Kevin Palmer

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  • Last month I visited Devils Tower when the fall colors were at their peak. Although the tower is mostly surrounded by a pine forest, there are some deciduous trees to the south by the Belle Fourche River. While wandering around before sunset I found this view of the tower above the oak and cottonwood trees. Established in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt, this was the first national monument in the US. Devils Tower is actually a mistranslation of the Native American name "Mato Tipila," which means Bear Lodge.
    Tower Woodland
  • While hiking off-trail around Devils Tower, I encountered several deer. They were barely afraid of me at all, and let me get pictures with the tower in the background.
    Devils Tower Deer
  • 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
  • In October I visited Devils Tower when the fall colors were at their peak. Although the tower is mostly surrounded by a pine forest, there are some deciduous trees to the south by the Belle Fourche River. While wandering around before sunset I found this view with the tower framed in between two trees. Established in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt, this was the first national monument in the US. Devils Tower is actually a mistranslation of the Native American name "Mato Tipila," which means Bear Lodge.
    Autumn Evening Light
  • Every March at approximately 10PM, Andromeda has a close encounter with the iconic Devils Tower. When you look up at the stars, everything you can see with your eyes is contained within the Milky Way galaxy. But Andromeda is the exception. At 2.5 million light years away, it represents the farthest object visible to the naked eye. When you count the faint spiral arms, it is the same angular size in our sky as 6 full moons. Andromeda is thought to have about the same mass as our own galaxy. And just like the Milky Way, it is orbited by 2 satellite galaxies. Andromeda is actually best viewed in the fall, because that is when it’s  highest in the sky. To get this picture I used a star tracking mount to capture greater detail, combined with an untracked image of the tower.
    Andromeda Close Encounter
  • Every clear night between December and April, Orion has a close encounter with Devils Tower just before it sets. It was a shot I've had in mind for awhile, but I waited until March to pay a visit so I could capture it at a more reasonable time and temperature. Beneath the 3 belt stars is found Orion's Sword. It also goes by the name Messier 42, NGC1976, or simply the Orion Nebula. As the brightest nebula in northern hemisphere skies, it is easily seen with the naked eye away from light pollution. Larger in angular size than the moon, it looks spectacular in even a small telescope. If you zoom in to the belt star of Alnitak (pierced by a satellite trail), the Flame Nebula is on the left, with the Horsehead located below. Between finding the right overlook, aligning the star tracking mount, shooting dozens of long exposures, and hours of editing, “deepscape” photos like this are always more complex than any other type I create. But I love showing a commonly photographed landmark in an uncommon way. When thin clouds started to roll in I almost stopped shooting, but I ended up liking the halo effect.
    Orion Close Encounter
  • A moonlit Devils Tower is reflected in the Belle Fourche River near the campground.
    Belle Fourche Reflection
  • At 2:30AM my alarm went off after catching a few hours of sleep. The moon was about to set, leaving me with 3 hours of darkness to watch the Orionid meteor shower over Devils Tower. My camera captured this bright streak of light shortly before twilight began. But the fact that it appeared in 2 frames and lacks any colors suggests that it was a satellite flare and not a meteor. The diffuse glow rising up diagonally from the horizon is called the zodiacal light. Also known as false dawn, the glow is caused by the sun illuminating the dust which is shed by comets and asteroids in the inner solar system. This cone-shaped glow is projected against the constellations of the zodiac, which is the path that the sun, moon, and planets travel through the sky. I've seen the zodiacal light before, but never this bright and prominent. It can only be viewed from the darkest of locations, far away from light pollution, on very clear moonless nights.
    False Dawn and Iridium Flare
  • 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
  • An extremely rare aurora corona is seen over a red rock formation at Devils Tower. This view was looking south.
    Red Rock Corona
  • 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
  • As the aurora substorm subsided, the moon set beside Devils Tower, reflected in the Belle Fourche River.
    Mirrored Moon and Aurora
  • Because this morning's lunar eclipse occurred with the moon close to the horizon instead of high overhead, it was particularly well suited for photography. I just needed something to frame the moon over, and I couldn't think of a better subject than Devils Tower. I did the math and figured out I would need to be just under 2 miles east of the tower to shoot it with the lens I had. The surrounding area has lots of hills, trees, and private land, but luckily there was a road in the right spot, which provided this view. What was supposed to be only flurries the evening before turned into 4 inches of fresh snow. The clouds didn't clear out until minutes before the eclipse began. As the moon became redder, the sky became bluer and the stars slowly faded away. Snow doesn't stay very long on the tower since the sun heats up the rock quickly and winds blow it off. But everything came together perfectly this morning to create a one of a kind view.
    Totality at the Tower
  • Because this morning's lunar eclipse occurred with the moon close to the horizon instead of high overhead, it was particularly well suited for photography. I just needed something to frame the moon over, and I couldn't think of a better subject than Devils Tower. I did the math and figured out I would need to be just under 2 miles east of the tower to shoot it with the lens I had. The surrounding area has lots of hills, trees, and private land, but luckily there was a road in the right spot, which provided this view. What was supposed to be only flurries the evening before turned into 4 inches of fresh snow. The clouds didn't clear out until minutes before the eclipse began. As the moon became redder, the sky became bluer and the stars slowly faded away. Snow doesn't stay very long on the tower since the sun heats up the rock quickly and winds blow it off. But everything came together perfectly this morning to create a one of a kind view.
    Blood Moon Tower
  • On my way back from South Dakota I had a chance to intercept this severe storm at Devils Tower. I got there in time to watch the shelf cloud roll by over the tower. This storm was a prolific hail producer. I misjudged the movement of the storm and ended up getting caught on the edge of the hail core as I fled east towards Sundance. Golf ball-sized chunks of ice left additional dents in my car. But I got off easy, there were a lot of cars with smashed windshields. Hailstones up to 4.5" in size damaged crops further east where the storm also produced a tornado.
    Dark Sky Over Tower
  • It was a very dark night at Devil's Tower, in between lightning bolts. The lightning was difficult to expose for, since it was infrequent, and usually very bright. This was one of the dimmer bolts. I was standing underneath the back door of my car to stay out of the rain when I took this.
    Power at the Tower
  • After I thought the sunlight was gone on Devil's Tower, it came out once more for just a couple minutes.
    Devil's Tower Last Light
  • On my way back from South Dakota I had a chance to intercept this severe storm at Devils Tower. I got there in time to watch the shelf cloud roll by over the tower. This storm was a prolific hail producer. I misjudged the movement of the storm and ended up getting caught on the edge of the hail core as I fled east towards Sundance. Golf ball-sized chunks of ice left additional dents in my car. But I got off easy, there were a lot of cars with smashed windshields. Hailstones up to 4.5" in size damaged crops further east where the storm also produced a tornado.
    Tower and Storm
  • It was a cold and moist night at Devil's Tower with a few too many clouds. But the milky way was visible for a short time.
    Galactic Tower
  • Devil's Tower stands tall above the grassland on a July evening.
    Tower and Grassland
  • Just before midnight the crescent moon rose east of Devils Tower. Smoke or haze near the horizon gave the moon an orange color.
    Tower Moonrise
  • I got to Hulett just in time to watch two supercells pass to the north and to the south. Both of them had tornado warnings, and both produced very large hail. From the top of this bluff I had an excellent view of Devils Tower and the Missouri Buttes. It was almost a once in a lifetime chance to capture a tornado over the tower, but it didn't happen. It was still an awesome sight though.
    Making the Tower Look Small
  • Snow covers the boulder field below Devil's Tower on an overcast April morning.
    Snowy Boulder Tower
  • Tower Fall is a 132 foot high waterfall in Yellowstone National Park. The road there is closed in the winter so it requires a 5 mile roundtrip hike. The view of the waterfall is limited because there is no way to get closer or find a different perspective. There used to be a trail to the base but it is now closed.
    Frozen Tower Fall
  • Clouds glow pink above Devils Tower at sunset just before a snowstorm moves in.
    Pink Clouds Above Devils Tower
  • I made it to the top of this sub-peak just in time to watch the sun disappear. While the Missouri Buttes were easily visible, Devils Tower was mostly hidden in the glare of the sun.
    Hiding Tower
  • I wasn't expecting to be back at Devil's Tower so soon but this was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up. I spent the evening chasing a supercell past the tower to the Montana border where it dropped hail larger than golf balls. Then I headed back to the tower just in case any new storms popped up. When I got there, lightning was beginning to flash from a new thunderstorm to the west, just like I had hoped. When rain began to fall I went and stood under the back door of my car to shoot pictures. The lightning wasn't all that frequent and it was challenging to get the exposure right. In between flashes, the light level would go from pitch black to practically burning my retina. When the rain let up a little, I went and stood in the middle of the dirt road. That's when this bolt filled the sky, perfectly placed above the tower. It's certainly the best foreground I've ever had for a lightning picture and I may have cheered after it happened.
    Awestruck
  • Devils Tower (also known as Mato Tipila which means Bear Lodge in Lakota) is an awesome place anytime of year. But there's something extra special about being the only one in the park the morning after a fresh snowfall. I was walking around the tower loop trail after sunrise when a gust of wind blew a chunk of snow off of the tower and into the surrounding forest. The air glittered and sparkled, and rays of golden sunlight glowed between the trees. I only had a few seconds to get a shot, before the scene was gone. Despite the difficulties of winter camping and driving on icy roads, it's definitely worth visiting Devils Tower in the offseason.
    Sparkling Sunbeams
  • I couldn’t let NEOWISE leave without trying to capture it over Devils Tower. But this wasn’t the shot I had in mind. The forecast called for mostly clear skies after earlier severe weather exited. But sometimes what actually happens is so much better than what I can imagine. This supercell popped up to the west around 10PM and the anvil quickly blocked out the comet. But then just as the storm was showing its best mothership structure during a close encounter with the tower, a hole in the clouds opened up. It was perfectly placed to reveal the comet once again for just a few minutes. It’s a good thing that most of the lightning was intracloud. If bolts of lightning were jumping out they would have been too bright to expose for the comet. Every single flash highlighted or backlit a different part of the storm. While the lightning continued for most of the night, I was glad the large hail stayed away. I didn’t want to test the hailproofness of my tent.
    A Hole in the Clouds
  • The last climbers repelled down the south face of Devils Tower soon after twilight faded. First Perseus rose to the northeast, followed by Arcturus, the 4th brightest star in the sky. Satellites slowly came and went while meteors vaporized at a much faster speed. The aurora painted its colors on an invisible canvas,  undetectable to my eye for the most part. One glow soon replaced another when the crescent moon rose at midnight. In many previous visits I’ve scouted all over the national monument looking for the best vantage points. This patch of prairie that I marked on my map is barely within the park boundary. Dodging deadfall, making my way across a steep slope and up and over a cliff is hard enough during the day, doubly so at night. I kept waiting for a big aurora display to give me a reason to come back here. That never happened, despite the forecast. But even an ordinary night is worth experiencing at an extraordinary place like this. Those who only visit Devils Tower during the day miss out on half the scenery.
    More Than a Meteor
  • Devils Tower rises dramatically above the pine forest and grasslands of Northeast Wyoming. Towering almost 1300 feet above the Belle Fourche River at the edge of the Black Hills, this monolith is thought to be volcanic in nature. About 4,000 people climb the National Monument every year. The best view at sunset is found to the north on the Joyner Ridge Trail, where this was taken.
    Golden Monolith
  • For over 4 hours thunderstorms moved past Devils Tower, which was not even in the forecast. The lightning was difficult to expose for, because some flashes were super bright while others were dim. But this was my favorite shot of lightning jumping out from behind the clouds.
    Lightning Jumping Out
  • Evening shadows begin to creep up to Devil's Tower as seen from Joyner Ridge.
    Shadows Ascending
  • This thunderstorm popped up west of Devils Tower around 10PM. Once I got to this overlook, I could only get a few shots of Comet NEOWISE before it was blocked out by the clouds.
    It's Coming This Way
  • The sun peeks out from behind Devil's Tower as seen from the boulder field below.
    Peeking Out
  • As son as it got dark, the core of the Milky Way galaxy was centered directly behind Devils Tower.
    Galactic Monolith
  • Thin clouds caused a large halo to appear around the planet Jupiter. It reminded me of the movie, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," which was filmed at Devil's Tower.
    Close Encounter
  • Clouds blocked much of the milky way over Devil's Tower on this chilly April night. This view is from Joyner Ridge Road.
    Joyner Ridge Road
  • Devils Tower glows in the early morning light in between tree branches after a fresh snowfall.
    Framed By Branches
  • The Belle Fourche River flows beneath Devils Tower after a fresh snowfall.
    Frozen Belle Fourche
  • 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
  • I spent the night at one of my favorite places: Diamond Butte fire lookout in southeast Montana. Once my wheels left the pavement, I drove for 100 miles without seeing another human. Open range cattle, pronghorn antelope, deer, and elk seemed to outnumber people 1,000 to 1. Here in the middle of nowhere are some of the darkest skies you'll ever see. 360° of sparkling stars over the rolling hills and grasslands makes it hard to get any sleep. After the moon set at 1AM I waited for the milky way to get into position. At 3:30 the core of the galaxy containing nebulae, dust clouds, and star clusters moved above the tower. Also visible is the bright planet Jupiter, in the middle of the Dark Horse Nebula.
    Looking Out
  • Diamond Butte Fire Lookout Tower overlooks the Custer National Forest and grassland in southeast Montana. It's the only fire lookout in the eastern part of the state that's publicly accessible and available for overnight rental.
    Diamond Butte Road Cloudy
  • Below the stairs leading up to the Summit Peak lookout tower was this forest. Fog would quickly move in and then recede again.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 10/3/14
    Foggy Forest
  • This was my second time staying the night at the Diamond Butte fire lookout tower. Last month I was locked out and had to sleep on the deck, but I was glad to be able to sleep inside this time since a storm was moving in. There was no running water or electricity, but it had a propane heater, stove, and lights.
    Light in the Dark
  • Diamond Butte Fire Lookout Tower overlooks the Custer National Forest and grassland in southeast Montana. It's the only fire lookout in the eastern part of the state that's publicly accessible and available for overnight rental.
    Diamond Butte Road Sunny
  • Standing at 4,808 m (15,774 ft) high, Mont Blanc is the highest point in Western Europe. Dozens of glaciers encircle the massif, with their ice covering a total area of 170 km² (42 mi²). The peak with the tower on the upper right is Aiguille du Midi, which is accessible by a cable car.
    Mont Blanc
  • From Tower Fall there is a short but steep trail down to the edge of the Yellowstone River. It was a little slippery with the snow but it wasn't too bad.
    Yellowstone Riverbank
  • The High Park Lookout is 1 of 3 fire lookout towers in the Bighorn Mountains. I snowshoed up here to watch the sunset and the rise of the full moon.
    Boarded Up
  • When the lightning rod at the top of Black Mountain started buzzing, I knew I had to descend to escape the lightning danger. But I'm glad I returned afterwards, because the  sunset was incredible. Mammatus filled the sky as the storm cleared and it took on an orange color as the sun lowered. All the smoke in the air added to the surreal atmosphere. The fire lookout structure was recently closed to the public because it's fallen into disrepair.
    Lookout Above
  • With winds blowing over 40 mph, it was not the most pleasant evening for a hike. At first it was sunny, but the weather changed quickly as a cold front blew through. A fiery orange glow appeared at sunset while rain showers moved in over the mountains. I was standing on top of Lodge Trail Ridge, a mile high vantage point overlooking the small town of Story to the west. There's a lot of history here, as this ridge sits in between Fort Kearney and the Fetterman Battlefield. The fort was established to protect travelers of the Bozeman Trail, an offshoot of the Oregon Trail which passed through Indian land. Tensions culminated in 1866 in an ambush led by Crazy Horse that killed 81 soldiers. It was the US Army's worst defeat in the West until the Battle of Little Bighorn 10 years later.
    Cold Front Sunset
  • Clouds drift past the medieval village of Conflans in Albertville, France, as a storm clears.
    Conflans Fog
  • Right after I arrived at the Diamond Butte Fire Lookout this stunning sunset filled the entire sky.
    Lookout Window Sunset
  • Stars rise above Black Mountain on a cold winter night.
    Black Night
  • The last light of the day covers Black Mountain in a golden glow. I was wishing I was up there for the sunset, but I had to settle for this view from below near my campsite. I would climb the mountain the next morning.
    Black Mountain Glow
  • This severe thunderstorm developed rapidly east of Sheridan. Usually lightning is very difficult to capture during the day. But it was frequent enough that my camera captured 3 bolts in the time lapse.
    Dusty Strike
  • I never expected to find this lighthouse in Banner Marsh State Wildlife Area. It is about 60 feet tall. I took a peek inside, and I heard a fluttering sound. I was expecting to see bats, but instead saw dozens of barn swallow nests, with each of the birds staring at me. I'm sure they were wondering who this strange visitor was at 3am. The inside was split into several sections, and there were ladders going up and down. In this shot, I was standing off to the left and illuminated the structure at an angle with my headlamp.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: June 6, 2014
    Banner Lighthouse
  • The lookout at the top of Cougar Peak, Montana, is lit up from the flames of a small fire. The stars of the northern milky way shine in the background.
    Cougar Peak Lookout
  • The courthouse towers are a large rock formation in the middle of Arches National Park. The three spires on the right are known as the "Three Gossips". The early morning light gave the scene more depth and even brighter colors.
    Courthouse Towers
  • Early morning sunlight shines on the Courthouse Towers in Arches National Park.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 11/8/2013
    Courthouse Towers
  • For the Geminid meteor shower I snowshoed to the top of the continental divide in Western Montana. From the Granite Butte lookout tower, the views were stunning in every direction. The weather changed by the second alternating between snow showers, gale force winds, freezing fog with zero visibility, clear skies, and brief moments of calm. The tough whitebark pine trees which grow up here are all permanently bent. They point eastward from the prevailing westerly winds which almost never stop. The low temperatures, strong winds, and fog combined to create hard rime ice, which covered every surface (including me and my camera) with a coating up to 2 inches thick. To say that shooting conditions were challenging would be an understatement. My tripod had to be carefully propped up to avoid it blowing over. And with all my batteries dying too soon, I didn't get to take as many pictures as I wanted to. This was one of the brighter meteors which shone through the fog. The lights on the right are from the city of Helena.
    Through the Freezing Fog
  • The view was amazing from the High Park lookout tower shortly before sunset. This is the view looking north. Meadowlark Lake can be seen on the left. Bighorn Peak and Loaf Mountain are the prominent peaks on the right.
    North of High Park
  • Early morning crepuscular rays illuminate the Black Hills and the Great Plains beyond. This was the view from the Rankin Ridge lookout tower.
    Wind Cave Sunrise
  • The Teton Mountains tower in the distance while rafters make their way down the Snake River.
    Snake River Rafters
  • While hiking to Tower Fall in Yellowstone National Park last winter I came across this bison bull grazing above the trail. I slowly made my way past while watching for any signs of aggression. At one point I could see his breath as he exhaled into the cold air and I had my camera ready. Bison are the biggest land mammals found in North America, with bulls weighing up to 1 ton. They typically live for 12 to 15 years. But it's always a struggle to survive the harsh Wyoming winters, with up to 40% of calves succumbing before their their first year. They will forage for grass wherever the snow cover is thinner such as thermal areas or on steep hillsides as this bull was doing. If the snow is too deep, the hump on their back enables them to pivot their head from side to side, sweeping away snow like a plow. Yellowstone is the only place in the United States where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. Their population dwindled to just two dozen in the early 1900's, but they now number at close to 5,000 animals.
    Bison Breath
  • Orion shines above the High Park meadow as seen from the lookout tower on a cold January night.
    Orion and Snowy Cliff
  • The milky way was shining brilliantly on the morning of summer solstice, the shortest night of the year. Thin clouds were making haloes around the brighter stars and the planet Saturn. A long exposure revealed colors invisible to the human eye, including green airglow and purple nebulae. There wasn't a meteor shower going on, but I captured this bright random meteor in one of the time lapse frames. On any given night there are an average of 6 sporadic meteors per hour visible under a dark sky. The skies here were very dark, with amazing views of the Bighorn Mountains in every direction. This was taken from a fire lookout tower on the 9,500' summit of Black Mountain.
    Solstice Meteor
  • The High Park fire lookout tower at almost 9,500 feet was the perfect place to watch the April full moon rising. It was a location I scouted out in advance on Google Earth, when I was looking for an ideal foreground to the east. The two peaks are Hesse Mountain on the left and Hazelton Pyramid on the right. If you look closely to the upper right of the moon the planet Jupiter can be seen. Winter is far from over here in the high country. The 3 feet of snow made it a challenge to find a route to the summit since I had never climbed this peak before. But it was much easier on the way down since I could simply follow my snowshoe tracks and the bright moonlight meant I didn't even need a headlamp.
    April Moonrise
  • This is the view from the edge of the road near Tower Fall. If I slipped here I probably wouldn't stop until I got down to the river.
    Basalt Canyon Wall
  • The Squaw Mountain Fire Lookout Tower is just 25 miles west of Denver and has a great view of the city lights coming on. The fog and clouds quickly cleared out as it got darker.
    Denver At Twilight
  • For the Geminid meteor shower I snowshoed to the top of the continental divide in Western Montana. From the Granite Butte lookout tower, the views were stunning in every direction. The weather changed by the second alternating between snow showers, gale force winds, freezing fog with zero visibility, clear skies, and brief moments of calm. The tough whitebark pine trees which grow up here are all permanently bent. They point eastward from the prevailing westerly winds which almost never stop. The low temperatures, strong winds, and fog combined to create hard rime ice, which covered every surface (including me and my camera) with a coating up to 2 inches thick. To say that shooting conditions were challenging would be an understatement. My tripod had to be carefully propped up to avoid it blowing over. And with all my batteries dying too soon, I didn't get to take as many pictures as I wanted to. But this was one of the brighter meteors captured, flying in between Orion and Sirius.
    Catching a Gem
  • The morning dawned bright and clear on top of Granite Butte. The sun doesn't make it above the horizon until after 8AM this time of year. When I arrived on the summit the evening before, visibility was limited to 50 feet. But now the freezing fog had settled into the valleys, trapped below an inversion layer. Underneath that fog is Montana's capital city of Helena. Between shooting meteors all night and keeping the wood burning stove going, I didn't get much sleep. But a sunrise like this makes it easy to wake up. The weather can be extremely harsh up here. It was at a pass 16 miles away where the coldest temperature in the US (outside of Alaska) was once measured at -70°F. While it wasn't quite that cold on this morning, I was still glad to have a fire lookout tower to stay in and escape from the nearly incessant wind.
    8:09 Sunrise
  • The Pinnacle Buttes tower 3,000 feet above the surrounding forest. The mountain is part of the Absaroka Range, just below Togwotee Pass east of the continental divide.
    Pinnacle Buttes
  • I'm still in shock that my camera captured this. Most of the small storm had moved off to the east behind me and I thought the show was over. This was literally going to be my last shot before packing it up, and if it happened 2 seconds later, I would have missed it. The bright light behind the cloud is the first quarter moon. All the other white specks are raindrops, frozen in mid-air by the brilliant flash. The raw power dwarfed everything around and it took awhile for my eyes (and ears) to recover. I'm still not sure what was struck, but one of the forks looks like it connects with the short tower on the hill. I've tried before and failed to capture lightning from this vantage point overlooking Sheridan. But when I heard a thunderstorm rolling out of the mountains shortly before midnight, this is where I went. The covered deck at the rest area offered a little protection and helped keep the rain off of my lens.
    A Flash of Brilliance
  • The San Gabriel Mountains tower 10,000 feet above Los Angeles. This is the view from just below the summit of Mount Baldy. Normally in February deep snow would cover the peaks. But warm temperatures and a drought meant only a small amount of snow remained on north-facing slopes. Down in the valley the blue skies were obscured by smog. But up here the air was clear and clean. This was a challenging 11 mile hike but the views were well worth it.
    Above the Desert
  • Every summer I try to climb at least one big mountain, and this time it was Darton Peak. It's one of the highest peaks in the Bighorns, and is very prominent from Highway 16 far below. With a goal of standing on the summit at sunrise, that meant a 3:30AM wake up time. But the bright moonlight helped illuminate my route as the stars faded out. The wind chill up here was in the lower 20's and fresh snow lingered from a couple days earlier despite it being August. Darton is typical of other peaks in the Bighorns and is covered with car-sized boulders. With towering cliffs on 2 sides, the long and rounded peak requires a 16 mile roundtrip hike, but I was able to camp at Lost Twin Lakes the night before. At an elevation of 12,275 feet, the air is only 63% of what it is at sea level. There's always something beautiful about the way the the light appears at high altitudes at the edge of day. It's amazing how the colors can seem both soft and intense at the same time.This view is looking south towards Bighorn Peak.
    Bighorn From Darton
  • This picturesque church sits at the edge of Esterbrook, Wyoming. The tiny community with a population of 52 is only reachable by dirt road. Towering in the background is Laramie Peak, scarred by a wildfire from 5 years ago. The 10,276' high peak was a well known landmark on the Oregon Trail. It could be seen from up to 100 miles away, which was about 1 week's travel. From the summit on a clear day you can see all the way into South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado. The far-reaching views made it the perfect place to watch the solar eclipse when I returned 2 months later.
    Church of Esterbrook
  • Abiathar Peak towers above the Lamar Valley in the northeast corner of Yellowstone, while 4 bison graze below.
    Abiathar and Bison
  • 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
  • The Open Door towers above Granite Creek shortly after sunrise in the Gros Ventre Mountains.
    Granite Creek Morning
  • The 3,824m (12,545 ft)  Aiguille du Chardonnet Argentière towers above the Argentière Glacier. Part of the Mont Blanc Massif, the glacier is 9km long.
    Aiguille du Chardonnet
  • The Bighorns contain quite a few deep canyons with towering cliffs like this one. I've driven past this canyon near Lovell before but had never stopped and explored it. I knew based on the name alone that there would be lots of color this time of year. Cottonwood trees grow next to creeks and rivers in otherwise dry areas, and turn a brilliant gold in the fall. They get their name from the cotton-like fibers that are shed in the spring. The fibers contain the seed which gets spread in the wind, and can look like snow at times. In the distance the Bighorn River can be seen, with another stripe of golden cottonwoods beyond.
    Cottonwood Canyon Colors
  • Grindelwald is a small village in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland. It's hard to take a bad picture here with towering snow-capped peaks, grassy pastures, and rustic barns everywhere.
    Grindelwald Barn
  • 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
  • Nearly 2 miles high in the Cloud Peak Wilderness is a place called Highland Park. Ever since someone told me about it last fall I've been wanting to visit. But it is not easy to reach. The trailhead starts at the end of a long and rough dirt road. After hiking 7 miles, deep snow drifts covered the last mile of trail. With lots of post-holing, my shoes were soon soaked through. But it was worth the effort to get here. The highest peaks of the Bighorn Mountains towered to to the south providing an incredible panoramic view. From left to right is Penrose Peak, Sawtooth Ridge, Mount Woolsey, and Blacktooth Mountain. With over 50 elk grazing in the meadow below I opted to setup camp a little higher instead. Other than the sound of a distant waterfall and the occasional elk call, it was perfectly silent. This was the view of the alpenglow at sunrise the next morning.
    Highland Park Sunrise
  • Windmills and water towers are common sights in Nebraska and I had to capture this rainbow over both of them.
    Bridgeport Nebraska
  • This meadow with towering cliffs behind it is 2.5 miles in to the Penrose Trail. The pinnacles reminded me of those in the Black Hills.
    Penrose Cliffs
  • The first light of the last day of 2016 touches Grand Teton while clouds swirl around Mount Owen. This mountain is nothing short of grand. It towers 13,775 feet above sea level, just shy of Wyoming's highest peak. From the moment the Tetons first come into view while driving through the valley, I find it hard to look away. These dramatic, sawtooth-shaped mountains are spectacular any time of the year, but especially so in winter. The summit is flanked on both sides by 2 glaciers.
    Grand Opening
  • 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
  • As my alarm dinged at 4AM I didn't know what I'd see when I peeked outside my tent. The chances were about 50/50 whether it would be too cloudy to see the lunar eclipse. But to my delight the sky was clear. Right on schedule, the moon was entering Earth's shadow - called the umbra. The left half was dark while the right half was still brightly lit. As the moon sunk lower, the shadow deepened and took on the characteristic reddish color. While the middle of the US never got to see the moon in totality before setting, it was close enough. <br />
Chimney Rock is perhaps the most well-known landmark in Nebraska and on the Oregon Trail. The towering rock spire was seen by half a million migrants who passed by with wagon trains in the 1800's. It was visible from up to 30 miles away , which is a 2 day's journey. Back then it may have been up to 10% taller than it is today.
    Chimney Rock Moon
  • The Snowy Range, located in southern Wyoming, packs a lot of alpine scenery into a small area. The 2nd highest road in Wyoming makes this place easily accessible and you don't have to hike far to see some of the best views. Towering granite peaks, sparkling lakes, leftover snowdrifts, and hillsides carpeted with wildflowers all add to the beauty. I was perhaps slightly late in capturing the peak of the wildflower bloom, but I found this colorful patch of fireweed above Lookout Lake. I returned early the next morning to capture this scene under better lighting conditions. But the sunrise was a bit of a dud and this ended up being the better shot.
    Wildflowers of the Snowies
  • It was a cloudy morning at Scottsbluff National Monument. Towering 800 feet above the river valley, Scottsbluff is one of the most well known landmarks on the Oregon Trail.
    Descending Scottsbluff
  • Lost Valley in Arkansas is full of wonders such as towering cliffs, massive boulders, caves, and, waterfalls. This picture was taken inside a natural bridge, looking out at the colorful forest. During the dry season Clark Creek flows underground. The water comes to the surface at the other side of this natural bridge. It flows through and then ends in this pool where it seeps back under the earth. Even though it was raining quite a bit on this evening it didn't make the creek rise any higher.
    Under the Bridge
  • There's nothing quite like spending the night on top of a mountain. High above any haze and light pollution, the air up here is extra clear. Stars stretch from horizon to horizon. Their slow and steady movement is interrupted by the quick flashes of meteors and satellites. This time of year the milky way is up completely by the time it gets dark. Normally camping on a peak is not an option since it's too exposed to the wind and storms, plus the ground is too rocky and sloped to set up a tent. That's why I like to stay in fire lookout towers when possible. This particular one (Sheep Mountain in the Bighorns) is very popular and has to be reserved months in advance. The accommodations may be rustic but I prefer this to any hotel. You simply can't beat the views.
    Night on the Summit
  • 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
  • The updraft of a supercell thunderstorm towers above a lone tree near Lingle, Wyoming.
    The Inner Workings
  • 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
  • American Alps. With countless towering peaks, alpine lakes, verdant meadows, and waterfalls, there are a lot of similarities. The mountains aren't as high, but it's more wild than the European Alps, since the majority of this rarely visited national park in northern Washington is pure wilderness. 312, or 1/3 of all the glaciers in the lower US are found within it's borders, although many of them are shrinking. While passing through in August I only had enough time for one hike. So I climbed a ridge up and around Ann Lake, which is a small, round tarn with it's own island. Sunlight began to disappear as a storm was moving in. But I should have expected to get wet, the trail started from Rainy Pass.
    Ann Lake Wildflowers
  • In a cirque at 10,000 feet in the Cloud Peak Wilderness during the middle of summer, it's pretty much paradise. There are no trails here, visitors must navigate their own route on steep boulder fields. Not knowing exactly what to expect is what makes it an adventure. At this elevation it never gets hot and some snowfields stay year round. Waterfalls and wildflowers abound under towering granite walls. 9 named lakes fill this high valley, plus countless unnamed tarns like this one. Each lake is different. One of them was still partially frozen, another had islands, and one a sandy beach perfect for swimming. It's the only place I've ever caught a fish with my bare hands. This was the easiest of the 3 creeks I waded through that day. The puffy cumulus clouds were a precursor to the thunderstorms that pop up most summer afternoons. Up here above treeline it's very exposed to the weather. I made it down to the protection of the forest before the first rumbles of thunder, but didn't escape getting rained on.
    Frozen Lake Falls