Spectacular lightning discharges lit the skies Saturday night, August 4-5. (Updated Image)
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Cumulus clouds over electrical substation.
It was not storm chasing but my drive this evening certainly was interesting. Lately conditions have been ripe for cumulus clouds to billow up in the late afternoon; contrasted against a clear, blue sky they make dramatic scenes. Last night’s billowing took on the appearance of a pair of clouds that needed a brassiere! I’m not kidding! Sorry, though, I couldn’t get a photo of that! Sometimes you just can’t find a place to get >>that<< shot and it gets away. During tonight’s drive, however, I watched as a column of cloud gradually built up, then flare out. Nearly frustrated in my efforts to get to safe and good vantage points, the cloud stayed together just long enough for me to catch it at a couple of stages. The first open space with a good view was at an electrical substation. I actually like the shot of all those lines and towers crossing the building clouds.
Across the highway, over the barrier, above the trees.
Next came a stop along the freeway. Looking across the asphalt canyon and over the “sound barrier” and trees beyond, I could see that the top of the cloud column was being flattened out; strong winds must be at work. Was this a thunderhead or anvil cloud forming? Briefly, as I continued my drive, I saw lenticular shapes develop, then quickly disappear at the windward end of the column.
Towering and spreading over a modern subdivision.
Another opportunity presented itself in a subdivision. By then the cloud had really spread out to the north. I like the way the enormous billowy shape towers over and threatens to engulf the pretty houses below!
I continued my drive, watching traffic and glancing at the mushrooming cloud. By the time I reached another open space, the shape was feathering out. No storm was born. No longer of interest. Not storm chasing but It was a most interesting drive.
The river looked like wavy glass and fat raindrops like bullets hitting it.
One of many lightning bolts in a dry thunderstorm the night of July 4, 2012.
“Oh no,” I said, “here comes another storm!” It showed up as “small” on radar and I didn’t think much of it. What arrived, however, was one of nature’s natural fireworks shows, and in time to close out the July 4th holiday; the small thunderstorm came through dry and full of lightning. Most of the lightning was cloud-to-cloud and there were plenty of what I call “crawlers” — discharges that appear to move in branches across the bottoms of the clouds. I was caught by surprise! I love shooting photos of lightning, or, at the very least, trying to capture those images. This was the perfect opportunity — no rain to get in the way or ruin my lenses — but all my gear was stowed! I quickly gathered camera and tripod and headed to my sheltered observing post. It was a great show though, with a storm this active, I didn’t know where to aim for the best shots. Out of maybe 150 exposures, I got a good number with at least some streaks of lightning; out of those, I’d managed to get a couple of good images. Displayed here is the best of tonight’s bunch.
I see you! A damselfly clings to the side of a reed away from the photographer.
Thinking to avoid the hot sun of midday but wanting to get out, we decided to take a nice, leisurely walk in shady woods somewhere. We paid a visit to the Carlisle Reservation of the Lorain County Metro Parks. The woodland trail turned out to be a good choice for avoiding excessive sun in the 90-degree heat and moderate humidity but woods are very good at blocking breezes; we wound up pretty sweaty by the end of our little hike. Of course I carried a camera –in this case my trusty old Canon Digital Rebel XT– always on the lookout for picture possibilities. I checked each of the several ponds we encountered for the usual subjects: birds, snakes, frogs, and dragonflies: No (wading) birds at all! No snakes seen. Lots of quick little frogs. And a nice selection of dragonflies! I’d decided to carry a “walking-around” zoom lens with modest telephoto abilities and it was both fun and frustrating to use that lens’s limits and capabilities to best effect. My favorite results are shown here. We left Carlisle ready for cool beverages but happy for the quiet walk.
Sometimes keeping your distance makes for a better view!
Could it be? This yellow dragonfly appears to be a female “Little Blue Dragonlet”, counterpart to the male I recently photographed in an obelisking pose!
It was a much warmer day than I expected with the high temperature reaching about 87 degrees (F). Still, I decided to pay a visit to the Columbia Reservation of the Lorain County Metroparks System for a good, long walk and to shoot some dragonflies — shoot pictures, that is! The walk on the park’s gravel trails was plenty warm but it felt good to be out in the woods and by the wetlands. The only nuisance came from a few deer flies — no mosquitoes approached me, even amongst all the wetlands. The ever-present Red-Winged Blackbirds scolded from their tree-top perches. I spotted a Great Blue Heron and a Green Heron as they flew from one site to the next. Dragonflies buzzed all around! There was, however, one particular type of dragonfly I was really after: a yellow one! I’d spied one about a year ago and tried photographing it. I thought then I’d captured its image but, lo, the image was dramatically over-exposed –blown out, as they say– and unrecoverable. Since then I’ve refined some of my skills and believed I was up to the challenge. What should I see in the first 1,000 feet of my hike but a pretty yellow dragonfly! It was perched on the seed head of dried grass, just the same as the “lost” dragon, and in nearly the same spot as before. Of course, today’s was a different seed head and a different dragonfly. The grass swayed occasionally in the breeze but the insect held tight and posed so well. I shot photo after photo and, when I was through, I was certain I’d made a nice portrait of an interesting insect. It turns out the yellow dragonfly is the female Little Blue Dragonlet — Erythrodiplax minuscula — counterpart to the “obelisking” male I photographed recently at another location! I captured nearly 200 images this afternoon and will likely post a few more from today’s shoot. The pick of the day, however, was a year in the making!
The big catch
Drama is all around us. When we think of drama, however, we often think of the travails of our fellow humans. Nature, perhaps, presents the fullest range of the dramatic ranging from the life and death struggles of our fellow creatures to the world-changing activities of weather. A brief stop at Hinckley Lake lent plenty of examples for me as I walked the paths this afternoon. Showing She Who Must Be Obeyed one of my favorite spots to watch Great Blue Herons, we spied one fishing. After only a couple of minutes’ observation, the bird smartly jabbed the water, pulled up a fish, and flew off to a nearby sandbar to deal with its prey. Nearing the end of our walk, the day’s very changeable sky put on a show of light and shadow in the clouds and issued a low rumble of thunder. It was a dramatic day at the lake but most people were having picnics.
Backlit storm clouds loom overhead
Just as the sun was rising, clouds were moving into the area. I was treated to a gorgeous orange sunrise accented with a sun pillar, for good measure! Great way to start the day!
A field of soybeans and line of color-touched trees in Medina County, Ohio.
Today was “our” day. Whereas recently weekends have either been paid work or, more often, prep work for sale of Mom-In-Law’s house, today was ours. Of course it was cloudy, chilly, rainy, and breezy but sometimes that’s not such a bad thing. At any rate, that was the day we were dealt. We spent the morning shopping: I have had to discard several shirts lately so I picked up three replacements. The discarded shirts in question were fraying a bit at the collar and had even developed holes in the left elbows. I must prop up my head on my left hand way more than I know! Lunch at the mall and we headed out to Root Candles in Medina. If one were studying retail merchandising and display, Root Candles is a place to go for good examples. We enjoy the look and scent of the place; its welcoming and warm atmosphere always comfort. I looked around and soaked up the atmosphere; She Who Must be Obeyed bought a bunch of their high-quality candles, made in the very old factory attached to the store. I really would have liked to have set up a camera and shot gobs of photos of the way light plays on the beautiful candle holders and home decor items but, with a sigh and an eye toward budget preservation (She bought a bunch of candles), we left. Enjoying the drive through the moody countryside and watching the dramatic skies, I asked Her to pull over on a county road adjacent to a soybean field. The field, a line of trees in the distance, brooding clouds above, all came together to make a beautiful image. My trusty Canon PowerShot G11 in hand, I recorded the scene. A little reminder of Our Day.
Hinckley Lake on a blustery autumn day.
It was a very blustery day. Any autumn leaf that was thinking about dropping to the ground had its decision made for it by 15- to 30-mile-per-hour winds. Early in the day it was dreary and overcast. Later, openings appeared between the clouds. We were on our way home from a bit of shopping –She needed new jeans– and decided to make a quick stop at Hinckley Lake. Spots of sun drifted over the color-dappled trees and whorls of ripples spread on the surface of the water as the wind drove through the valley. I had my little Canon PowerShot G11 with me and so made some photos. The stop was brief but beautiful. Robbing a bit from the joy of the moment was discovering the cozy little boat rental and outdoors shop, the Hinckley Lake Boathouse, was going out of business. Stepping inside we found the shop nearly empty and a lone employee idly minding the cash register. {I hope to learn more of the circumstances but it sounds like Cleveland Metroparks may have chosen to not renew the owner’s lease and will take over the property.}
Hinckley Lake Boathouse with store closing sign.
PhotonStopper 