10/03/13 October Thunderstorms

Thunderstorms giving way to a golden sunset outside Peoria, IL

Earlier this month, we transitioned from summer to fall over just a couple of weeks and this transition produced the last strong thunderstorms potentially of the year in Peoria, IL. A strong cold front moved through during the late-afternoon and evening on this day ending the "summer-feel" to the air. I shot a few photos as the thunderstorms (below severe-criteria) moved through during the evening hours. I was planning to stay inside on this evening and get some rest, but upon quickly looking out my window around 7:00pm I quickly changed my mind. A setting sun behind departing convection can really give you some photogenic scenes and this just so happened was one of those kind of evenings. It was quite a colorful show at sunset! I've added a few photos of the storms and of course the amazing sunset as well below:

 "Fire in the sky"

 A solid thunderstorm looking east toward the Illinois River...

 Closer-view...

 A storm is rolling-in along this recently harvested corn field!

 The last time potentially you'll see

decent CAPE in this area for a few months...

 A rainbow across the parking lot!

 A good shot, but lets make this one better below...

 A well-placed batch of sunflowers I'd say!

 Another rainbow portrait-shot!

 Yep, it was just one of those perfect evenings!

 The apartment complex beneath heavenly skies!

 Mother Nature simply showing-off!

 Wide-angle shot of the departing storms and picturesque colors!

 "Earth, wind, and fire"

 "Feel that fire"

 "Magic with a wide-angle"

(Canon 10-22mm wide-angle lens)

 If only these type of displays from Mother Nature were more

often, but it makes you appreciate them much more!

 "A ray of hope"

 "An Autumn sunset"

 "Rays of reflection"

That wraps up this rather lengthy post. A day like this makes you appreciate Mother Nature and the show she can put on from time to time. As a photographer these type of evenings are what you live for and forces you to think quick on your feet. You typically end up with a very limited amount of time to capture some stunning images before darkness falls. Anyhow, it was quite a productive evening which got me in the mood for fall and eager to capture some fall foliage during the next few weeks...

09/29/13 Morning Fog

The sun rises illuminating a dense fog canopy
on this morning in Peoria, IL 

Last month, I ventured out on a late-September morning to capture some foggy scenes in Peoria, IL. A dense fog canopy swallowed up the area for much of the early morning only to burn-off later in the day. With that being said, I captured a few "worthy" photos from the morning before I went to work. I've added a few of those photos below:

A sunflower on a very foggy morning...

A very foggy scene here!

"Myst in the air"

A sunflower and some early morning dew!

A wide-angle shot as the sun begins to burn-off the fog canopy...

That ends this quick post. Once again I've got more "coming down the pipeline" so to speak in regards to posts. I'll update accordingly when that time comes.

09/27/13 Taser Once Again...

Taser, with the great outdoors as a backdrop

 in my hometown of Kewanee, IL

Last month, I was able to make a trip occasionally back to my hometown of Kewanee, IL. During my short stay(s) I captured some photogenic moments of my parent's new kitten who has really grown as of late. Anyhow, the "lil guy" was quite photogenic on a few occasions, but it took a lot of work to get him to cooperate of course. I've added several photos of his brief "photo-shoot" below:

Quite a photogenic photo here!

"Thinking"

Awesome!

Another portrait!

It was tough to pick the best "one(s)" so I

added quite a few from this moment!

"I'm getting sleepy" moment...

Another pose...

At this point he has had enough of the shutter making noise from

my camera!

A white cat with a blue backdrop...win!

An "aww moment"

One last shot from this particular morning!

That's all for now. I have more posts I'm still working on that I'll be posting shortly as I continue to get caught up on posts. More to come...

09/26/13 The Changing Seasons

A soybean field just before harvest time at a
local wind farm outside Camp Grove, IL

Last month, occasionally I found some instances where I picked up the camera and took some shots in my hometown of Kewanee, IL. I found one subject in specific to snap some photos of in my backyard. As I was wandering about I stumbled upon a praying mantis on one particular evening. I also took a few shots at a local wind farm outside Camp Grove, IL as the soybean fields began to dry out on an early-fall morning. It was one of the first signs illustrating the change in seasons last month. I've added a few photos below:

A praying mantis camouflaged along the lawn!

Wind farm and prairie grass...

Just about harvest time!

Another shot of the wind farm with the deep blue sky

on this morning as the backdrop...

Love the font!

A moth enjoying the last remaining days of summer...

Sunflowers!

"Preying predator"

A very interesting insect!

"On the move"

"On the hunt"

An "out of this world" insect!

Close-up of the "raptorial legs"...

Another cool shot here!

That wraps up this post. It has been a busy couple months in terms of photography and I'll be posting more posts from last month and this month in the coming days. Stay tuned for that.