Blood Moon II

The second lunar eclipse of 2014 came to pass on the morning of the 8th and fortunately under clear skies on a night off that I could be out away from city light. Initially I wanted to create a time lapse sequence of the entire event but failed due to camera malfunctioning issues. I still got the majority of it and even played around with a separate fun idea that my kid could share with her friends.











Reflection in a flooded tire rut.

Storm of the Summer II

Arriving home around sunset under a ridiculously heavy thunderstorm with intense lightning ongoing at the time, I decided to wait out the deluge vs. attempt to get fuel. The nearby CG's occurring in rapid succession were by far the most extreme I have experienced in recent memory if not ever that I am consciously aware. From far NW IL, sprites were observed from high above the distant complex which is a rare phenomena you might not necessarily expect here (wiki). One strike hit a substation down the road resulting in a fairly expansive power outage. With no electricity, the nearest gas station had to close but I didn't want to be far from my household anyways since they were in the dark. As the storm departed and the rain stopped, crawler activity on the backside emerged. Trudging up the block that was awash in heavy street flooding to position away from obstacles, I set up in an open soccer field. Without question, it was the most prolific display that I struggle to find comparison to with the closest exception being a night in August of 2008. Activity was confined to the upper anvil with multiple streaks passing directly overhead and filling my wide angle in its entirety.















Back home from the porch.


Venturing out on fumes to where I learned that power had not been interrupted in the hope of finding an open station as well as food for the household since we couldn't cook, luck would fortunately prevail. After dropping off dinner, I spent the remainder of the event out in the country where I would have preferred to be the entire time. No complaints though as this was by far the Storm of the Summer.