Monday Morning Flyby

The International Space Station is back in town and with that, a few local sighting opportunities. The compositions are kind of strange but for all three shots to be usable is pretty good... for me anyways :)

Trespassing...

I get tired of going over the same Government sanctioned lands looking for IL critters so I try to keep an eye open for other places to find subjects. Today I pulled off the road in W Macon County and wandered along a dirt path between two fields in the middle of nowhere. Private land is without a doubt where it is at. Though I had heard that the acreage I was exploring was allowed, a "No Trespassing, Violators Will Be Prosecuted To The Fullest Extent Of The Law" sign kept me from going too far. Granted I also heard that the sign was only meant for hunters but I am not down for meeting up with the shotgun toting landowner who might think I am some person out checking their secret marijuana crop. Nevertheless, I walked with respect and was rewarded below. It's just a shame that tens of thousands of acres with so much opportunity for photographic exploration is inaccessible to those (like me) with a genuine respect for the land.

Friday Night Storms

A line of strong storms dropping in towards Logan county caught my attention so I took off in the hope of perhaps shooting for structure. As it would figure, the line gusted out with very little to see on arrival but I still tried for lightning. No complaints as it is August after all.









Later at work, came upon this fellow.


While I am at it, this was from the squall line of last Friday the 13th to drop through with a fairly decent amount of wind energy. I've been a picture taking fool as everyone knows on Facebook but lazily forgetting to utilize my blog. Last week was Ava's 5th birthday plus she started kindergarten this week so yeah, I've also been a little distracted lol :)





Oh and one from the 9th too...

The Hunt for Perseids

Early on the morning of August 12th as well as later before midnight heading into the 13th, I stepped out to catch the Perseid meteor shower. For the morning session, my nephew braved the mosquitoes with me and together we saw nearly two dozen including a few fireballs. Unfortunately only one would appear on an out of focus practice shot but it was better than nothing.





Iridium Flare


This was a genuine Perseid


I also used to opportunity to shoot enough frames to render my first star trails creation. Once we get into fall and winter, I hope to do more with this sort of photography. This is 33 frames equaling about 16 minutes of trailing.

August 4 - Storms with Rotation

Earlier this day we noticed a huge tower shoot up from somewhere N of Macon county. Simultaneously a severe thunderstorm watch was issued. An outflow boundary leftover from early morning storms draped roughly along and N of I-72 was the focal point for the activity we witnessed along with the watch issuance. While at home and viewing radar, I began to notice significant returns just to the N indicating a developing mesocyclone. Heading out and just a short ride up into Forsyth confirmed this suspicion as the once single tower was now a very mature storm with noticeably visible rotation. Since time was of the essence, I stopped at Forsyth park to get video. The storm seemed to really crank up briefly as can be seen in the end video but was eventually undercut by its own outflow. Though becoming cold and elevated, I still followed it E to just S of Argenta. Not a big deal in terms of severity but it made for a somewhat interesting afternoon.













Heading back, a new storm arriving on the W end with some interesting structure.

Fog Bust

Dense morning fog was mostly lifted by the time I got out but it was still peaceful.