Supermoon Photo Shoot

I've had "largest full moon of 2012" marked down for May 5th in my calendar since sometime last year. Even with that much time to think about a location to view it from, I was still drawing a blank the morning I had to make a decision. Not wanting to make a long hike (in case the weather didn't cooperate) I decided on the side of a scenic mountain on the west end of Golden, Colorado. Eric and I got there an hour early to claim a good viewing spot.

Last light over Golden

I finally have a good enough lens to get a clean shot of downtown Denver

What I hadn't anticipated was the spectacular sunset we got right as the moon was rising. I found myself frantically changing lenses while trying to shoot both subjects, since they were in different areas of the sky.

Golden bathed in golden light

The moon came into view right on time. I got all the shots I needed, and after only 10 minutes it went behind clouds for the rest of the night.

"Lunar Perigee" - the supermoon rising

April 14 - Tornado Outbreak

April 14, 2012 was a historic day for stormchasing. This was the last day of the 4-day chasing trip with Verne and Eric Carlson and I. It was the first day I finally got to see a tornado, and will likely be my best chase day for a long time.

Everyone knew this was going to be a big day. The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center gave it a high risk rating the day before, which they said "is only the second time a high risk has been issued for the day two forecast, and the first time ever it has been issued for the initial D2 outlook." High risks are usually issued the day of, and they are extremely rare. I've only chased slight risks and maybe one or two moderates that got downgraded to slight.

Severe weather outlook the morning of 4-14

The morning of the chase, the data said the probability for tornadoes in the high risk area was 45% hatched, meaning at any random point on the map there would almost be a 50/50 chance of having a twister within 25 miles at some point in the day. That's extremely high.

The blue is our path through the day

We started off the day heading up to Smith Center from Russell. The cells were a bit messy, just lots of rain and lighting. At one point we heard a nearby town testing their tornado sirens.
Next we moved east to Beloit in hopes of glimpsing a twister that had been reported on a cell moving that way. Visibility was low with a lot of heavy rain. Following behind two other cars to where the storm would meet us, the other two suddenly pulled over. The Carlson's wondered what they knew that we didn't, when suddenly we got a radar update that looked as though the area of rotation had made a sharp turn straight for us! We back up and paced around a bit and studied the rain to figure out where a twister could be in it. At one point the rain cleared enough to see what supposedly was a tornado. So technically this could be my first tornado, but I wouldn't have recognized it as such and didn't see it long enough to distinguish any rotation.

A rain-wrapped tornado, somewhere in there

Back in Beloit, the flooding was incredible. Because of all the washed out roads we had to turn around several times while trying to make our way south, and eventually went back into town only to find cops staring to barricade the main roads!

Flooding all around Beloit, KS

Finally we escaped and dove down to a new cell near Lyons. It started out as two separate promising storms, but they merged into one. We waited awhile to see if it could recover from the merge. Verne decided to give it one more chance before we would look for another storm, so we turned North to get closer to it. Just over the hill, a tornado came into view. Of course I thought they were pointing at the little satellite on the left, and that big wide thing was just a wall cloud. As we got closer I saw the 'wall cloud' seemed to be touching the ground. And rotating. Now THAT is a tornado.

A monster tornado comes into view

Though I have been stormchasing 10 other times now, the 'chase' part really didn't make much sense until the moment a real tornado came into view. Most of what I've done previously would be more like storm watching and storm following. NOW there was actually something to chase. Tornadoes can move very fast, and this one was definitely moving away from us. Trusting Verne's 30 years of chasing experience, he got us where we needed to be!

That's us, on a mission

The monster cone tornado

At one point we turned around from downed power lines, and eventually got stopped again by trees blocking the road that the twister had just torn up. That was just about the end of our time with this tornado. After that we had some navigation issues on bad dirt roads and fell too far behind. The tornado went a little farther and lifted right at the north edge of Salina. They really dodged a bullet, a lot of chasers compared this tornado to Tuscaloosa and it would have caused the similar damage had it hit town.

Destruction, the Carlson chasers, and the EF4 tornado

The most impressive damage we saw from it was crossing a bridge and riverbed. There was a brown dirt trail it had left through a field, and incredible tree damage and churned earth over the dry river. That's what it was hitting when I took that panoramic photo above, and right where it is in the popular Twistex Sameras video.

One good thing about seeing a tornado this intense is that it didn't cause any injuries. There were plenty of snapped power poles and one house that had some roof and front porch damage. The NWS rated it an EF4 (the scale is 0-5).

Me with the tornado. Yes, it was exciting.

We jumped on the interstate and caught up to the storm again northeast of Salina, just north of Solomon. The traffic jam from stormchasers and gawking locals was incredible. Eventually we somehow got way ahead of the crowd, and were one of the very few cars that got to stop and enjoy the amazing rope-out stage of this tornado.

Local news helicopter flying towards the forming tornado

A classic Kansas twister

This odd-shaped twister held up for just a few minutes

Everyone earned a steak dinner after this day. We met up with Michael Carlson and Eric Haave at Logans Roadhouse and swapped stories and photos before heading back to Russell for the night.

The traffic jam of chasers arrived as soon as it was over

Now the best for last: Here's Eric's video from the day!



4 days, 2,883 miles.
Big thanks to Verne Carlson for bringing Eric and I on this journey!

Storm Chase-cation

Eric's dad invited us on an epic stormchasing trip at the end of last week. Zig zagging across tornado alley, from Colorado we visited both Texas and Nebraska once, and crossed through Oklahoma and Kansas three times each. Over 4 days, Verne and Eric Carlson and I went a total of 2,883 miles.

April 11
We left early afternoon and raced down to La Junta and the Comanche Grasslands. The storms ended up not doing a lot, and there was an incredible haze that really limited visibility. On our way to Amarillo for the night, the road was closed from Dumas on because of large hail drifts. Took the long way around and stopped to watch lightning illuminate another developing storm heading back into Dumas.

April 12
The target moved up to Goodland, KS. We went up the road to Dumas to see the hail drifts, and later in Cactus we saw some major flooding.

A car that wondered off the road at night

Flooding in Cactus, TX

Waiting in Goodland along I-70, nothing seemed to be developing where everyone was expecting. Eventually some cells did fire up north at the Nebraska border. We raced up there and found a good vantage point just south of Trenton NE. A small funnel cloud developed, but that was the most we got.

A small funnel cloud forms

We got gas in Atwood KS and ran into the Dominator from the "Storm Chasers" TV show. I was excited to finally see it. Verne and Eric however were much less impressed and just stopped to catch up with Reed Timmer (who was totally zoned from both chasing and working on his phd).

The Dominator stormchase vehicle

April 13
Driving south to our target of Enid OK, I got to hear many fascinating stories of all the tornadoes Verne has seen driving on the exact roads we were traveling.
We made time to stop in Wakita, Oklahoma to see the 'Twister' museum. This was the main town that got hit by a tornado in the movie.

Wakita, Oklahoma!

'Twister' movie props

The only storm that produced a tornado that day went over Norman, on the southeast side of Oklahoma City. We didn't want to deal with traffic close to the city so opted to stay on the outskirts, and watched a cell over Chickasha instead. It went outflow dominant, but someone said they saw Verne's live web stream airing on CNN while we were watching it.

West of Oklahoma City

On the drive back to Russell, there were spinouts every mile from all the rain. Earlier we had even seen a kid hydroplane off the road right in front of us.
The last day of our trip by far had the best storm outlook, but that day deserves its own page. Next post: April 14, 2012 tornado outbreak.

March Stormchasing - Texas

Verne Carlson, Eric Carlson, and I headed down to Amarillo for a promising weather setup for March 18, 2012.

Cadillac Ranch

Having gotten in position a day early, we spent the morning geocaching and visited the Cadillac Ranch. Later we headed out to Childress to watch the storms build. Several other chasers they knew pulled over on the same road and we all chatted for just a few minutes. I thought it was interesting how everyone snuck away without saying a word. No one wants to give away where they're going next!

Watching the Supercell

We abandoned the Childress cell moving north, and instead headed down to a storm on the southwest side of Crowell. There was a huge line of chasers on this one, and even Roger Hill's tour group was nearby. We went off the main road to get closer, and watched an incredible display of funnel clouds forming. Each one got so close to turning into a tornado, but never did. Nonetheless, it was the clearest funnel clouds I've ever seen and we had a fantastic view.

A funnel cloud decends near Crowell, TX

Me and the last funnel cloud dissipating

We followed it a little ways north and eventually just went back to Amarillo. The next day's target moved too far east. On the way home we made a quick photo stop at an abandoned motel in New Mexico.

Inside the abandoned Motel

Tumbleweed Room

February Stormchasing in Nebraska

The models were looking good for a chase in the central Nebraska / Kansas border on February 28. It was a 'slight risk' day, so I joined Eric and his dad for a chase in The Rhino (a Subaru Outback with a bullet-proof coating for driving into hail). After four chases with Michael, who avoided hail, it was amazing to see so much of it and be in a car where getting pounded by pea to nickle-sized ice chunks didn't matter!

'The Rhino' watching a supercell in McCook, NE

Stopping to survey the clouds

We took off from Denver early and cut through the corner of Kansas, then aimed for Nebraska. The first excitement of the day was a building supercell in McCook, NE. As that one lost structure we headed farther East. Oddly enough, the storms dwindled when we crossed into the area deemed slight risk, so we moved back toward North Platte.

The radar gets more colorful

Outside of North Platte, NE

Just North of there we found several promising storms. Low-based and lots of scud! Made a left turn to follow one of the storms, but turned around after a few minutes to get back on the main road after noticing something good on the radar. It looked really good. Really, really good. But speeding didn't help much.

At the promising, yet fateful 'left turn'

We had missed the tornado show just over the hill by mere minutes, perhaps even the end of it by seconds. We drove up to an empty field right where some fellow chasers had reported a tiwster sighting just moments ago. It even turned out to be the first documented Nebraska tornado in a February!
With each chase I'm getting closer and closer to a 'real' tornado, but with storms firing so early in the year, this points to a most excellent chase season to come in the Spring.

Silverton Film Trip

After another fantastic annual ghosthunt at the Elkhorn Lodge in October, I was asked to join a film crew of paranormal investigators and Colorado history fanatics (sounds like my kind of group!) on a week-long investigation and filming for the Grand Imperial Hotel in Silverton, Colorado.

Silverton, Colorado

The Grand Imperial was built in 1882 and is full of history. There are so many old west mining town stories surrounding it, and even an original bullet hole above the bar. It had never been investigated, but everyone who worked there was a firm believer with plenty of personal stories about the ghosts. To make things easier for our hunts, the hotel was completely closed off to all other guests for the week.

The full gang in front of the Grand Imperial

Once I got to the Grand I met the rest of the crew. Less than 10 of us with the whole place to ourselves! I was set to work on some B-roll of the active rooms, got some interviews, then at 10pm I ran the infrared camera for a 4 person investigation of the basement. Later we switched with the other group upstairs. Some very interesting things happened, but you'll have to wait to see the episode. We held two more investigations throughout our stay, and will likely return for more in the summer.

Filming in the hotel lobby

The Grand Imperial Hotel

We filmed at the town museum, the graveyard, and even a special stop at the rail yard for some footage of famous engine 315 and to interview the caretaker. Aside from filming interviews, our cameras were also occupied with historical reenactments, complete with full time-period costumes.

Engine 315 at the railyard

Durango and Rio Grande Railway

We were constantly busy filming and digging into history! Four members of our crew left a day early. Since they had experienced paranormal activity in their rooms two nights in a row, the remaining five of us all switched rooms in hopes of something good. Sadly we didn't hear anything.

Silverton cemetery

One highlight of the trip was going to the ghost town of Animas Forks for some stock footage. The structures are incredibly preserved for being in such a harsh climate. We also spent many hours wondering the Silverton graveyard in search of familiar names, and looking through some excellent history books.

Animas Forks

Inside one of the buildings

Second floor of the famous "bay window" house

The trip was late nights, early mornings, plenty of filming, lots of history, and tons of fun. The drive to Silverton and back was also amazing. The San Juan Mountains and Million Dollar Highway are beautiful, I don't have time to visit that corner of the state nearly as much as I'd like.

Ouray, Colorado

Million Dollar Highway

Another ghost town on the way

Mountain goats on Monarch Pass

Crested Butte Film Festival

"Third Bridge" made it into the Crested Butte Film Festival! Eric directed and I produced the project. Of course this called for a 5-day extended weekend trip to the mountains. As even more incentive, the festival was generous enough to pay for filmmaker housing, and provided us with VIP passes so every event and film was free. Our trip was Thursday-Monday, Sept 29-Oct 3. The fall colors were at their peak, and I ended up with nearly 10 Gigs of photos.

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/19143717

Sept 29
We headed through Buena Vista and over Cottonwood Pass, stopping for several photo ops on the way. Filmmaker accommodations were at the Nordic Inn, a homey little place in Mt Crested Butte, and one of the few we haven't stayed at before!

Lighting is key when shooting fall aspens

Mt. Crested Butte aglow at sunset

The sunset was spectacular as we drove down to Gunnison after checking in to the hotel. Caught the reception after the opening films at Western State, met a few people, and picked up our welcome bags and passes.

Rain curtains at sunset

Filmmaker SWAG bags!

Sept 30
Spent the morning driving down Kebler Pass and taking photos of the fall colors. Later headed up to Gothic (now I've seen it in every season!), and also tried for a few geocaches in town.

Shooting fall colors on Kebler Pass

Aspen Groves along Kebler

Eric at the base of a mining headframe

Nearing Gothic, colors at their peak!

Got back by 4pm for the Kickoff Party at Brick Oven Pizza. Headed over to the mountain theatre for the 5:30 showing of "Play Again" preceded by a short called "Scrapertown." Play Again was a documentary about taking technology addicted teens into the wilderness on their first outdoors experience.

Film Fest Reel

Kickoff party at Brick Oven Pizza

Unfortunately we didn't have time for another showing before heading to the Filmmakers party at Montanya Distillers. The festival was quite generous with free drink tickets at all the events. Finally met a few of the filmmakers there since most of the people at the gatherings were VIP sponsors. Jacob Siegel-Boettner of "With My Own Two Wheels" was present, Denver-based Phil Mirabito and Ross Smith with their films, and Charlotte Barrett and Sean Fallon of the feature "Virgin Alexander." Also a few film representatives here and there.

A portion of the Filmmaker party

Oct 1
At Noon we had our first showing of "Third Bridge" with the Shorts II program. Got great response from the audience during the Q&A, and the theatre started a little empty but filled up nicely in good time. Next we went to the 3pm showing of "From the Ground Up" and "Back to Life." The first was about 9/11 firefighter's widows and the organizations they started to honor their husbands. "Back to Life" was a documentary on a group of severely injured soldiers from Iraq going on a week long rafting trip down the Grand Canyon.

Our first Q&A after the noon showing

More Kebler Pass trips

After those showings we had just enough time to drive out for some sunset photos, and return for the 8pm "Third Bridge" showing. More of a crowd this time, including several filmmakers we knew. Again we got lots of good feedback and questions, the most popular of which always seems to be "how can I find the bridge?" Later headed over to the VIP Party at Dogwood Cocktail Cabin for more socializing with fellow filmmakers!

A favorite photo spot, yup same truck as previous post!

Aspens and afternoon storms

Oct 2
Eric and I were scheduled to participate in the Filmmaker Talks at Rumors Coffee at 10:45 am. Festival director Michael Brody lead the discussion, and the other filmmakers talking were Phil Mirabito, Charlotte Barrett, Sean Fallon. At noon we headed over to see the Shorts I Program, and at 3pm "If a Tree Falls" a documentary about the Earth Liberation Front. For the 6pm time slot we debated between "Marwencol" or "Virgin Alexander," but eventually went to the latter since we knew the filmmakers Charlotte and Sean fairly well by this time. A good choice since apparently "Marwencol" is on Netflix anyway! Finally on to the last event, the closing party, at The Lodge in Mt. Crested Butte.

Eric shares his two cents at the filmmaker talks

Oct 3
Still looking for more fall photo ops, I headed out just before sunrise to a nearby location to finish filling up my memory card.

First light hits Gothic Mountain

Sunrise in the valley

Deciding to take our time driving back, we stopped at many geocaches and ran into two other teams caching. We usually only run into other cachers during FTF (first to find) runs, but we met a couple from the Springs, then a team of 3 on a daytrip, and ran into the first pair again at another cache later. One of the more fun stops was a hike to some alpine lakes along Cottonwood Pass.

Fall Colors on the drive home