August 5th Aurora Borealis over Lake Superior

August 8, 2011 by admin | Leave a comment

Wow, the August 5th Aurora display was simply breath taking. Through out the day I kept getting the space weather alerts courtesy of Spaceweather.com. The last one I got that day said the Planetary K-index had hit an 8. I can’t even remember ever getting an alert beyond 5 or 6. I was hoping for clear skies but as I headed into Duluth to join others for a night photography shoot it was raining on the northern horizon. We spent time inside at the DPI with a presentation by Bob King (“Astro Bob”) from the Duluth News Tribune. After the presentation we headed to our first location Brighton Beach on the shore of Lake Superior. The evening started out photographing the nearly 2nd quarter moon but as the clouds started breaking up a small glow to the north started around 2145. From there the aurora faded in and out for a while until the really brilliant pillars and pulsing glow kicking in round 2245. Near midnight the green aurora display went from the horizon to completely overhead. Finally, around 0130 the show was fading and the camera get got put away. It was an amazing display to watch laying there on the beach watching the sky shimmer and pulse. Unlike my first experience photographing the Aurora back in November of 2004, this time I was better prepared. Below is a gallery sampling some of the many views of the aurora that were seen Friday night. In most cases my exposures where ISO800 at F2.8 and focused at infinity on my camera lens.

Posted in World Around Us Tagged aurora borealis, brighton beach, Duluth, lake superior, Minnesota, northern lights |

NVGP Stage 6 – Stillwater Criterium – Stillwater, MN

June 20, 2011 by admin | Leave a comment

Well the 2011 Nature Valley Grand Prix is now in the books. Some great racing in Stillwater gave us Amber Neben (HTC Highroad) and Jesse Anthony (Kelly Benefit Strategies-Optum Health) as our overall winners. From the photographer perspective it was a great event to photograph, plenty of emotion and exciting action. Will be interesting to see what next year brings. Here’s the final race gallery from stage 6 in Stillwater. Over the next few days I’ll process a larger subset of files to round of the coverage of this year’s event. Thanks for looking and the comments I’ve received.

Posted in Sports Tagged Amber Neben, criterium, cycling, HTC Highroad, jesse anthony, Kelly Benefit Stratgies-Optum Health, Minnesota, nature valley bicycle festival, nature valley grand prix, stage 6, stillwater |

NVGP Stage 5 – Menomonie Road Race – Menomonie, WI

June 19, 2011 by admin | Leave a comment

Stage 5 saw lots of action and lead changes in both the men’s and women’s races. At the end It is now Jesse Anthony and Amber Neben who take the Nature Valley Leader Jersey into the final stage in Stillwater. Here’s some photos from today’s action.

Posted in Sports Tagged cycling, menomonie, nature valley grand prix, road race, stage 5, wisconsin |

NVGP Stage 4 – Uptown Criterium – Minneapolis, MN

June 18, 2011 by admin | Leave a comment

Tonight was the Uptown Criterium. The rain held off until after the event had concluded. The women’s race saw several break attempts sit out front for a while but the Peanut Butter Co/Twenty 12 team worked the front of the peloton and never let it get too far ahead. In the end things were settling down for a field sprint until 200m from getting the final bell a mid-pack crash took out nearly half the field blocking the road. With multiple ambulances on the course to tend to the down riders the stage for the women was neutralized and doesn’t count for the overall. Several riders were transported and last word is that there were no serious injuries. On the men’s side United Healthcare proves tough to beat. An early break saw a rare case of the GC leader being present and he grabbed a time bonus from the first sprint. United Healthcare patrolled the front of the race and much like Saint Paul, in the end it was a field sprint with UHC taking the top two podium spots. Here’s some photos from tonight’s action.

Posted in Sports Tagged criterium, cycling, Minneapolis, Minnesota, nature valley grand prix, Uptown |

NVGP Stage 3 – Cannon Falls Road Race – Cannon Falls, MN

June 17, 2011 by admin | Leave a comment

Stage 3 is in the books. Unlike last year we had great weather for the Cannon Falls stage. Both races finished with the usual field sprints seen at this venue. Here’s some photos of todays action.