Category Archives: Skies and Stars

Two welcome surprises on Independence Day 2026

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Capitol tower with red, white, and blue windows for Independence Day

I was caught off guard when my buddy posted a photo of the capitol tower with the American Flag colors adorning the front windows on his Bismarck Bubble page. How did I not know this was coming? I’m normally so plugged in! Of course, 2026 has not been my year. I ramped up in December 2025 with plans to “flip the script” on what had been four pretty awful years in many respects…but 2026 has had plans of its own. Nevertheless, I persist. I’ve been focusing on a threefold plan to take care of my spiritual, physical, and emotional wellbeing, and I’ve been succeeding wildly despite some pretty terrible circumstances. One component of that is actually getting out with my camera, which I have managed to do a little bit despite not posting anything here (yet). Running out to get my own photos of this beautiful capitol tower fits in perfectly with that plan.

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Okay, I’m awake. First batch of aurora photos

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Okay, when I was younger I stayed out all night quite frequently. In fact, I worked overnights for seven and a half years. I’m no dummy. I know what it’s like to stay out late. But now that I’m all growed up and have a real job and family, I don’t get to do it so much. So I’m a little crushed by staying out past 4am this morning. But it was WORTH IT.

My feed, like yours, probably blew up with Northern Lights photos last night and today. Fantastic. Recently I’ve dreaded that, because my photos haven’t been among them. This time, however, I was able to get out with my best friend and get some shots of my own! So let’s go…

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Happy Eclipse Day! Oh, wait…

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I made this meme a long time ago out of frustration during an potential Northern Lights photography opportunity. It still applies! I’m getting plenty of mileage out of this one simple meme, proving that it was spot-on.

I had originally planned to take my family to the National Museum of the Air Force for this event, since it’ll pass right overhead, giving us a two-fer. I had to cancel those plans due to Bidenomics, but we did visit the Strategic Air Command museum this weekend instead. The weather at Wright-Patterson was a roll of the dice anyway, and everywhere along the path of totality is going to be packed with people, so we really aren’t too bummed about missing out.

I am old enough to have caught the total solar eclipse in 1979, when I was a young lad growing up in western Montana. We didn’t do anything special with protective gogs or anything like that, but we watched it get dark. Pretty cool.

There’s always 2044! I told my kids they may have to dig me out of the nursing home or the dirt for us to catch the next one, but I’m going to do my best to be able to ride motorcycle there. Or maybe even longboard…

We now interrupt the frost for a pair of Parhelion photos

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I was out early this morning and spotted some sundogs, so after running my errands I decided to roam around in the cold for a bit and capture them with my camera. It’s been a while since I’ve done any photography, so I’ve resolved to take any opportunities which present themselves.

I decided to find a solitary tree or two for some perspective and shadows. Thankfully, I quickly found a pair.

I like this tree better, but I kinda wish I’d framed a little wider to see if there was still a sundog above. Oh well…it’s still like -16F outside, so there’s no way I’m heading back out there. Even though photos like this are where I live “where the air hurts my face.”

Oh my goodness, those clouds

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I was on my way up Highway 3 on Saturday, and couldn’t believe the wild, wispy clouds before me. As luck would have it, I was about to zip past an old one-room schoolhouse owned by a dear friend of mine. Instead I pulled in and set about trying to capture the amazing sky.

The clouds looked like wraiths darting across the northern sky, and I’m thrilled to say I was in the right place at the right time. I wish I’d had a lens wide enough to capture it all, although I doubt such a lens even exists.

There is panorama mode, however, and even though it isn’t perfect it will certainly do in a pinch. Even vertically, as it turns out.

As I ventured further north, I continued to run into dramatic skies to accentuate some of my favorite summer North Dakota landscapes. I’ve photographed much of the scenery along and around Highway 3, and it never disappoints.

I was on a mission, though, and a firm timetable, so I had to continue blazing northward. The wispy clouds didn’t last the entire time, but for the best part of them I was right where I needed to be. Thanking the Lord for showing me such an amazing sight, I ventured on and arrived at my destination precisely as scheduled.

A few recent clouds

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I don’t have much to say here…I just have seen some cool clouds lately, and pointed a camera up at them.

This and the first one are from tonight.

I’m not playing the “this cloud looks like…” game. I just like the shapes.

There have been a lot of really unusually shaped clouds lately.

I’m going to keep watching for more, and share them here when I find them.

Shot through a chain link fence, but I got it

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This is the kind of photo that you want to edit while listening to Joel Porter (which you should do anyway).  We had a spectacular sky leading up to sunset tonight, and I was way out of position when I noticed it.

 

What had really caught my eye was this blazing hole in the clouds, and the swirling wisps behind it.  I pulled to the side of the road, found a gap in the tall chain link fence in my way, and started snapping some shots before the clouds shifted too much.

 

And it did within the span of a couple of minutes.  The sun moved into this little window, and the various clouds morphed and drifted until the hole was completely gone.  But I’d caught what I needed.

I’m not always so lucky.  Last night, while trying to get home with four TCBY waffle cones for my family still intact, I just barely missed an amazing cloud in the east.  So it was nice to be able to catch this.  A friend texted me that he was taking his camera down to the river to catch the coming sunset, but I went home to watch it on the deck with my wife.  That’s one of our favorite things to do.  I’d been on the road for work all day, and just staring up at the sky without having to try to capture it in a photo was some nice R&R indeed.