Kevin Palmer

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  • The sun sets behind two pillars at Garden of the Gods, Illinois. This part of the Shawnee Hills is filled with strange rock formations and extensive views of the surrounding forest.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: July 22, 2014
    Two Pillars
  • Over Labor Day weekend the Earth's magnetic field was battered by a solar wind stream from a coronal hole on the sun, which reached speeds of up to 800km a second. This led to the aurora dipping down to lower latitudes and I was able to catch it 4 nights in a row. I'm always in search of new north-facing viewpoints for picture opportunities. This night I spent at the top of the Judith Mountains in central Montana. Montana always has a better shot at seeing the aurora and being at a high elevation helped even more. The views reached far and wide out over the plains with more mountain ranges than I could count. As it got dark flashes of lightning were visible 250 miles away in Saskatchewan which I didn't even know was possible. The aurora danced all night long, preceded by a fiery sunset and followed by a stormy sunrise. It couldn't have been a more colorful stay on this mountaintop.
    Pillars Rising Above
  • Pillars of Red
  • 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
  • Anyone who has tried chasing the aurora is familiar with disappointment. Especially in mid-latitudes, there can be months in a row with little to no activity. And when the sun does get more active, sometimes it feels like everything is working against you. Unpredictability is high. The timing is all wrong when the geomagnetic storm happens during the day, or on the cloudiest night of the week, or when the moon is so bright you can’t see it. But if you keep going out and watching, eventually you’ll catch a view like this. Last night I went up to an overlook in the Bighorn Mountains. For the first couple hours the aurora glowed but lacked any movement. Then at 10PM, a substorm broke out into these colorful pillars moving from right to left. Just half an hour later the moon was up and the show was over. Aurora activity will continue to increase as we head towards solar maximum.
    Highway 14 Aurora
  • The aurora borealis caused red and green pillars to fill the northern sky above the Bighorn Mountains.
    Christmas Colored Sky
  • For most of the night the northern lights glowed brightly to the north. But it was just a green band that didn't show much movement. Then at 2AM the sky exploded into color, with purple pillars reaching all the way up to the zenith. I've seen the northern lights dozens of times, but this was only the 3rd time I've seen them reach that high. Unfortunately 2AM is when I decided to change locations so I missed out on the best part of the show.
    Bursting With Color
  • 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
  • After 3 straight nights of seeing the aurora, I thought the show was over. When it first got dark, there was nothing to the north. But before going to sleep I checked again and there were red and green pillars dancing. Being at 7400' certainly helped with the view, I'm sure it wasn't this visible down below.
    Monumental Aurora
  • Saskatchewan is called "Land of the Living Skies." I found out why on this night. These red and green pillars moved across the northern skies over Grasslands National Park. The passing clouds only added to the scene. The moonlight came and went across the prairie.
    Land of the Living Skies
  • In late September a high speed solar wind stream reached earth, causing a G1 geomagnetic storm. The aurora borealis became visible in the northern part of the United States. Around here the weather was completely clear and there was no moon making conditions perfect for viewing the northern lights. I went to the grasslands outside of Lodge Grass, Montana, where there was very little light pollution. The aurora was at it's best shortly before midnight. While the pillars danced from right to left, nearby cows mooed and coyotes howled. Quite a few meteors and satellites lit up the sky as well. The geomagnetic storm is ongoing and the aurora may be visible again tonight.
    Lodge Grass Aurora
  • For most of the night the northern lights glowed brightly to the north. But it was just a green band that didn't show much movement. Then at 2AM the sky exploded into color, with purple pillars reaching all the way up to the zenith. I've seen the northern lights dozens of times, but this was only the 3rd time I've seen them reach that high. Unfortunately 2AM is when I decided to change locations so I missed out on the best part of the show.
    Subsiding Substorm
  • Hunting for the aurora from the mid-latitudes can be a frustrating endeavor. For every night that I've clearly seen the northern lights, there are 2 more where I've gone out only to see the aurora quickly fade or clouds overtake the sky. But perfect nights like this one make it all worth it. After NOAA issued a geomagnetic storm warning, I headed for the Bighorn Mountains. The aurora was obvious as soon as I stepped out of my car. But it was just a green glow without any structure or movement. At 12:30AM, the lights began to grow brighter. Pillars topped with purple and red suddenly rose up and moved rapidly back and forth. This is called a substorm. Charged particles in the solar wind causes pressure to build up against Earth's magnetic field. The magnetic field will suddenly 'snap' and the release of energy makes the aurora intensify. Substorms are unpredictable and often last only minutes. In this frame I caught a Lyrid meteor burning up above Steamboat Point.
    Dawn of the North
  • 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
  • Faster and faster the wind gusted, until it was blowing 700km a second - solar wind that is. The solar wind carries an embedded magnetic field from the sun. When it's oriented northward, it gets repelled by Earth's magnetic field. But when the solar wind is oriented southward, that's when things get interesting. The magnetic fields of the Earth and the Sun connect to each other and charged particles are funneled into the upper atmosphere. Collisions with air molecules emit the light that makes up the aurora. After monitoring solar conditions, I went out as soon as the data looked favorable. While I've captured the northern lights over Steamboat Point before, I've been waiting for a chance to try this viewpoint further away. The moon setting in the west was lighting up the cliffs with a warm glow. As the moonlight faded, the aurora brightened, until it broke out into these red and green pillars shortly before midnight.
    Aurora With a Touch of Moonlight
  • 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
  • These pillars stand at the east end of Scottsbluff along the Summit Trail. But the area around the pillars is closed since the sandstone is brittle and there is a risk of falling.
    Pillars of Scottsbluff
  • I combined some of the last aurora images I took before dawn into this startrail. I stacked the pictures in Starstax using comet mode and in reverse order so the stars seem to be rotating clockwise instead of counterclockwise. This allowed the bright purple pillar to show through more easily.
    Rotational Velocity
  • Last week this spectacular sunrise filled the eastern sky as seen from an overlook in the Bighorn Mountains. Even before the sun made it over the horizon, a pillar of light was shining above the sun, appearing like a flame. While sun pillars aren't that uncommon, it is rare for them to be as tall as this one. This optical phenomenon is caused by the collective glint of millions of flat hexagonal ice crystals slowly falling through the air. When they are aligned just right at sunrise or sunset, it forms a light pillar. Pillars can form above other bright light sources as well such as the moon and even streetlights when the air is cold enough.
    Sun Pillar Dawn
  • Brockway Aurora
  • Before midnight I climbed up to a cliff to get closer to Devils Tower. Even though the aurora was weaker now, it was still a phenomenal view.
    Minutes to Midnight
  • After shooting the milky way over Square Butte, I drove back south to shoot the aurora. It wasn't as active as the night before, but there was a short flare-up at 10:40PM.
    Short Substorm
  • By 2AM the northern lights were not as bright as before, but they still pulsed and flickered in red and green over Devils Tower. Meanwhile the milky way began rising to the southeast in a giant arc. Near the base of the tower I found a cliff where I could see and capture everything in a panorama.
    Aurora Tower and Galaxy
  • As the aurora substorm subsided, the moon set beside Devils Tower, reflected in the Belle Fourche River.
    Mirrored Moon and Aurora
  • From the first time I glimpsed Devils Tower 7 years ago I’ve been dreaming of this picture. Countless visits to this iconic monolith were all badly timed for catching the aurora. But since then I’ve explored almost every acre of the park to figure out exactly where to go when the moment was right. That right moment happened on April 23rd. Two days earlier the sun hurled a massive explosion directly towards Earth at more than a million mph. When it arrived it caused the strongest geomagnetic storm since 2005. My widest lens, which covers a field of view of 115°, was not nearly wide enough. The entire sky pulsed in green waves like lightning. The raw intensity was humbling. I could see the ground by the light of the aurora alone. Since the ice recently melted, I headed for the Belle Fourche River. The water level on the shallow waterway was high enough to provide a perfect reflection. Because it's still the off-season, the park was much quieter with less stray light compared to the summer. I don’t know how many hours of sleep I’ve lost through the years chasing this shot. But it all feels worth it now.
    Monumental Mirror
  • Reddest Red
  • While the aurora was still going strong I wandered down to Abisko Canyon to capture the lights here. There wasn't much space to set up my tripod next to the cliff's edge so I had to be careful. I shot a time lapse  as the aurora slowly faded away. Clouds would move in soon afterward, so I was glad the lights were so active early in the evening.
    Abisko Canyon Aurora
  • This morning brought a G3 geomagnetic storm, which was strong enough to make the aurora visible through the moonlight in Sheridan, Wyoming.
    Aurora Outside Sheridan
  • At 4AM, I was ready to head home. The aurora had mostly faded away hours earlier. But then it came back. The crescent moon was gently lighting up the snow. This time, the colors were more of a deep purple and blue as twilight began to overtake the sky.
    4AM Aurora
  • In early August the aurora made an appearance and I was able to see it for the first time this year. The sun follows an 11 year cycle where the solar activity that causes the aurora (sunspots, solar flares, coronal mass ejections) increases and decreases. As we head toward solar minimum predicted in 2019, the aurora will become increasingly rare in the mid-latitudes, but will continue to occur around the arctic. Last year I was able to witness the aurora 10 times, mostly from Illinois, but this year has been a lot different. This picture was taken from the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains above Dayton, Wyoming. It was a spot I scouted out in advance and knew it had a good view north. While I was taking pictures, a sharp gust of wind came up over the ridge. I held on to my tripod, but the wind blew my camping chair down the side of the mountain.
    Dayton Aurora
  • Northern lights dance in the north and the zodiacal light shines in the east. This view was seen from the 6700 foot summit of Cougar Peak in Montana. This sky was untouched by light pollution, allowing the fainter stars and aurora to be visible. This 4 shot panorama covers a large portion of the sky.
    Aurora and Zodiacal Light
  • Saint-Jean-Baptiste-Saint-Etienne Cathedral in Lyon, France, was built in the 12th century. I used an ultrawide 14mm lens to capture the beautiful architecture.
    Upward
  • Soon after the aurora intensified, fog settled in to the frozen Fremont Lake. It felt like I was in a dream as halos surrounded Venus and the moon to the west while intense pinks and reds glowed to the north.
    In a Dream
  • On this night I found myself in the Arctic wilderness of Abisko National Park in Swedish Lapland. After trekking for 9.5 miles I arrived in this stunning valley in the Scandinavian Mountains. The northern lights came out right away when night fell. But I had to wait for them to become more active and spread to the eastern sky over the 5,000' high peak named Kieron. That happened after 11:00, when bright auroral curtains shimmered across the sky, lighting up the snow and turning it green. The temperature hovered at -10°F and a stiff wind was blowing across the frozen Abiskojaure lake. But this captivating view was worth every step to get here and every moment of cold endured.
    Midnight Flare-Up
  • 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
  • While the aurora was out, the International Space Station passed by to the north. The station orbits 250 miles above the earth at 17,000 MPH and circles the earth every 90 minutes.
    17,000 MPH
  • 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
  • My goal was to get an overview of the Teton Valley with the highest peaks lighting up at sunset. But despite the forecast for clear and sunny skies, I was dismayed when I got to the top and saw that the Tetons were hidden from view and the clouds were not going to lift. So I turned my attention to the west instead, looking towards Stouts Mountain and the Swan Valley. At first the light was flat there too, but then a gap in the clouds slowly began to open up. Sunbeams danced across the ridges and the light became better and better. Finally the sun came out for just a moment, and a pillar appeared above it caused by ice crystals suspended in the air. It wasn't the shot I had planned, but this short-lived sunset view was worth all the effort to snowshoe up this mountain.
    Big Hole Mountain Sunset
  • One of the most notable landmarks on the Oregon Trail, Chimney Rock towers hundreds of feet above the surrounding plains in the Nebraska panhandle. The pillar was at least 10% taller 150 years ago, but it has since been weathered down by wind, erosion, and lightning. I was glad to be able to capture some nice light at sunset on the west side of the rock formation, even though it didn't last long. The anvil in the distance is from a thunderstorm which produced a tornado nearby a couple hours earlier.
    Last Light On Chimney
  • While driving the backroads through the Custer National Forest I came across some interesting sandstone formations.
    Turned to Stone
  • When this evening thunderstorm popped up, I knew I had to go to Chimney Rock to try to shoot the lightning behind it. After taking over 100 pictures, I eventually caught a couple bolts. A green light shines on the rock formation all night long.
    Lightning at Chimney Rock
  • Crazy Woman Canyon is is located south of Buffalo in the Bighorn Mountains. A steep, narrow, and bumpy road ascends the canyon all the way up to Highway 16. It's a fun drive, with lots of scenic cliffs and rock formations, and plenty of dispersed campsites available.
    Narrow Passage
  • The crescent moon glowed brighter after the sun set. By walking up the canyon a bit I was able to line it up behind this cliff.
    Crescent Cliff
  • The Pryor Mountains of south central Montana are filled with many towering pinnacles and spires like this one. Last week was my first time hiking in this rarely visited mountain range, going up a deep canyon to the unique Layout Creek Spring. A herd of 160 wild horses live in these mountains, but I didn't see any this time. To get the sun ray effect I went off trail until I found the perfect position to partially obscure the sun behind the pinnacle. Using a smaller aperture produced an 18-point sunstar.
    Pinnacle of Perfection
  • The strongest geomagnetic storm (G3) of 2018 brought the aurora down to lower latitudes. I wasn't expecting much with hazy skies and a full moon working against me. But I had to try shooting it, since opportunities to see the aurora have been exceedingly rare as the sun heads deeper into solar minimum. And to my surprise a faint green band of light was visible to my eyes, which ended my 9-month streak since I last saw the northern lights. There are several north-facing locations nearby that I keep in the back of my mind, waiting for nights like this one. This two-track road is just over the stateline in Montana. Strange noises filled the night air including crickets chirping, sandhill cranes calling, and coyotes howling. Even though the moonlight drowned out much of the aurora, it did help with lighting up the landscape for photos.
    Smoky Pillars
  • I caught this lucky meteor falling through the aurora at 1:30AM. The northern lights were so dim that I could barely notice them with my eyes, but the camera picked up more of the colors.
    Pillars and Meteor
  • Early on the morning of February 19th, the northern lights made an appearance in Central Illinois. It happened to be one of the few winter nights that was clear and not bitterly cold. There was still plenty of snow on the ground, and the barn was illuminated by a quarter moon. I waited around for many hours, but the aurora was only bright for about 10 minutes. That is how it often happens with mid-latitude auroras.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: February 19, 2014
    Barn and Pillars
  • 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 temperature topped 100°F as I drove down a dirt road called the Calypso Trail. The terrain of eastern Montana may appear boring at first. But the Terry Badlands area is filled with all kinds of geological wonders including toadstools, pillars, caves, and these natural bridges. I couldn't find much information on this place and getting here wasn't easy. Washouts, sand, and sinkholes make the road in very rough. Any rain will turn it to mud and make it impassable. Once at the end it's only a couple mile hike through fields of biting flies. I didn't even know there would be 3 natural bridges until I arrived. It was tricky to get all of them in one picture until I went underneath. Just past the bridges was a strange tunnel carved by water, with the roof collapsed in places. Some of the only shade in the area is found by standing underneath the bridges which are up to 50 feet long. This is a dry, desolate place, but still it has a certain beauty to it.
    All 3 Natural Bridges
  • Layout Canyon in the Pryor Mountains is filled with towering cliffs like this one. I balanced the crescent moon on one of the pillars.
    Fortress of the Moon
  • 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
  • The sun sets in between sandstone pillars in Medicine Rocks State Park.
    Through the Crack
  • After snow showers hid the sun for most of the day, this brilliant sunset in Norway caught me off guard. I rushed to find a west-facing viewpoint, while slipping and sliding on an icy pathway. This view was captured from the brand new Hålogaland Bridge, which has the longest span in the entire Arctic. By the time I got my camera out, colors had already started to fade and the ice pillar which appeared above the sun was gone.<br />
<br />
While it may look peaceful now, it was not so 80 years ago. A significant naval battle was fought here during World War II. The depths of this fjord still holds the wreckage of sunken ships. Narvik has long been a strategic ice-free port where iron ore is transported by rail from Sweden. The Germans invaded this small seaside town in the spring of 1940, but they didn't occupy it for long. The Battles of Narvik and the recapture of the town cost thousands of lives, but it was one of the first Allied victories of the war.
    Arctic Ocean Sunset
  • I went for a hike at Bud Love Big Game Winter Range on the last warm day of fall. The light and contrasting colors seemed to work better in black and white. I spotted this pillar near the Sayles Creek trailhead and thought it looked like a half-buried raised hand.
    Buried Hand
  • At the end of a peninsula northwest of Reykjavik is a volcano called Snæfellsjökull, which translates to "snow mountain glacier." Without a guide or a 4x4 vehicle this glacier is not easy to reach. But I couldn't visit Iceland without finding some ice, so I headed up the road on foot instead to see how close I could get. Clouds swirled around the dome-shaped peak all day, offering only brief glimpses of the summit pillar. After passing the moss covered slopes I reached the top of a cinder cone at 800 meters, and slid to the bottom. With hands bloody from the sharp lava rocks, I made it to the foot of the glacier. The ice crunched beneath my feet as I slowly took a few steps and stopped at this crevasse. I don't know how deep it was, but didn't want to find out. Snæfellsjökull is one of the most famous sites in Iceland, in part because of the Jules Verne book, "Journey to the Center of the Earth." In the fictional book written in 1864, the passage to the center of the Earth begins here. With numerous caves found in the area and even holes that drop straight into the ocean, it's not hard to imagine how he got that idea.
    Snæfellsjökull Crevasse
  • The afternoon sun shines above a snowy pillar along the Penrose Trail. It was a warm 60 degree day despite all the snow.
    Early Spring Sun
  • At the end of a peninsula northwest of Reykjavik is a volcano called Snæfellsjökull, which translates to "snow mountain glacier." Without a guide or a 4x4 vehicle this glacier is not easy to reach. But I couldn't visit Iceland without finding some ice, so I headed up the road on foot instead to see how close I could get. Clouds swirled around the dome-shaped peak all day, offering only brief glimpses of the summit pillar. After passing the moss covered slopes I reached the top of a cinder cone at 800 meters, and slid to the bottom. With hands bloody from the sharp lava rocks, I made it to the foot of the glacier. The ice crunched beneath my feet as I slowly took a few steps and stopped at this crevasse. I don't know how deep it was, but didn't want to find out. Snæfellsjökull is one of the most famous sites in Iceland, in part because of the Jules Verne book, "Journey to the Center of the Earth." In the fictional book written in 1864, the passage to the center of the Earth begins here. With numerous caves found in the area and even holes that drop straight into the ocean, it's not hard to imagine how he got that idea.
    Blue Rift