Framed By Nature

Who else is still waiting on their first snow of the season? I couldn't take it any longer and "cheated" by driving up in elevation to Mt Rushmore last week. It was all rain in Rapid City, and even in Keystone just below the monument.
https://youtu.be/P7h7QnxLhdU

"Do you wanna build a snowmaaaaan?" ❄️

Last night I ventured up to Mount Rushmore National Memorial and had the place to myself, due to inclement weather. So, why not have a little fun with the start of winter? :) One of my favorite places to be during a heavy snowfall!

Thanks to The Weather Channel for breaking this one down! We had a wild cloud formation over Rapid City on Tuesday, and I wasn't quite sure what to call it. What do you think, Chief Meteorologist Brant Beckman? ☁️

Watch: Time-Lapse Shows Eerie Cloud Standing In Place

We're making Dinosaur Park famous one timelapse at a time ;) -at Dinosaur Park Visitor's Center

Watch Comet A3 Light Up The Night Sky

New timelapse is up! Shot this from the backyard this evening, this time with a 100mm f/2.8 (last night was with the 400mm f/5.6). She's fighting the moonlight, but check out how long this comet's tail is! https://youtu.be/lIk_aBcsdn8

"Pillars of Democracy"

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't proud of this one. After shooting the initial outburst over highway 385 in the Black Hills, I waited all night for this to come together over Mount Rushmore. And around 1:30am, it happened. Northern lights above George!

Prints available via PM only, for now :)

We're in a bit of a lull right now, but data continues to look extremely promising for a good display! Should just be a matter of time before the come back.

Spaceweather.com Canon

If you loved the photos from the Elm Springs, SD storm, you can check the video in the comments for more behind-the-scenes action and commentary from yours truly!

Every year, local storms 🌦️ lure me out the door down some dirt roads I've never explored before. Storms were expected to explode but never quite took off, leaving me to enjoy the scenery near Elm Springs, SD this past June 🌈

Crews are currently battling a wildfire near Hisega, SD. Visible to the west from our backyard, the high wind that made it difficult to capture a clear shot at night is the same wind that's currently pushing this fire northward. Red Flag Warnings are in effect through tomorrow evening, when winds are expected to shift from the west (yikes).

Missed the peak of the show last night, but was thrilled to finally get a photo of the northern lights over a sunflower 🌻 field! Like the aurora, sunflowers are incredibly brilliant when at their peak, but are fleeting in their beauty. Check the comments for this timelapse! ✨

Who else saw the absolute stunner of a light show north of Rapid City last night? WOW! We had a train of several severe-warned storms lined up from Lead out into the plains. This positively-charged bolt crashed a few miles north of Elk Creek Road. Did anyone else grab photos of the storms? Let's see 'em! ⚡📸

Living only about 30 minutes from Sturgis, I try my hand at getting a good storm over the motorcycle rally every year. I was a few minutes late to some great branched CGs, but nature let me off the hook with this excellent CG/crawler combo. It was a relatively quiet year weather-wise for the rally, but I'll get a legit supercell over Sturgis someday! Prints link in the comments :)

A quick random storm pic (Kansas, May 2012) to start your Tuesday. Have a great day everyone!

We've been relatively lucky to avoid the flooding plaguing much of the eastern part of the state, and have been left with frequent views of booming thunderstorm updrafts. This one near Elm Springs, SD last week made me stop in my tracks! I don't usually shoot vertical, but thought this might make a nice phone wallpaper :)