My father grew up in a small farming community in Kansas. Then he joined the navy, discovered California, met my mother, and settled out here. He didn't want to live in Kansas, but we took many summer road trips "back to the farm" to visit my grandparents and aunt & uncle. Several times, my brother, sister and I flew back by ourselves to spend the summer gathering eggs, milking cows, and feeding pigs. To my eyes, not much has changed in Troy in the past 50 years, except now some of the corn is used for bio-fuel.
Click on the photos to see the larger view.
Kansas has some stunning sunsets. Because there are no surrounding mountains to block the view, you can watch the fiery globe until it disappears below the horizon. And if there are any clouds (which there almost always are), the entire sky is painted orange, yellow & red. These next two shots were taken from my aunt's front lawn.
Back in its day, the Pony Express road right through Troy. I drove by this iconic metal sculpture every day on my way back to town.
It was too damn hot to go outside for any extended period of time. On most days the temperature hovered around 99, cooling down to 90 at night. An "Intense Heat Advisory" was in effect almost daily, so I didn't spend much time outside. Fortunately, my visit coincided with the Perseids Meteor Shower. Since I was out on a farm, away from city lights, and had an unobstructed view to the northeast, I thought conditions would be perfect for photographing meteors streaking across the sky. For two nights in a row, I set the alarm for 3am, carried my tripod mounted camera outside, and waited for the show... and waited, and waited. St Joseph, MO is about 20 miles to the east and its lights polluted my night sky. The lights look almost like a sunrise, but these photos were taken at 4am. Be sure to click on the photos to see the stars.
I started experimenting by pointing the camera straight up,
just to see the stars.
This is a 25 second exposure.
This 15 minute exposure shows star tracks.
I took many 30 second exposures hoping to catch a meteor. When I finally did, I was ecstatic. I bounced around in the dark and boasted to the fireflies, "How good am I." Then I went back to bed.
Two days later, I was fortunate enough to experience an electrical storm. When the rain stopped for a few moments just at sunset, the light was truly magical. The air was perfectly still, amber light radiated everywhere, and the the top of the corn field literally glowed orange. I took some photos (how could I not?) and then moved away from my camera and just soaked in the scene. What a gift I was given; to be in this place at this perfect moment. It was so beautiful.
The storm was not over. Midwest lightening is just amazing. It can light up the whole sky. Once again, I pointed the lens toward the east, set the camera for 30 second exposures, and this time hoped for lightening. This was way more exciting than the meteor shower. The wind started blowing and the thunder wasn't too many "one-one thousands" away. As soon as I got this shot, I moved inside. I didn't want a lightening bolt to mistake my tripod for a lightening rod. And then the rain returned. What a wild night it was!
I drove past Pier 39, through Fisherman's Wharf, and up Hyde Street behind a cable car. I was not prepared for the crowds. Doesn't anybody go to work during the day? Who were all these people? My next stop was the West Battery, which has a view of the Golden Gate that most people don't see. I was here in February and could hardly see the bridge through the thick fog. (Link: http://visual-journey.blogspot.com/2010/02/golden-gate-bridge-park.html )
My plan to be at the Marin Headlands (directly across the gate from where I took this photo) by 6 to get set up for the moon shots wasn't going to happen. With both commuters and tourists wanting to cross the bridge, the queue to the toll plaza was long and slow moving. By the time I got there, shadow had already covered part of the bridge, but the view was still spectacular.
I counted over 30 sailboats on the bay
I found a spot I thought would work and planted my tripod. I knew other photographers would soon arrive. A full moon rising over the city on a fog-less night would lure out all the lunatics.
