Kevin Palmer

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  • The Pryor Mountains are not a very large or tall range. But they hold lots of wonders including several mysterious ice caves. At this elevation (8,600') any snow would have melted away months ago. But snow and ice stays beneath the ground year round. The Crater Ice Cave is one of the harder caves to reach because it requires an 1,800 foot climb to the highest peak, Big Pryor Mountain. The cave is located just below the summit and has a side entrance as well as a skylight entrance overhead.
    Subterranean Snow
  • I found this warming hut that's part of the nordic ski trails a few months ago while exploring the area. I thought it would be a great place to hike to on the night of winter solstice. It's above 8,000 feet elevation and the thermometer there was reading 0°F. But the wood burning stove warmed up the place quickly.
    Out of the Cold
  • A lone pine tree on the edge of Sibley Lake points to the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) constellation above. The 2 stars on the end point to Polaris, the North Star on the left. All night long the Big Dipper will rotate counterclockwise while the North Star remains stationary. I added diffraction spikes to these 8 stars to make them stand out more.
    The Pointer
  • This severe thunderstorm rolled out of the Bighorn Mountains near Aberdeen, Montana. After it passed by I found 1.5" hailstones on the ground.
    Aberdeen Supercell
  • The Lost Twin Lakes are found at 10,300 feet  in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. A 6 mile hike from the West Tensleep Lake trailhead, it's the perfect spot for an overnight backpacking trip. The two lakes are in a glacial cirque surrounded by massive granite cliffs up to 2,000 feet high. This was a stitch of 6 pictures.
    Lost Twin Lake Panorama
  • Fresh snow at Tongue River Canyon reflects the deep blue twilight sky as day turns to night.
    Arch at Twilight
  • These colorful wildflowers were blooming near the top of Big Pryor Mountain.
    Pryor Wildflowers
  • The Lost Twin Lakes are found at 10,300 feet  in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. A 6 mile hike from the West Tensleep Lake trailhead, it's the perfect spot for an overnight backpacking trip. The two lakes are in a glacial cirque surrounded by massive granite cliffs up to 2,000 feet high. The light from the crescent moon was sparkling in the lake before it set. The planet Jupiter can also be seen just below the moon.
    Sparkling Lakeshore
  • 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
  • I've seen pictures of this arch at Bighorn Canyon before, and haven't been able to locate it. But after visiting a 3rd time, I finally found it. The arch frames an incredible view of what is sometimes called Montana's Grand Canyon. After waiting here until 9PM, I gave up on seeing any color in the sky. But before I could make it back to my car, an orange glow emerged in the west and pink clouds briefly overtook the sky. I hurried back to the arch to take this final picture. It always amazes me just how empty this place is. It's not unusual to see more wild horses than people. I had to drive very carefully back to the campground to avoid hitting the mustangs that were standing on the road in the dark.
    Through a Window
  • 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
  • A fiery sunset fills the sky above Laguna Beach, California.
    Laguna Beach Sunset
  • Bighorn Canyon and the Pryor Mountains glow in the early morning light on Thanksgiving Day.
    Bighorn Canyon Sunrise
  • After a rough 35 mile drive on rocky dirt roads, I reached the Dry Fork Overlook at the top of the Pryor Mountains just before sunset. There was a large thunderstorm to the south in Wyoming, which lit up with color.
    Pryor Experience
  • This severe thunderstorm rolled across the grassland near Decker, Montana late at night. There were dozens of wildfires burning across Montana. Before this storm hit, the air was mostly clear. But the strong winds brought in thick smoke from the northwest. It smelled like there was a fire nearby, even though there were none in the immediate area. All the lightning had a reddish-orange tint to it.
    Orange Lightning
  • The Lost Twin Lakes are found at 10,300 feet  in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. A 6 mile hike from the West Tensleep Lake trailhead, it's the perfect spot for an overnight backpacking trip. The two lakes are in a glacial cirque surrounded by massive granite cliffs up to 2,000 feet high. Treeline in the Bighorns is at about 10,500' feet so most of the trees were very short around the lake.
    Edge of Treeline
  • I've seen pictures of this arch at Bighorn Canyon before, and haven't been able to locate it. But after visiting a 3rd time, I finally found it. The arch frames an incredible view of what is sometimes called Montana's Grand Canyon. After waiting here until 9PM, I gave up on seeing any color in the sky. But before I could make it back to my car, an orange glow emerged in the west and pink clouds briefly overtook the sky. I hurried back to the arch to take this final picture. It always amazes me just how empty this place is. It's not unusual to see more wild horses than people. I had to drive very carefully back to the campground to avoid hitting the mustangs that were standing on the road in the dark.
    Overarching
  • 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
  • On a frigid winter night I rented the Muddy Guard Cabin from the USFS. The log cabin was very rustic with no running water and a wood-burning stove, but it did have electricity.  My goal was to capture the Quadrantid meteor shower, but it wasn't the best night for it. The clouds cleared somewhat in the evening, but came back later on as snow showers moved in.
    Thousands Above, Fifteen Below
  • 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
  • The sun sets over tidepools at Laguna Beach. I came here at low tide during a full moon, so the tide doesn't get much lower than this. Normally this part of Victoria Beach would be difficult to access as much of it would be underwater.
    Victoria Beach Sunset
  • This is the view from the top of Loaf Mountain at 11,722'. There was no trail, so I had to pay close attention to the map while hiking 3.5 miles to the summit. The view from the top wasn't as clear as it could have been because of wildfire smoke from Montana.
    Smoky Summit
  • I've seen pictures taken from this arch above Bighorn Canyon, but I've never been able to locate it until now. And it's not too difficult to reach. Compositions are limited because of the way the arch is set against the cliff and you can't get very far back. Just as I started to leave, the sky unexpectedly took on a pink glow and I ran back to the arch to capture the color before it faded away.
    Bighorn Canyon Arch
  • I encountered this storm in Joliet, Montana, while driving to Red Lodge. It was spitting out plenty of lightning bolts, but I wasn't successful in capturing any.
    Storm in Joliet
  • The sun sets over a tide pool in Laguna Beach, California. Underneath the water are hermit crabs, sea anemones, and other sea creatures stranded until the waves rise again. I came here at low tide during a full moon, so the tide doesn't get much lower than this. Normally this part of Victoria Beach would be difficult to access as much of it would be underwater. Both low and high tide occur twice a day approximately 6 hours apart. During a full moon or a new moon the tides are especially high and low. The gravitational force of the sun and the moon combine to generate more of a pull on earth's oceans. This is called a spring tide. But during a quarter moon, the moon is at a right angle with the earth and the sun and there is less variation between high and low tides. This is called a neap tide.
    Laguna Tidepool Reflection
  • This was the first major snowfall of the season in northern Wyoming. Up to 12" fell in the valleys, with more in the higher elevations. I went to take pictures at one of my favorite places to hike, Tongue River Canyon. This deep canyon ascends into the northern Big Horn Mountains west of Dayton. The canyon looked stunning with snow clinging to the sheer cliffs and trees, and the river gurgling below. Above the walls are found interesting geological features likes arches, spires, and caves, one of which has over a mile of passages. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it up the narrow gravel road which was unplowed, but it wasn't a problem with 4WD. Last time I was here I spotted a black bear running up the road, but I'm sure most of them are in hibernation by now.
    Snowy November Sunset
  • This severe thunderstorm rolled across the grassland near Decker, Montana late at night. There were dozens of wildfires burning across Montana. Before this storm hit, the air was mostly clear. But the strong winds brought in thick smoke from the northwest. It smelled like there was a fire nearby, even though there were none in the immediate area. All the lightning had a reddish-orange tint to it.
    Smoky Strikes
  • In between the upper and lower Lost Twin Lakes, there is a waterfall. After raining all morning, the sun finally came out at 1PM.
    Top of the Cirque
  • I was just about to leave the Devil Canyon Overlook because I thought the sunset was over. But then the sky suddenly started glowing to the west, and I shot this panorama.
    Bighorn Canyon Glow
  • I  thought this would be a great place to see a storm based on the name: Thunder Basin National Grassland. This dirt road was as far as I could go before watching the thunderstorm recede into the distance.
    Thunder Basin Thunder
  • This severe, slow-moving thunderstorm in northeast Wyoming was fascinating to watch. It was showing broad rotation, and was a prolific hail producer. I had to wait for the hail to move away from Highway 112 before I drove any further. Once I went north I found hail stones 2 inches wide which would have damaged my vehicle.
    Hulett Hailer
  • In early January I stayed at this USFS cabin high in the Bighorn Mountains on a frigid night. The cabin was very rustic with no running water and only a wood-burning stove for heat. The walls creaked as they heated up and I quickly learned that it's a lot of work trying to keep a cabin like this warm in subzero temperatures. But it did have electricity, and I left the lights on to cast shadows across the snowdrifts. My goal was to capture the elusive Quadrantid meteor shower. It's rarely observed simply because the weather is rarely ideal in early January. The sky was mostly clear at 10pm, but then snow showers moved in and obscured the stars just before the meteors were expected to pick up. But it was still a cool experience staying in this old log cabin.
    Cabin Fever
  • Several feet of dry powdery snow covered the ice at Sibley Lake. It was nearly 4AM on the longest night of the year and the crescent moon was lighting up the cold scene.
    Snowy Sibley Panorama
  • In between the upper and lower Lost Twin Lakes, there is a waterfall. After raining all morning, the sun finally came out at 1PM.
    Lost Twin Falls
  • The horizontal cloud stretching out from the supercell is known as a beaver tail. It is formed from moist inflow winds feeding into the storm. The winds were very strong as you can see from all the dust picked up underneath. There was a tornado ongoing at this time which damaged 2 homesteads near the Nebraska/Wyoming border. But it wasn't visible from my location and I couldn't get any closer because there weren't any roads heading east.
    Beaver Tail
  • A sporadic meteor shoots through the sky while the milky way glows above Healy Reservoir.
    Healy Milky Way
  • The airglow was very bright this night in the skies above Healy Reservoir.
    Spreading Airglow
  • 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
  • After the sun set over the Absaroka Mountains, Venus became brighter and the zodiacal light began to glow vividly all around it. The diffuse, diagonal glow is caused by the sun illuminating dust particles within the solar system. I shot a couple hundred images for a time lapse and caught a meteor in one of them.
    Zodiacal Meteor
  • On the night of  winter solstice I went for a hike around the Sibley Lake nordic ski trail. It was a beautifully clear night with perfect silence and solitude. The snow here was above my knees but I couldn't pass up this scene with towering pines and snow-covered boulders. I angled my camera so I could include Orion in the composition.
    The Longest of Nights
  • I wouldn't normally set my tripod up in the middle of a steep and slick mountain highway. But at this time of night there was no traffic at all.
    December Night Drive
  • The more well known Horseshoe Bend is in Arizona. But Bighorn Canyon has a horseshoe bend as well. This view is near the end of the Stateline Trail just barely in Montana. This is a 7-shot panorama.
    Montana's Horseshoe Bend
  • It was 1AM and the stars were twinkling wildly above the Bighorn Mountains. Twinkling (also known as scintillation) is caused by the earth's atmosphere bending or refracting starlight. Planets do not twinkle because they are not a pinpoint source of light. The effect is most noticeable on nights with strong winds and differing air temperatures in the upper atmosphere. The wind chill on this night at 7,000 feet was far below zero Fahrenheit. In the center of the photo is Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. It is visible from anywhere on earth except for the very northern Arctic. Sirius is known for twinkling a rainbow of colors when it first rises. On the upper right is the constellation Orion with the bright band of the winter milky way to the left.
    Sirius-ly Cold
  • Colorful clouds fill the sky after sunset near Lovell, Wyoming.
    Sykes Canyon Sunset
  • Under a Wolf Moon
  • Quick moving clouds pass above an old abandoned bridge in Tazewell County, Illinois, on a winter night.
    Abandoned Bridge
  • Dillon Cemetery Sunset
  • 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
  • Under a Wolf Moon
  • As soon as I stepped outside this vivid halo commanded my attention. I have never seen one this vivid. The colors at the bottom were very obvious although I didn't see the color in the corona until looking at the picture afterwards. It didn't last long as low-lying clouds came in and obscured the icy cirrus clouds higher up. A full moon on Christmas is somewhat rare. But even more rare is the fact that it was in the mid-60's late at night in Maryland when I took this.
    Christmas Eve Halo
  • I've photographed the sunrise here from the Snake River Overlook once before in September. But I think the Tetons are even more beautiful in the winter covered with snow. This was the view just before the sun crested the horizon.
    Awaiting the Sun
  • 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