Kevin Palmer

  • Portfolio
  • Time Lapse
  • About
  • Archive
    • All Galleries
    • Search
    • Cart
    • Lightbox
    • Client Area
  • Links
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
x

Search Results

Refine Search
Match all words
Match any word
Prints
Personal Use
Royalty-Free
Rights-Managed
(leave unchecked to
search all images)
Prev Next
302 images found
twitterlinkedinfacebook

Loading ()...

  • It's hard to choose where to watch the sunset at the Grand Canyon. I started hiking the Rim Trail and ended up at Hopi Point.
    Grand Canyon Last Light
  • After hearing coyotes howling around me the previous evening, I was glad to see this one in the daylight. He was hunting for mice in this field at the edge of Grasslands National Park. Canadian coyotes are apparently much bigger than those further south. Since there was no one around I was able to back up my car and track along with the coyote and he barely noticed me.
    On The Prowl
  • The North Tongue River flows between snow-covered boulders near Burgess Junction.
    Downstream
  • On my way back from Yellowstone, I stopped at Four Dances Recreation Area, to shoot the sunset. Here cliffs rise up to 500 feet above the Yellowstone River. The best view is looking south, away from Billings.
    Four Dances Cliff
  • The Circle Park loop trail west of Buffalo, Wyoming, passes by over a dozen named and unnamed lakes. I chose to camp at Old Crow Lake because it had a great view of the 12,324 foot high Bighorn Peak 3 miles away. At sunrise the peak took on a soft pink glow which was reflected in the outlet of the lake.
    Bighorn Peak Dawn
  • Inspiration Point is located in the Larue-Pine Hills in the far southern part of the state. Below the cliffs lies a marshy area that is part of the Mississippi River floodplain. In the distance the river itself can be seen, along with the hills of Missouri. The view can look different depending on the time of year and the water level. Even though the weather had been quite dry, a thunderstorm had just passed through a few hours earlier. The storm cleared the hazy air and seemed to make the colors even more vivid. Evening is the best time to visit this viewpoint as you can watch the sun set to the west and light up the cliffs and the wetlands below with a golden glow.<br />
Date Taken: July 23, 2014
    Inspiration Point Panorama
  • Two horses graze in a field in Grand Teton National Park. The dramatic and jagged Grand Tetons rise over 7,000 feet above the Snake River Valley.
    Morning Graze
  • After clouds moved in and hid the views from the summit of Store Malene (Ukkusissat), I started heading down. Halfway down I came across this ice pattern when the sun came back out.
    Mountainside Ice
  • From my campsite next to Upper Crater Lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness I had an amazing view in both directions. This is looking down at Lower Crater Lake shorty after sunrise.
    Overlooking Crater Lake
  • After being enveloped in thick fog all day, I got my first glimpse of Mount Baker from my campsite on Park Butte. The evening light was amazing on the glaciated summit. This volcanic mountain is one of the snowiest places in the world. The ski area on the northeast side once measured 95 feet of snowfall in a single season.
    Glaciated Summit
  • I stood on top of a peak in the Big Hole Mountains of Idaho after snowshoeing up. At first I was disappointed by all the clouds hiding the Tetons from view and making the light flat (the forecast called for sunny and clear). But then the clouds began to break up in the west and golden sunbeams (also known as crepuscular rays) danced across the ridges.
    Light Breaking Forth
  • On my last night in the Arctic I was treated to a colorful sunset with alpenglow on the mountain Vassitjåkka. I was glad I had to drive back to Riksgransen to return my skis, it was all cloudy in Abisko where I was staying.
    Vassitjåkka
  • 200km north of the Arctic Circle at the top of Sweden, is the small village of Riksgränsen. The name translates to national border, since it is right next to Norway. It holds the claim of being the northernmost ski resort in the world. This was taken in March, but even at the end of June it remains open, and is one of few places where it’s possible to ski under the midnight sun. For most of the last century this area was accessible only by rail until Highway E10 was completed in the 1980’s. It was my last night in the Arctic and I had to come back here to return some skis. But I was glad I did since it was completely cloudy further east where I was staying. It seemed like this mountain (named Vassitjåkka) was keeping the clouds dammed up behind it. But the front of the peak glowed vividly for quite awhile as the sun went down and a bitter wind blew.
    Alpenglow Above Katterjåkk
  • It was a colorful sunrise a the Terry Badlands. Scattered clouds lit up in every direction. The clouds also kept the morning cool before another very hot day.
    Terry Badlands Sunrise
  • At nearly 2 miles above sea level in the Cloud Peak Wilderness, there is not much soil to be found, it is mostly rock. But the wildflowers grow wherever they can in between boulders.
    Growing Between Boulders
  • Pronghorn antelope are a common sight out on the grasslands. It's been said that they outnumber people in Wyoming. But I've always found them challenging to photograph. They are easily startled with their large eyes allowing them to see 320° around. Once they take off they are hard to keep up with, even in a car. Pronghorn can run at speeds of up to 60 mph. The only land animal in the world that's faster is the cheetah, but only in short bursts. Pronghorn are better at sustaining high speeds for long distances. While both males and females grow horns, they are also the only animal that shed their horns annually. I took advantage of the nice evening light and kept searching until I came across this young family near the side of a road.
    Family of 5
  • 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
  • For most of the evening the sun hid behind clouds. But finally just before sunset, golden sunbeams emerged and flooded the canyon with light. I shot the sunset from Desert View, on the east side of the South Rim.
    Golden Ridges
  • I've been to the Devil Canyon Overlook many times, but this time I wanted to get a different perspective from higher up. This view shows how precarious the overlook is, it's not a good idea to go beyond the railing. It also shows why Bighorn Canyon is one of my favorite places: it's almost always empty.
    Above Devil Canyon
  • The warm sunlit cliffs of Tongue River Canyon contrasted with the cold river ice. It was a beautiful afternoon for a hike.
    Reflected Gold
  • I found these horses on the side of a random road in Iceland. The mother was very friendly, walking up to the fence so I could pet her. But the young foal was more shy.
    Mud on the Ears
  • After walking up the F570 road, I came to this view of the Snæfellsjökull glacier.  I knew I had to find a way down to the ice.
    Tongue of the Glacier
  • It would have been too dangerous to stay on the summit of Kirkjufell for the sunset, and descend in the dark. So instead I shot the sunset from half way down, past the steepest part with the ropes. The view was almost as good anyway.
    Sunset From Kirkjufell
  • This is the view looking east from the Tête aux Chamois cable car station. Schluchhorn is the mountain on the right.
    Schluchhorn
  • A moose calf crosses Highway 14A while cars approach.
    Following Calf
  • The view of Blacktooth Mountain and Mount Woolsey was stunning from Highland Park. There was still plenty of snow up here on the last day of June, with fresh snowfall the night before.
    Blacktooth and Woolsey Alpenglow
  • The hills were blooming with sawtooth sunflowers and lupine in late May along the Penrose Trail above Story.
    Hillside Bloom
  • Rain was falling from the clouds, but it evaporated into the dry air before reaching the ground. This is known as virga. The views were dramatic from the McCullough Peaks Badlands, especially when the sun came out and contrasted with the dark clouds.In the distance the snow capped Bighorn Mountains can be seen.
    Virga and Badlands
  • 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
  • Blacktooth Mountain and Cloud Peak glow in the light of sunset on a windy evening. This view is from Soldier Ridge west of Sheridan and in the valley below is the small ranching community of Beckton.
    Bighorn Mountain Majesty
  • It was a beautiful day to be in the Bighorn Mountains. Fresh snow had fallen the night before and the clouds cleared out before daybreak leaving sunny blue skies.
    Snowy Meadow Stream
  • 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
  • While snowshoeing in the Tetons I ended up following a trail that wasn't on the map, but it seemed more obvious than the main trail. As I approached the Taggart Lake Trailhead I was glad I was going down this steep hill and not up.
    Uphill Trudge
  • The first light of the day illuminates the Borrego Badlands while the moon sets in the west. This is looking towards Borrego Springs from Font's Point.
    Fonts Point Morning
  • Most of the ocotillo plants in Anza Borrego had already lost their flowers. But I found this one on Coyote Mountain just as the sun was rising.
    Ocotillo First Light
  • Death Valley in California is a land of extremes. On my last morning there I shot the sunrise from Dante's View. From this incredible viewpoint Badwater Basin can be seen, which at 282 feet below sea level is the lowest place in North America. The basin is also consistently the hottest place on Earth. High's in the 120's and lows in the 90's are not uncommon here in the summer. Even in November it was 95°F while I was here. The average annual rainfall is less than 2 inches. In the distance beyond the extensive salt flats rises the Panamint Range up to the 11,049 feet high Telescope Peak. From valley to summit, only one other mountain in the continental US has a greater vertical rise (Mt. Rainier). The previous evening I shot the sunset from Badwater Basin, and the evening before that from the summit of Telescope Peak.
    Dante's View
  • The golden colors of sunset are reflected in the salt pool at Badwater Basin. At 282 feet below sea level, this is the lowest point in North America.
    The Lowest Sunset
  • Two hikers make their way up Mosaic Canyon near Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park.
    Mosaic Canyon
  • On October 21st, Northern Wyoming received it's first snowfall of the season that made it down to the valleys. After the storm cleared out overnight, the temperature plummeted. It was about 10°F up here at 6500 feet in the Bighorn Mountains. I made it to one of my favorite views, the Sand Turn Overlook just as the sun was peeking over the horizon. I was glad to find this tree still showing it's fall foliage, illustrating the clash of two seasons.
    Winter in October
  • Golden cottonwood trees glow under the badlands of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
    North Dakota Gold
  • A spire rises above the grassland along the Castle Trail in Badlands National Park.
    Badlands Spire
  • The first light of sunrise paints the top of the badlands with a brilliant orange glow. Located in western South Dakota on the edge of the Great Plains, this harsh landscape is home to bison, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs, and other wildlife. By definition badlands are semiarid regions with sparse vegetation that experience high rates of erosion. Even though there are other places in the western US and throughout the world known as badlands, the term originated here in Badlands National Park. This is a special place, but unfortunately the person who decided to use it as a landfill didn't think so. When I peered into this steep ravine I spotted a couch that someone had rolled to the bottom.
    Badlands First Light
  • A rainbow appears in front of a small rain shower over Montana's Tongue River Reservoir.
    Tongue Reservoir Rainbow
  • I was in Joshua Tree National Park when monsoon thunderstorms passed by throughout the night keeping me awake. Just before sunrise it started raining. With thick clouds above I was not expecting a very colorful sunrise. But then this happened. The rising sun highlighted the wisps of rain as they fell into the dry air. The clouds cast an orange glow across the desert floor as flashes of lightning streaked across the sky. And a minute later a spectacular rainbow appeared behind me. This entire light show only lasted a few minutes so I had to rush to capture it all. It was the most awe-inspiring sunrise I've ever seen and my pictures could hardly do it justice.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: August 20, 2014
    Raining Fire
  • Keys View in Joshua Tree National Park is a great place to watch a sunset. You can see 5,000 feet below to the Palm Springs area, the Salton Sea, and the San Andreas Fault.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: August 19, 2014
    Keys View
  • These little lenticular clouds repeatedly formed over the same area as seen from Keys View. Lenticular clouds form when strong winds encounter a mountain range. The air is forced upward where it condenses into a cloud. These strange disc-shaped clouds form often in the California desert.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: August 19, 2014
    Little Lenticulars
  • This is one of many amazing views you'll see when driving Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park.. If you look closely under the glacier you can see Bird Woman Falls which drops 560 feet. It has a much higher flow in the spring and is a lot harder to see in the fall.
    Crown of the Continent
  • As the sun rose behind me, the nearly full moon set in front of me. This panorama was shot at the Snake River overlook in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Ansel Adams took one of his most popular photos at this same spot.
    Teton Moon
  • In front of me was a rainbow, lightning to the left, a colorful sunset behind me, and to my right were baby bighorn sheep prancing around. When the downpour ended and the sun came out, it was an overwhelming few minutes and I didn’t know where to point my camera. I was just lucky to be at this overlook in Badlands National Park. When the storm was closing in I made a bad decision to turn down a very muddy road. But somehow my car made it back out after spinning the wheels for 5 minutes. My last 2 visits to this South Dakota national park were both very short and involved waiting out heavy thunderstorms, which isn't all that enjoyable in a tent. One of these days I'll return when the weather is actually nice. But bad weather makes for the best pictures.
    End of the Storm
  • In Medicine Rocks State Park, sandstone bluffs rise out of the prairie, formed into all kinds of interesting shapes by the wind.
    Prairie Monolith
  • Kirkjufell is said to be the most photographed and one of the most beautiful mountains in Iceland. But not many people get to see the view from the top. The trail going up was the steepest and most exposed hike I've ever done. A system of knotted ropes must be used to make it up some of the cliffs. Once at the summit, the evening sun broke through, and low clouds floated past. The view was breathtaking.
    Kirkjufell Glow
  • Clouds covered the sky when the sun first rose. But after a little while the sun began to break through and light up the forest around the Clark's Fork River outside of Yellowstone.
    Clark's Fork Rapids
  • Laramie Peak is the first mountain I saw when I moved to Wyoming and ever since then I've wanted to climb it. The views were amazing from the 10,276' summit, with 4 different states visible. It was mostly cloudy while I was up there, but the clouds began to break before I left at noon.
    Laramie Peak West
  • Buck Mountain in the Tetons glows in the early morning light as seen from the Glacier View turnout.
    Buck Mountain
  • Golden cottonwood trees line the banks of the Little Missouri River in the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
    River Bend Autumn
  • The rainbow was contrasting strongly with the dark storm clouds and sunlit rocks. But seconds later, it faded away as the sun went behind the clouds.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: August 20, 2014
    Sunlit Rainbow
  • Frosty Sunlight
  • Morning sunlight illuminates an unnamed peak in Montana's Beartooth Mountains. This was the view I woke up to while camping in the East Rosebud Valley in Early May. In this mountain range are found dozens of glaciers, and the largest high elevation plateau in the US outside of Alaska. In the upper reaches of these steep slopes avalanche activity was high. A cornice, which is an overhang of snow caused by strong winds, can be seen on the upper right. Overnight the snow solidified as the temperatures cooled. But once the sunlight touched the snow and temperatures warmed, the snow became unstable and gave way. In my 10 mile hike through the wilderness I witnessed about 20 avalanches, most of them small. Sometimes I would hear them before I saw them, with the noise sounding like distant thunder. See below for a picture of one.
    Beartooth Mountain Majesty
  • You can feel the remoteness out here. For miles around, there is not a tree in sight, only sagebrush. Water is scarce in this high-elevation cold desert. The sparkling mountains that seem so close on every horizon are actually some distance away. But the horses love this place, where they have 120,000 acres to themselves. Numbering about 180, the McCullough Peaks Mustangs are 1 of 2 wild horse herds living in northern Wyoming. There is a certain amount of luck involved in getting to see them up close, especially during winter. The first spot where I’ve seen them in the past was empty. After locating the first band, a large drift over the road prevented me from getting any closer. If it’s not snow making the two-tracks impassable, it’s often mud. But after continuing on, I finally found this band of 30 horses and was able to approach them. This cream-colored horse was my favorite because of the way its coat shimmered in the bright sunlight.
    Between Drifts
  • I spotted this icefall while driving through Ten Sleep Canyon. The north-facing side of the canyon does not see any sunlight all winter.
    Ten Sleep Icefall
  • Golden sunlight illuminates the Buffalo River valley. I really loved this view. I chose a nearby campsite so I would be able to watch the sunset, the night sky, and the sunrise from this ledge on the Goat Trail.
    Illuminated Valley
  • The last hour of hiking had been pure misery. Head down, one foot in front of the other, wondering if I’d ever dry out. Rain jackets, pack covers, waterproof boots all have their limits. Unless the rain is light or brief, eventually water will soak through. Hiding under a boulder did not work as the wind changed direction. The views I had enjoyed on my way up to the Grinnell Glacier had vanished, and the trail was now a stream. But suddenly the light began to brighten behind me. Sunlight made its way across the turquoise lake and spilled across the landscape. I hurried to get around a bend in the trail to prepare for the inevitable. It was one of the brightest rainbows I’ve ever seen. This type of rainbow is really only possible in the mountains. Since the height of the sun was still over 42°, the rainbow was below the horizon. But because I was at a higher elevation looking down the valley, it was visible. This was the only longer trail I had time for during a brief visit to Glacier National Park. Sometimes it’s the miserable hikes that are most memorable.
    Grinnell Valley Rainbow
  • The temperature was somewhere around 10 to 15 degrees below zero when I went for a hike besides Piney Creek in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains near Story. There were all kinds of interesting ice formations along the edge of the creek. Delicate frost feathers had formed on top of the clear layers of ice and all the boulders were simply lumps of snow. The water flows fast enough that I didn't see any parts of the creek that were frozen over completely. Standing above snowy trees at the entrance to the canyon is this colorful stained cliff. It doesn't see any sunlight until late afternoon.
    Piney Creek Cliff
  • A winter sunset in the Bighorn Mountains was followed by a thin crescent moon, only 3% illuminated. The rest of the lunar surface was lit up by Earthshine, which is sunlight reflected off of Earth back onto the moon.
    3% Moon
  • My 9-hour flight home was one of the most scenic I’ve ever been on. Taking off from Helsinki at sunset, we chased the sun westward. Meanwhile the full moon emerged to the east and followed the plane. In a state of perpetual twilight, the light remained the same for hours. The moon neither rose nor set and it felt like time was standing still. At the top of the world, just 250 miles from the North Pole, the scene was most striking. 7 miles below was Northeast Greenland National Park, the world’s largest national park. The ice sheet emptied out into the Arctic Ocean between pristine snowy mountains. Moonlight shimmered across fresh sea ice, fractured by undersea currents. The moon was directly in the middle of what’s called the anti-twilight arch. The pink band above is the layer of atmosphere where the sun was still shining, reddened by the backscattering of sunlight. The blue band is Earth’s shadow projected out into the atmosphere. In mid-October the sun sets for good in this part of the high Arctic, not to rise again for more than 4 months.
    When Time Stood Still
  • 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
  • At the end of September week an early season snowstorm swept through northern Wyoming, dropping up to 6 inches in the mountains and valleys. I spent a few hours in the Bighorn Mountains trying to capture the clash of seasons. The snowstorm coincided with the peak of fall colors, although some trees were already bare. Aspen trees are not as widespread in the Bighorns as they are in other parts of the Rockies, growing only in a few areas. Circle Park is one spot I knew I could find them. The trees in an aspen stand are actually clones of one another, all connected by an extensive underground root system. While an individual tree may only live 100 years, aspen groves as a whole are some of the oldest and largest living organisms on Earth. Aspens can survive wildfires much better than conifers, but they require more sunlight to grow.
    September Snow
  • At the end of September an early season snowstorm swept through northern Wyoming, dropping up to 6 inches in the mountains and valleys. I spent a few hours in the Bighorn Mountains trying to capture the clash of seasons. The snowstorm coincided with the peak of fall colors, although some trees were already bare. Aspen trees are not as widespread in the Bighorns as they are in other parts of the Rockies, growing only in a few areas. Circle Park is one spot I knew I could find them. The trees in an aspen stand are actually clones of one another, all connected by an extensive underground root system. While an individual tree may only live 100 years, aspen groves as a whole are some of the oldest and largest living organisms on Earth. Aspens can survive wildfires much better than conifers, but they require more sunlight to grow.
    White Fall Foliage
  • It’s a view I came across in early spring: a lone tree on top of a hill overlooking ranches, ponds, a canal, and the Bighorn Mountains. The milky way was the perfect backdrop when I returned to shoot it on a warm night in July. The green stripes in the sky are from a phenomenon called airglow. During the day sunlight ionizes oxygen atoms in the upper atmosphere, and their recombination at night emits a small amount of light. This chemical reaction occurs about 100km up at the same height as the aurora, which is caused by a different process. Ripples in the airglow come from gravity waves, which may originate from the jet stream or a particularly powerful thunderstorm complex. I often find airglow in my pictures anytime I’m shooting under a dark sky. But this night was the strongest I've ever seen it. The wave pattern was very apparent, although the color was undetectable to my eyes.
    Beckton Milky Way
  • After the storms passed off to the east, the anvil filled the entire sky with mammatus. A small clearing to the west allowed sunlight to shine through and illuminate the clouds. All the ingredients were there for an incredible sunset, so I went to Glendo Reservoir and waited. The colors did not disappoint.
    Glendo Lake Sunset
  • Evening sunlight illuminates the cliffs of Sayle Canyon beyond a grove of aspen trees.
    Aspen Bark
  • Evening sunlight shines on an unnamed peak near Bear Gulch in the Bighorn Mountains.
    Bear Gulch Sunset
  • This rippled sand is found near the campsite for Kelso Dunes. These dunes are among the tallest in the United States. When the conditions are just right, the dunes emit a low booming sound that sounds like thunder. The sunlight was only out for a few seconds, but it brought out the texture of the sand.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 1/31/14
    Rippled Dunes
  • The last hour of hiking had been pure misery. Head down, one foot in front of the other, wondering if I’d ever dry out. Rain jackets, pack covers, waterproof boots all have their limits. Unless the rain is light or brief, eventually water will soak through. Hiding under a boulder did not work as the wind changed direction. The views I had enjoyed on my way up to the Grinnell Glacier had vanished, and the trail was now a stream. But suddenly the light began to brighten behind me. Sunlight made its way across the turquoise lake and spilled across the landscape. I hurried to get around a bend in the trail to prepare for the inevitable. It was one of the brightest rainbows I’ve ever seen. This type of rainbow is really only possible in the mountains. Since the height of the sun was still over 42°, the rainbow was below the horizon. But because I was at a higher elevation looking down the valley, it was visible. This was the only longer trail I had time for during a brief visit to Glacier National Park. Sometimes it’s the miserable hikes that are most memorable.
    Under the Horizon
  • Large hail began to fall from this supercell north of Gillette, with rays of sunlight in the background.
    Suspended Hail Stones
  • The Big Snowy Mountains are one of several island ranges found in central Montana, rising straight out of the prairie. But unlike the surrounding mountains in a mostly dry climate, this one has it's own lake. Crystal Lake is interesting for several reasons. It is very shallow and fish do not survive the winter when it freezes solid. The lake bed is made of porous limestone. The water level reaches it's maximum depth in early summer when the snow finishes melting. But then it starts to drain. As I walked along the shore I noticed the water bubbling away in certain spots as it seeped through the ground. By early fall the lake is significantly smaller and in some years it's not much more than a puddle. The color of the water also changes quite a bit depending on the direction and intensity of the sunlight. I liked this turquoise color the best as seen from an overlook called Promontory Point. Next time I visit I want to check out the perennial ice cave which is located at the top of the 8,000' ridge in the distance.
    Turquoise Crystal
  • Waves crashed around my feet as I steadied my tripod and counted down until 8:04PM. That's when the International Space Station (ISS) was going to appear. It was a perfect pass, rising straight up over the horizon, before moving overhead and outshining everything else in the sky. The ISS orbits the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 250 miles with a speed of 17,000 mph. At a cost of over $150 billion, the ISS is the single most expensive item ever constructed. The space station has been continuously occupied for 19 years by astronauts, who get to experience 16 sunsets and sunrises a day. The ISS is easily visible from Earth when sunlight reflects off of it's massive solar panels. Finding a spot in Orange County, California, that's dark enough to see the milky way is not easy. But at this time of year it's possible to look southwest over the darkest part of the ocean, while the rest of the sky is filled with light pollution and few stars. It took the ISS about 5 minutes to pass through the sky. I combined the satellite trail from 9 images with a single image of the stars to make it clearer.
    Up From the Ocean
  • I was surprised to find this large grove of aspen trees on the 70 Mile Butte trail. There are very few trees in Grasslands National Park. The late evening sunlight intensified the color of the leaves.
    Prairie Aspen
  • Grand Teton glows in the early morning sunlight as seen from the Snake River Overlook. The Tetons are never more beautiful than at sunrise, especially in the winter.
    A Grand Morning
  • This was the view above Mistymoon Lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness on Friday night. After hiking past this spot on the first day of my backpacking trip, I knew I would have to pitch my tent here the second night. When storms rolled through around 6:30, I was beginning to doubt if there would be a good sunset. But then the sun broke through in the west. First the sunlight painted the lower slopes of Bomber Mountain a salmon hue, but then the colors intensified further. There's something magical about a sunset at 10,000 feet. The mountain got it's name after a B-17 bomber crashed there during World War II. The crash site wasn't found until after the war and the wreckage still remains today.
    Mistymoon Panorama
  • This was the view above Mistymoon Lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness on Friday night. After hiking past this spot on the first day of my backpacking trip, I knew I would have to pitch my tent here the second night. When storms rolled through around 6:30, I was beginning to doubt if there would be a good sunset. But then the sun broke through in the west. First the sunlight painted the lower slopes of Bomber Mountain a salmon hue, but then the colors intensified further. There's something magical about a sunset at 10,000 feet. The mountain got it's name after a B-17 bomber crashed there during World War II. The crash site wasn't found until after the war and the wreckage still remains today.
    Mistymoon Sunset
  • A narrow area of sunlight lights up Roark Bluff above the Steel Creek Campground. I went for a hike before sunrise, but there wasn't much color as a rain shower was about to move in.
    Above Steel Creek
  • Early morning sunlight lights up the cliffs in Canyonlands National Park. This view is from Dead Horse Point, looking south into the canyon formed by the Colorado River 2000 feet below. The juniper tree in the foreground is a tough plant that survives the dry heat and cold of the desert. It can take decades for it to grow to even this small size.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 11/6/2013
    Canyonlands Vista
  • Every day this peak is the last to see the sun in Southern California, and the first to see it rise. San Gorgonio Mountain stands 11,500' above the deserts and valleys. At this elevation the trees are stunted, and deep winter snows occasionally last through the summer. Growing up underneath it, climbing to the top has long been a goal of mine. But doing the long 19-mile trail as a dayhike would have put me on the summit during the worst time of day for photography. Camping at the top instead let me experience sunset, the stars, and sunrise. But it came at a cost of having to carry a much heavier pack more than a vertical mile upward.<br />
One of the best parts of being on a summit at the edge of day is watching the shadow of the mountain. This shadow is almost always triangular, regardless of the shape of the peak. A perspective effect makes the light rays appear to converge at the antisolar point. The haze and smoke in the lower atmosphere only amplified this effect. The mountain fully in sunlight on the right is San Jacinto Peak, which towers 10,000 feet above Palm Springs. The evening was calm enough. But towards morning the wind picked up to gale force, breaking my tent and robbing me of sleep.
    The Long Shadow
  • The ground was white, the sky was white, and so was the air. For every 2 steps upward I slid 1 backwards. Sinking into the snow 12 inches was manageable, but 4 feet was not. My pace was pitiful as it took 2 hours to snowshoe a single mile, while avoiding hazards like tree wells and cornices. But finally I reached my destination just as the snowstorm came to an end. Clouds broke up to reveal Shell Canyon in the distance. Winds whipped puffs of snow off the treetops like the smoke of a hundred campfires. Surrounded by house-sized boulders, I could see across the valley to Antelope Butte ski area. Between gusts it actually started to feel warm, though it was still far below freezing. A higher angle makes sunlight more intense at this time of year, which was about the only reminder that it is indeed spring.
    In the Wind
  • 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.
    A Break in the Clouds
  • It had been 7 months since I've even heard thunder here in Wyoming. But early May finally brought the first decent thunderstorm of the year. Throughout the evening clouds built up over the Bighorn Mountains before the storm descended and hit Sheridan after 8PM. The high moisture content combined with late evening sunlight behind the storm gave the clouds a greenish-blue tint. The storm wasn't severe, but it brought frequent lightning, small hail, and a drenching rain that made the already flooded Big Goose Creek rise even higher. The photogenic shelf cloud ahead of the rain core showed some impressive structure as it was sculpted by wind shear above.
    Big Goose Storm
  • It was a beautiful day for a hike in Shell Canyon. The fresh green foliage on the cottonwood trees was catching the sunlight.
    Shell Canyon Spring
  • This was the first gator I saw in Big Cypress National Preserve. He was taking a nap in the evening sunlight.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 12/14/2014
    Alligator Nap
  • On the morning of April 15 the moon was eclipsed by the earth for over an hour. It snowed here most of the evening but the clouds cleared shortly before it started. From midnight to 5am I took a picture every 20 minutes and assembled them into this sequence. At first the moon entered the earth's penumbra, and a subtle diffuse shadow began to appear. When the moon entered the umbra, It became much darker and slowly started turning a reddish orange. Sunlight being refracted through the earth's atmosphere is being cast upon the moon. It is essentially the light from all of earth's sunrises and sunsets that is lighting up the lunar surface. After being fully eclipsed for 1 hour and 18 minutes, the steps repeated in reverse. By the time the moon came out of eclipse, it was a lot lower in the sky which is why it looks darker and more yellow on the bottom right.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: April 15, 2014
    Lunar Eclipse Sequence
  • Early morning sunlight shines on the Courthouse Towers in Arches National Park.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 11/8/2013
    Courthouse Towers
  • During the fall, the zodiacal light, or 'false dawn' shines brightly in the east before sunrise. It is caused by dust within our solar system reflecting sunlight. But it can only be seen in dark skies away from light pollution, which makes Arches National Park ideal.<br />
<br />
Date Taken: 11/8/2013
    False Dawn
  • Telescope Peak and the Panamint Range glows in the early morning sunlight as seen from Dante's View. A fighter jet and a B-2 stealth bomber can be seen flying in front of the mountains.
    Telescope Morning
  • Late evening sunlight light up trees at the edge of a small snowy pond.
    Johnson Sauk Pond
  • Paved roads were few and far between. Cell phone signal was non-existent. Hills and bluffs sometimes blocked the view. Mosquitoes swarmed around me and stubborn cows formed a roadblock. These are some of the challenges of chasing storms in Montana. Elsewhere crowds of storm chasers may converge on a supercell. But here it’s not uncommon to be the only one on a storm, and I feel an extra responsibility to report what I see to the National Weather Service. When everything comes together just right the supercells here can be truly incredible. This storm first went up over the Crazy Mountains before tracking east along the Musselshell River, into a part of Big Sky Country I’d never been. It was one of the roundest, most obviously rotating supercells I've ever seen. Evening sunlight snuck in underneath to turn the hail shaft gold. Just when the storm was at its most photogenic I came upon this scene of an abandoned house on the open prairie. It was exactly what I was looking for.
    Melstone Supercell
  • The dark core of this hail storm near Gillette contrasted with the sunlight across the hills.
    Ensuing Darkness
  • The views of Ann Lake in the North Cascades kept getting better as I climbed up to Heather Pass. But sunlight was getting scarce as rain showers moved in.
    Overlooking Ann Lake
  • 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
  • Steamboat Point is one of my favorite mountains that I've climbed multiple times. This time I walked around in the snow trying to find a different perspective on it.  I was too late to capture the sunlight on top of the peak so I had to photograph the cool blue colors of twilight instead.
    Steamboat Point Twilight
  • Hawksbill Crag is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Arkansas. After driving a rough dirt road up Cave Mountain, the trailhead sits at the edge of the Upper Buffalo Wilderness. The trail passes several creekbeds and waterfalls, but they were all dry this time of year. This rocky overhang which is also known as Whitaker Point, is bigger than it looks. Sunrise is a great time to watch the valley fill with golden sunlight. But I only had minutes to take pictures on this morning since the sun soon went behind a cloud deck and the light went flat.
    Hawksbill Crag
Prev Next