as a hideout for pirates and outlaws. They would rob riverboats carrying their goods down the river to sell. In the centuries since, this unique cave has been used as a tavern, a church, a shelter, and is now preserved as a state park.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: July 23, 2014
    Ohio River Cave
  • 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
  • This was a wild day of weather in Illinois. It was the first warm day after a cold and snowy winter.  A cold front moving across the midwest caused severe thunderstorms to form. This storm produced a tornado earlier, but at this point it had weakened. The snow that remained on the fields caused a thick ground fog to form, which reduced visibility to near zero at times. It was an interesting scene.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: Febrary 20, 2014
    Destination Unknown
  • The peaceful Black River winds its way through the Saint Francois Mountains before it reached a series of waterfalls. These waterfalls are known as shut-ins.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: May 7, 2014
    Black River Falls
  • 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
  • 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 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
  • I was almost to Hawksbill Crag when the western sky turned pink. So I stopped at the closest cliff to shoot the clouds before they faded.
    Upper Buffalo Wilderness
  • From high up on Big Bluff, I could hear splashing in the water. There were 3 or 4 deer playing in the Buffalo River below me. I wish I had a telephoto lens with me. But there's only so much gear you can bring on a backpacking trip.
    Fog and Deer Crossing
  • The sky was fairly dark in rural Stark County and the milky way was shining brightly above this railroad crossing.
    Crossing in the Sky
  • This is one of the caves in Wildcat Den State Park. It was a bit tricky getting my tripod and camera up here to take a picture.
    Wildcat Den Cave
  • Sunset Shelf Panorama
  • Peoria Skyline Strike
  • If you have never seen the aurora, you should definitely make it a goal. This was a once in a lifetime show for me as I have never seen a better geomagnetic storm. I was only in Wisconsin but it felt like I was in Alaska. The aurora was pulsating, moving rapidly and it covered much of the sky. Most of my pictures were taken with a 10mm lens which tells you just how much of the sky was filled with color. This was taken from the top of Blue Mound, which is the highest point in southern Wisconsin.
    Rising Intensity
  • If you have never seen the aurora, you should definitely make it a goal. This was a once in a lifetime show for me as I have never seen a better geomagnetic storm. I was only in Wisconsin but it felt like I was in Alaska. The aurora was pulsating, moving rapidly and it covered much of the sky. Most of my pictures were taken with a 10mm lens which tells you just how much of the sky was filled with color. This was taken from the top of Blue Mound, which is the highest point in southern Wisconsin.
    Once in a Lifetime
  • Above the Bridge
  • Striated Wall
  • Growing By Starlight
  • Dwight Farm Dusk
  • Brockway Aurora
  • Badlands to Lagunas
  • As the sun sank lower it cast a deep red glow on this snow covered ridge in Farmdale Recreation Area.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: January 12, 2015
    Crimson Snow
  • A Geminid meteor burns up just below Polaris in Big Cypress National Preserve. I have never seen the North Star so low before since I have never been this far south.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 12/14/2014
    Meteor Under Polaris
  • My camera captured these 19 meteors in only 93 minutes starting around midnight on December 14th. I was a bit disappointed that my camera battery died after this because I wondered how many more I missed. Despite the moonlight many meteors had no problem shining through. I couldn't think of a better place to watch the Geminid meteor shower than this remote island in Everglades National Park. I paddled out the day before and spent the night on Picnic Key. A lack of sleep, sickness, and battling the tide the next morning made it an exhausting trip. But it was worth it to see the best meteor shower of the year.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 12/14/2014
    Out of the Blue
  • This is what the end of  the beach on Picnic Key looks like. It was almost like quick sand at the edge of the water since my feet would sink deep into the sand with every step. The island on the left is Tiger Key, which is also a popular place to camp.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 12/13/2014
    End of the Beach
  • On a dark night in Sand Ridge State Forest I found these Black Eyed Susans blooming in a small prairie. The air was so calm that the flowers didn't even move.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 9/16/2014
    Prairie Night
  • A shelf cloud approaches a grassy field near Mackinaw, Illinois. This storm hit a half an hour before sunset. It actually became so dark that fireflies started to come out.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 8/28/2014
    Mackinaw Storm
  • A rain squall approaches Peoria, Illinois. The heavy rain was close, but it never actually fell where I was shooting from. The top of a bluff in East Peoria provided a perfect view to the west of this storm.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: June 18, 2014
    Peoria Rain Squall
  • A rain squall approaches Peoria, Illinois. The heavy rain was close, but it never actually fell where I was shooting from. The top of a bluff in East Peoria provided a perfect view to the west of this storm.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: June 18, 2014
    Distant Rain
  • I find it hard to sleep while backpacking when this is above my head. This part of Missouri has very dark skies, the only problem is the thick forests leave few places to see the stars clearly. But the top of Bald Knob in Buford Mountain Conservation Area was the perfect place to spend the night and photograph the stars.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: May 6, 2014
    Sleep Eludes Me
  • Bald Knob in Missouri is a great place to go backpacking and watch the sunset. Most of the area is a thick forest, with no view. But once you reach this glade, there is a beautiful view of the Belleview Valley below.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: May 5, 2014
    Belleview Valley Sunset
  • This rippled sand is found near the campsite for Kelso Dunes. These dunes are among the tallest in the United States. When the conditions are just right, the dunes emit a low booming sound that sounds like thunder. The sunlight was only out for a few seconds, but it brought out the texture of the sand.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 1/31/14
    Rippled Dunes
  • Fog moves around a field as the milky way galaxy rises higher in the sky. This was taken near the Iowa and Missouri border in some of the darkest skies in the entire midwest. The only evidence of light pollution was in the yellow clouds lit up by a small town 15 miles away. The green dots on the bottom right are from a firefly fleeing the scene.
    Humid Summer Night
  • In My 2 hour time lapse I captured 1 bright Taurid meteor. There was another similar one right after this. But it somehow occurred in the 2 second gap in between pictures.
    Freefall
  • A narrow area of sunlight lights up Roark Bluff above the Steel Creek Campground. I went for a hike before sunrise, but there wasn't much color as a rain shower was about to move in.
    Above Steel Creek
  • I loved the light in this small Starved Rock canyon covered with fallen leaves.
    Under the Bluff
  • I'm not sure what this farm implement is called, but I liked the way it looked with the milky way behind it.
    Wheels in the Sky
  • Muscatine Monster
  • Frosty Sunlight
  • A colorful pink sunset fills the sky on the evening of Summer Solstice. This scenic view is from the top of Blue Mound, the highest point in southern Wisconsin.
    Blue Mounds Sunset
  • After the northern lights began to fade and the clouds cleared, a strange wave pattern became visible in the sky. This is airglow, a chemical reaction that occurs at the same altitude as the aurora, but it's a separate process. This night was the only time I've ever seen it with the naked eye. I'm pretty sure it was caused by gravity waves from powerful severe thunderstorms that impacted Illinois earlier in the evening.
    Gravity Waves
  • Red White and Boom
  • Horseshoe Wildflowers
  • Creosote and Prickly Pear
  • San Antonio Falls is a 100 foot high waterfall in the San Gabriel Mountains. It flows year round from springs higher up the mountain. I passed this waterfall on my hike up Mount Baldy.
    San Antonio Falls
  • A wave crashes against a rock as the clouds in the west start to light up at Crystal Cove State Park.
    Crashing Sunset
  • This covered bridge is located just outside of Princeton, Illinois. The bridge was built in 1863 and has a weight limit of 5 tons.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: January 27, 2015
    Red Covered Bridge
  • 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
  • After hiking through the woods in Independence Park, I made sure I was in a clearing at the time of sunset. Even when all the trees are bare there is a certain beauty to them.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: December 23, 2014
    Bare Color
  • A Geminid meteor streaks across the sky above Picnic Key in Everglades National Park, Florida. The star Canopus is reflected on the water with the brightest star Sirius in the middle of the picture and the constellation Orion above. My flashlight lighting up the trees was actually unintentional. When a raccoon approached me I instinctively shined a light in its direction. The raccoons here are very bold because they have no source of freshwater and attempt to steal from campers.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 12/13/2014
    Make a Wish
  • Water gushes over the top of Manido Falls right before the larger drop. The wooden overlook can been on the other side of the river.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 10/3/14
    Manido Falls
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • A turbulent sky moves above a soybean field near Tremont, Illinois. The gust front brought very strong winds that made it hard to take a steady picture. Seconds after this shot, it started raining heavily.
    Tremont Turbulence
  • While climbing Ryan Mountain, I got a great view of a distant thunderstorm, along with shadows and sunlight. The road at the bottom is Park Boulevard.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: August 20, 2014
    Ryan Mountain Panorama
  • Distant flashes of lightning kept me awake much of the night at Joshua Tree National Park. Finally at 4am, I got up to try to photograph it. I never got any bolts because the lightning was too sporadic. In this image a flash of lightning behind me lit up the rocks, while a smaller storm moves under the moon and stars.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: August 20, 2014
    Night of the Monsoon
  • Underneath a volcanic field in the Mojave Desert there is a lava tube that is fascinating to explore. The cave is not very big, about the size of a house. The ceiling has 5 skylights which lets in sunlight, illuminating the walls of the cave. Throwing dust into the air made the sunbeam even more visible, and created this shape that resembles an angel.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 1/31/14
    Angelic Beam
  • Three horses trot across a field in front of the Grand Teton Mountains on a clear day.
    Teton Horses
  • A few minutes earlier I couldn't even see across this lake. But it was peaceful after the storm ended.
    Snowstorms End
  • There was a beautiful sunset at Rathbun Lake, Iowa, after severe thunderstorms moved through.
    Rathbun Lake Sunset
  • The light was very flat after sunrise with no colorful clouds. But finally after waiting an hour and a half the sun came out. Now I could pack up my campsite and hike back to my car.
    Buffalo Morning
  • After taking the wrong trail I accidentally came across this old cabin in the Buffalo River Valley. "Granny Henderson" lived here until 1979 when this became a national park. There was no electricity or running water.
    Granny Henderson's Cabin
  • I waited a total of 9 hours at this location. Early Wednesday morning thick clouds blocked my view of the aurora. The geomagnetic storm got even stronger during the day, and then died down as soon as it got dark. I returned here Wednesday night and was determined to see the aurora. Finally at 12:45 the northern lights brightened and I could see pillars rising up and moving from east to west. It didn't last very long, but I could finally go home happy.
    Northbound
  • Because of the lack of rain lately, the fall colors have not been as widespread this year in Illinois. Many of the leaves are just drying up and falling. But there is still some colorful foliage to be found, you just have to look for it. I found this bright red tree in a local park just before the setting sun painted the sky a soft pink and purple.
    Fall Meadow
  • This massive sandstone wall is just around the corner from a small cave in Wildcat Den State Park.
    Cracking Wall
  • This grist mill sits at the edge of Pine Creek in Wildcat Den State Park. It was built in 1848, but has obviously been restored to its present condition.
    Pine Creek Mill
  • This is the 4th and final lunar eclipse of the tetrad. I was able to view it between clouds near Muscatine, Iowa.
    Blood Moon Tree
  • The deep blues of twilight begin to overtake the eastern sky as the zodiacal light continues to glow. In the middle of the picture is Venus, the brightest object in the night sky besides the moon. I woke up at 5:20 AM in this campground, took a few pictures, and then went back to sleep.
    Ghostly Glow
  • After descending the steep sand dune on the Cowles Bog trail, this is the view.
    Bailly Beach
  • Windy Aurora
  • Galactic Dock
  • Benson Barn
  • Where the Rain Falls
  • Palisades Train
  • In the Forest
  • Shaking Goldenrods
  • Red Barn Storm
  • Tonti Falls
  • It was a very hot summer day in Illinois with oppressive humidity and extremely unstable air. At 5PM this storm exploded into existence near Utica and in less than an hour it was dropping 4" hail. After leaving the storm to cross the Illinois River and avoid getting caught in the hail, I met back up with it here. The supercell was showing some of the best structure I've seen with an obvious spiral shape. The clear slot caused by the rear flank downdraft made it easy to pinpoint where a potential tornado would form. A likely funnel cloud can be seen just above the distant group of trees. But even though conditions in the upper atmosphere were more than enough to support a tornado, the winds at the surface were too weak. I followed the supercell for most of it's life cycle but nothing ever touched down.
    Red Barn Supercell
  • The Storm Will End
  • Stronghurst Supercell
  • Brockway Mountain Sunset
  • Milky Falls
  • Flowing Below
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