Because it’s me…you know it’s gotta have windmills

I don’t know what my fascination with old windmills is…probably that they’re so photogenic and a good subject, especially when framed against those expansive prairie skies. It stands to reason, then, that I’d be absolutely tickled upon finding one nestled deep within this weekend’s aurora photography setting.

I couldn’t have asked for a better convergence of photo phactors. The light of the full moon, which I feared would work against us, actually performed admirably at lighting the farmstead foreground. Just to make sure things turned out the way I wanted, I also brought my six-D-cell “Louisville Slugger” Mag-Lite flashlight. It ended up coming in handy to dissuade an errant skunk from getting too close as it ambled through the farmyard nearby.

To add to the fun, the auroras really turned it up a notch just as I set up to photograph this old windmill. I took advantage of the whole evening and morning. Trust me…I’ve still got plenty more where this came from. 🙂

Plenty more where this came from

What do you get when you combine a Planetary K-Index (Kp) of 6.5, three photography buddies, and permission to roam an abandoned farmstead at night? Photos like this one.

Things REALLY got hopping, even enough to overcome the light of the full moon directly overhead. I had multiple cameras going to shoot the event, shooting stills and a time-lapse video I hope to work on over the weekend.

It was REALLY cold out tonight – but once I started getting the good shots, I forgot all about the cold. In fact, that excitement kept me going until 4am! Too bad I expect it to wear off before going to work in a couple of hours… *yawn*

You can expect a lot more of these photos in the near future!