Kevin Palmer

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  • During the most intense part of the geomagnetic storm, I looked straight up and this is what I saw. It's known as a corona, and it looks like the aurora is radiating outward from a single point in the sky. This was the first time I've seen a corona and it didn't last long.
    Aurora Corona
  • 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
  • September is always a really good month to shoot wildflowers around here. After finding this thick clump of black-eyed-susans, I placed my tripod underneath them with a backdrop of the milky way. I didn't really like the color temperature of the light from my headlamp. So I actually just found a yellow image on my phone, made the screen bright, and light painted with that. This is a focus stack of 2 images.
    Milky Way Bouquet
  • It was nearly 11pm in southern Saskatchewan. I had just watched a bright auroral substorm send colorful arcs high into the northern sky, but it was starting to fade. Then I turned around, looking south, and this is what I saw. A bright pinkish strip of light stretched from east to west, while the crescent moon hung low on the horizon. It's one of the most unusual things I've ever seen in the night sky. This strange type of aurora is called Steve. The name started as a joke, but it stuck.  Steve was first captured last year by a group of aurora photographers in Alberta. After ESA flew a satellite through it earlier this year, it was discovered that it's comprised of very hot (10,800°F) ionized gases moving along at 4 miles per second. This ribbon of light is 16 miles wide and thousands of miles long. I watched as Steve started overhead nearly paralleling the US-Canada border, before slowly moving south. It turned into a green "picket fence" pattern before fading away. It was awesome to see such a mysterious phenomena which is still being studied by scientists.
    An Aurora Named Steve
  • 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
  • This is Bright Angel Creek at the bottom of the Grand Canyon next to Phantom Ranch.
    Bright Angel Creek
  • Once the sky became dark enough, a small patch of green aurora appeared in the northern sky. It was all that's left of the strong geomagnetic storm from the night before. This was the only picture I was able to get of this abandoned homestead before the aurora faded away.
    All That's Left
  • With both clear skies and a geomagnetic storm in the forecast, I headed north of the border to Saskatchewan. Grasslands National Park is a long ways from anywhere. During the day the landscape seems stark and desolate, especially after a very dry summer. But the real beauty of this park comes after sunset. It is one of the darkest places on the continent. With no sources of light pollution at all, the stars appear the same as they did to the Plains Indians hundreds of years ago. The aurora was already bright and colorful earlier in the evening. But at midnight after the moon set, the northern lights went insane. I've never seen such rapid motion before. If you could imagine a campfire with the flames rising upward and flickering on and off, that's what it looked like. Except instead of orange, it was green, and instead of it being confined to a fire ring, it filled the entire sky. I don't think any camera could fully capture it, it just has to be experienced.
    Two Tipis
  • After hitting the trail at sunrise I made it to the top of Laramie Peak shortly before 9AM and setup my gear. The true summit is littered with towers and communication equipment, so instead I pointed my camera at this subpeak to the south. The weather was perfect and the thick smoke from Montana wildfires that I was worried about stayed to the north. At 10:23 the partial eclipse began, visible only through a solar filter. Anticipation started to build as more of the sun became blocked out. After over 50% of the sun was covered the light became slightly dimmer but it was only noticeable if you've been watching the whole time. The temperature dropped by over 20°F and jackets came out. At 90% the sky became a dark blue and the landscape took on a smoky appearance. At this point the light began to change by the second. The moon moves from west to east, and the shadow approaches at 1700mph from that direction. At 11:45 the last piece of sun disappeared. Some of my favorite effects of totality were the parts I couldn't capture. Cirrus clouds in the west glowed orange like at sunset. It was similar to twilight but instead of the glow appearing in only one direction, it encircled the entire horizon. Venus came out first, then the other planets and brighter stars. It's a very strange feeling looking at the sun in what's normally the brightest part of the day and instead seeing a black hole. The ~100 people around me marveled at one of the most beautiful spectacles in nature. But just like that it was all over. The full disc of the sun returned at 1:11PM.
    Fleeting Moment
  • 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
  • It was nearly 11pm in southern Saskatchewan. I had just watched a bright auroral substorm send colorful arcs high into the northern sky, but it was starting to fade. Then I turned around, looking south, and this is what I saw. A bright pinkish strip of light stretched from east to west, while the crescent moon hung low on the horizon. It's one of the most unusual things I've ever seen in the night sky. This strange type of aurora is called Steve. The name started as a joke, but it stuck.  Steve was first captured last year by a group of aurora photographers in Alberta. After ESA flew a satellite through it earlier this year, it was discovered that it's comprised of very hot (10,800°F) ionized gases moving along at 4 miles per second. This ribbon of light is 16 miles wide and thousands of miles long. I watched as Steve started overhead nearly paralleling the US-Canada border, before slowly moving south. It turned into a green "picket fence" pattern before fading away. It was awesome to see such a mysterious phenomena which is still being studied by scientists.
    Steve and the Moon
  • 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
  • All of the Lights
  • I was driving along the incredibly beautiful Elk Meadows Road. Just after crossing the Montana border the road went through a thick evergreen forest with no views. But then I drove around a corner and saw this view. My jaw just dropped. Being from Illinois I had never seen larch trees before. In the summer their needles are green and blend in with the rest of the trees. But in mid-October they completely stand out as they burst into color. The clouds above Lolo Peak were turning to pink as the sun set. I jumped out of my car and tried to capture the light on Lolo Peak before it faded.
    Lolo Larch
  • 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
  • With both clear skies and a geomagnetic storm in the forecast, I headed north of the border to Saskatchewan. Grasslands National Park is a long ways from anywhere. During the day the landscape seems stark and desolate, especially after a very dry summer. But the real beauty of this park comes after sunset. It is one of the darkest places on the continent. With no sources of light pollution at all, the stars appear the same as they did to the Plains Indians hundreds of years ago. The aurora was already bright and colorful earlier in the evening. But at midnight after the moon set, the northern lights went insane. I've never seen such rapid motion before. If you could imagine a campfire with the flames rising upward and flickering on and off, that's what it looked like. Except instead of orange, it was green, and instead of it being confined to a fire ring, it filled the entire sky. I don't think any camera could fully capture it, it just has to be experienced.
    Tipi Aurora
  • The milky way shines above a small pond in Weinberg King State Park. I took 300 pictures here for a time lapse. In a few of the frames, I pointed my car headlights at the pond from 100 yards away. When the headlights were on for the full 30 second exposure it was too bright. But when the headlights were only on a part of the time it was just right.
    While the Frogs Croak
  • 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