More Steam Devils On The Sangamon River

Wednesday morning I stopped by the river to film and photograph morning steam devils at a favored location with the just right balance of light and shade to create the thermal contrast necessary for ideal development. Unsure of what to expect, a particularly large and slow moving spout formed for which I was fortunately able to capture in both mediums. Be sure to check out the end video.

Waiting for initiation, crepuscular rays caught my attention in the adjacent woods.


Initial puffs were mediocre though ascending rapidly which is a good sign.




Then it happened!




And just like that, it was gone.


Violent macro atmospheric correction.

Aurora Borealis Over Central Illinois

On the Wednesday into Thursday overnight of last week, a powerful CME (coronal mass ejection) emitted from the sun plowed into the atmosphere generating an intense display of Northern Lights even at low latitudes. Despite missing the impressive pre-midnight substorm, I still caught aurora glow and a separate smaller burst from around 2:30 AM. As has been typical with my luck when it comes to these events, condensation, cloud and eventual fog impeded my overall success. It was however the first time since before 2000 that I was able to view pillars with the naked eye.

Don't see readings like this too often.




True UFO in the sense that whatever is creating the erratic path/orbit only appears in this frame as I was shooting continuous for time lapse video found at bottom.


What I saw...


What I thought.

AICP Weekend

This past weekend was the annual Arts In Central Park event located in downtown Decatur Illinois. I am a volunteer coordinator for the Barn Colony Artists group who host a tent showcasing work in a variety of mediums produced by it's diverse membership. This was my 10th year for participating and although not a huge milestone necessarily, a spectacular sunset occurring behind a departing system during Friday evening's opening had special significance.











Saturday




Sunday morning I stopped by the river before heading to the event.




As if the weekend weren't enough, early Friday morning when system responsible for the awesome sunset arrived, it did so with a show of it's own.