After the bitter cold of the last two weeks, we have a bit of a warming trend going on. Now I feel like I’m able to share a few winter pics since they won’t make me feel even colder than I was.
This one was on my route one of those bitter cold days when the trees in the mountains froze in such a lovely way.
Enjoy.
Greetings to all, Major Irony here in place for Captain Obvious who is taking a rest at the moment. He had a hard time with his last report and ran around screaming something about his water not having enough water in it. He accepted the kind offer by the nice gentlemen for an all expense paid vacation. They tell me he likes his padded room but feels that the straight jacket chafes a little. Sergeant Sarcasm and I expect to see him back at his post sometime before the end of the year (hopefully).
But now, on with today’s report. After the last week of frigid temperatures across most of the eastern U.S. we seem to have hit a slight warming trend. With temperatures climbing I thought people might be in the mood to see a bit of weather irony. Although it was very tempting to take this particular right turn, especially last week, to see if somehow the border of this town could magically repel cold weather and live up to its name, alas, I did not. It was a pleasant fiction though, one that warmed my thoughts if nothing else to believe that there may be this amazing warm place of summer that existed even in the midst of the coldest winter.
Until next time, wishing you warm weather and lots of irony.
M. I.
During my travels last week, I stumbled upon this amazing shot. It was bitter cold and I noticed there were rainbow colors refracting through the clouds, so I pulled my truck over and started snapping pics. This was the best shot I took. It’s important to note that this picture has not been modified in any way. No Photoshop or any other editing program. My camera also had no filter on it. This is exactly the way the sky looked that day. Maybe it had something to do with the cold temperatures, but in any case, I was thrilled and in awe to be able to capture the image before it disappeared.
Enjoy.
Image copyright 2018 Michael Kelso.
I was a little busy with releasing one novel and writing another one when fall rolled around, so I didn’t post many of the autumn pics I had taken. I’m trying to make up for that now by posting some of the ones that I really enjoy. With the bitter cold hitting so hard, I’m not sure if I’m ready to start sharing winter pics just yet.
Enjoy.
Before things started getting too cold, I went down to the lake one morning and was pleasantly surprised to find the mist towering off of it in columns. I took a lot of pictures, but these ones impressed me the most. They reminded me of mini tornados. Some of them even towered above the treetops.
None of these pics were photoshopped. They all come straight from the camera.
Enjoy.
Surprisingly, this appears to be my first fall photo op post. I say surprisingly not only because of the large number of fall pictures I’ve taken over the years but also because of my lack of photo activity during this fall season.
This tree is always one of my favorites. It’s on my drive home from work every day and I always look forward to the changing of its leaves. It always presents me with one of the most stunning examples of fall fireworks.
Enjoy.
With the biggest cold front of the year on its way to my part of the world, I thought I’d deal with it through denial. Instead of a picture of snow and ice I have this pic taken a couple summers ago.
Enjoy.
I must admit that there are times when I’m just downright stupid.
I was waiting for 8-21-17 ever since I first heard about the solar eclipse over a year ago. Now in all that time, you would think that a smart person would’ve looked into how to properly take a picture of the upcoming solar eclipse. I will take this time to refer back to my opening sentence.
I had a full year to prepare. Did I do it? No. I planned on going to South Carolina for the event. At least I didn’t do that.
So let’s investigate why my declaration of dumbness is so apt. Back in 2014 I witnessed a partial solar eclipse at nearly the same place as this year. On that occasion, I was able to get plenty of good pictures and even a video that I’ve posted on youtube. So, in my mind, I should do things the same way as I did then and everything would be hunky-dory, right?
This was my stubborn pride killing off brain cells like the black plague.
The problem was, I didn’t compare the circumstances between events. In 2014, the eclipse didn’t start until nearly sundown. All of that atmosphere blocked much of the sunlight, allowing me to take pictures with reckless impunity. Whereas this year, the sun was high in the sky, with nothing to block the brightness except a stray cloud or two.
My cameras and I weren’t happy.
As I sat watching this awesome sight through my cardboard glasses, an impotent rage was welling within me at my helplessness. I tried with every camera I had brought, but none of the pictures were holding a candle to the sight of the sun through my glasses.
In sheer desperation, I cut the lens out of my extra set of glasses and taped it to the lens of my video camera. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to consider the trip, not a total failure.
So what did I learn from my brush with defeat?
Knowledge is out there for a reason. Use it.
Hopefully, I’ll do better in seven years when the sun’s shadow passes by again.
Yes, I know. Another lightning photo. I have many of them and believe it or not, I haven’t posted my best yet.
This one is not my best by any means. Actually when I look at this pic, I cringe. I’d been trying for a while to get a pic of a lightning bolt striking a wind turbine and this was the bittersweet result.
On this day in 2010, there was a very strong thunderstorm at this particular wind farm. (That’s actually what they’re called) I was set up in my car, overlooking the wind turbines, getting soaking wet anyway, and trying to get the focus right through the torrential downpour, when all of the sudden, bam!
I wasn’t sure at first if I had caught it or not, so I pulled up the last picture and there it was. I screamed and did a fist pump, punching the ceiling of the car in the process. I zoomed up on the image one click at a time. With every click, my heart fell a little further.
It was out of focus.
The picture of a lifetime and it was out of focus.
I was disappointed to say the least. I kept shooting for another half hour, but there were only a few cloud to cloud bolts. My heart was no longer in it anyway, so I packed up and went home.
I’ve come to accept this picture as an example of what could’ve been, but I don’t show it to people very often.
I’ve
Halloween is on its way and I just couldn’t help getting a little creepy with my thirteenth Photo Op post.
The lightning wasn’t very strong the evening I took this shot. It was mostly cloud to cloud and hiding behind the mountain, so I decided to go for a drive to find a better vantage point. I stopped at a local cemetery, hoping to get a strong bolt in the background with some interesting foreground imagery.
I was somewhat disappointed that this was the strongest bolt I saw all evening.
Still, it makes for a cool Halloween shot.
Enjoy.
mikesimages 