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After the Hail Storm

After the Hail Storm
After the Hail Storm

After the Hail Storm

I started working this storm because I couldn’t get out of it’s way. There were a few rain/hail shafts pursuing me across the flats so I went up on the ridges to get a better look at the storm. It’s not often I get to see running water in these ephemeral washes. (Good word to google). This storm just Dumped Water with marble sized hail for some time. I’m estimating 2 inches of precip fell with right at an inch of ice in places. Here it had melted somewhat since it was 60 degrees out up at the local top of the world for this shot.

The water that was accumulating down river would have been significant from this storm. I didn’t go down to the flats where dozens of these little washes conjoin into a much bigger force to be dealt with down river.

The Storm was breaking as sunset approached. Passing to our east leaving me with a window to the sky. A crepuscular display ensued for our enjoyment.

The chill in the air that night was only matched in it’s uniqueness only by the mist rising then flowing down valley. Neither something I’m used to this drought year. A river of dense fog rolling down the valley. That vision has already published on the internet a week ago. The saturated air hitting all the hail ice covering the ground made a wonderful fog generator. Both evaporation and sublimation (another google word) was occurring along with the flooding locally.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming / Montana borderlands (Wyotana)

Title: After the Hail Storm

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Bolt Striking the Red Hills

Bolt Striking the Red Hills
Bolt Striking the Red Hills

Bolt Striking the Red Hills is a MASSIVE strike. That ridge is 40 miles distant from my Telephoto lens which was trained where the last bolt struck. Quite often bolts will strike very close to the previous ones. I look for patterns and focus on that area.

I do use lightning triggers on my cameras. These are boxes that automatically sense lightning by the pattern of flashes they generate. They Trigger my Sony’s in mere microseconds. I endorse no particular brand as the several I’ve tried all have their issues but “generally” work. None are “cheap” but then again, look what you get for your efforts. I might only get 1 in 20 bolts I try to get manually without time exposures. These are 1/4 second exposures at other settings that bring in the landscape.

In pitch dark, you just set the camera on a tripod, remotely trigger it or timer the shutter at about 25 seconds at let the lightning display. This technique is the best way to get multiple bolts. This capture however was a single discharge with multiple plasma channels reaching down. This is the kind of bolt that will start fires. Forested ground is particularly easy to burn. That ridge often has a fire call during dry electrical storms that pass through now and then.

We have a local rancher that helps as a Range Officer at our Wyoming Tactical Rifle Championship in 2018 that had to leave the event. All because of a lightning strike near his ranch up in those very hills. The response of several departments along with hundreds of men saved his homestead. Unfortunately some of his ranch burned.. The grass will grow back greener the next year, I’ve seen it.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands.

Title: Bolt Striking the Red Hills

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Time to Change Pants

Time to Change Pants
Time to Change Pants

Time to Change Pants was taken by a Camera with a lightning Trigger on top of it.

I know this is out of season. I’m mixing into my daily posts refinished (to current standards) most of my older portfolio (4000+ images left to do. I digress..

There are many manufacturers of Lightning triggers and I endorse NONE of them….. Like game trail cameras, they all have issues I think lolol. In theory, they detect a bolt and automatically triggers the shutter. Your camera settings are highly variable depending on the light so I won’t . I will tell you that 1/4 of a second is a good shutter speed. I’m really glad I wasn’t standing by the camera just under a tin roof (to keep it dry (ish). I was inside my house tending to a project and about jumped out of my chair.

To this day I don’t know what in the barn yard this het. The trees are about 100 yards out from the lens across my “front” south facing yard. Since one bolt is behind the trees fingering down to the ground, I would assume that the bolt is to the rear of the trees. It looks a tad closer than that like it might have been inside my fence.

The time between the flash and the boom was non-existent so it was quite close. (5 seconds roughly for sound to travel a mile). So as a result of this photo, I’ll be using

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands, front yard.

Title: Time to Change Pants

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Boom Flash Bang (AR-15 Short Barreled Fireball)

Boom Flash Bang (AR-15 Short Barreled Fireball)
Boom Flash Bang (AR-15 Short Barreled Fireball)

Click Flash Bang and a muzzle flash from a Gov’t issue full auto m16 shorty (7.5 inch barrel) with an A2 (standard) muzzle break). (Very Short Barreled Machine gun in 5.56mm.) Known in the business as a “Flame Thrower” lolol. I was just even with the muzzle 20 feet away getting BEAT UP by the blast in the sound reflecting enclosed area. It felt to me like a mortor blowing up 50 yards out but at 600 rpm inside that big metal lined box that is an indoor range. Basically a sound amplifier. (I had hearing protection on but none the less holy cow).

At 12 frames a second for about 3 seconds (50 rounds) of full auto, this is the only blast I captured. I’m not sure if that’s the bullet just to the right of the plume but I’m betting it is… It’s all about timing….

Some specialty stuff I will do now and then lolol.

Location: 307 Indoor Range, Gillette Wyoming.

BlissPhotographics.com

Photographers notes:
1/3000th second F10, 200mm at 20 feet. ISO 300. Pitchblack in the room. Aiming where the gun should be (couldn’t see squat)…. Bright flash… You could use flash setting too I suppose but that would be too easy lolol. You won’t catch freeze moments but the whole event that way.

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Lightning Time Lapse

Lightning Time Lapse
Lightning Time Lapse

Good Sunday Evening From the Bliss Dinosaur Ranch.

Lightning Time Lapse…..

Post number 2 through our system.

Here is one of the most complex manual time-lapses I’ve ever assembled. This was over about 5 minutes of a thunderstorm a few nights back. The flashes were sharp and fast…. I didn’t have a lot of time to set up so I missed some but hopefully you’ll enjoy the result…

I’m posting on a dozen multimedia sites and I will respond to questions and responses here on FB.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands.