I was able to go on a storm chase Friday evening for the first time in a long time. I was able to get quite a few shots and a nice sunset.
I’m hoping to get more storm pictures here soon. The forecast isn’t promising for storms but here in southern Louisiana, anything can happen.
I hope you have a wonderful week. Take care. Peace.
This past week, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get a picture of Comet Neowise because of the tropical weather we have been dealing with here in southern Louisiana. On Tuesday, when the comet was supposed to be closest to the Earth, I went out to see if I could capture the comet because the skies cleared up to see stars. I drove to one of my favorite storm spotting area and got some shots. Sure enough, I got it.
Comet Neowise
I did a long exposure shot when I got my camera setup so I could find it in the sky. Once I found it, I started zooming in so I could get a close up shot. I’m pretty stoked I was able to get it. I’ve never captured a comet before.
After creating a map in GIMP, I started looking around for creating maps. I found a tutorial on how to create maps using a picture from space. Here is what I started with and ended up with.
6924259-Space-Purple-Nebula
Map - Final result
This process was so cool and fun to create. If you are interested in learning how to create maps like this, let me know in the comments and I will provide links to start creating.
I hope everyone had a wonderful week. I will talk to you later. Peace.
Today I am going to share with you two free resources for photo editing and drawing. If you are a Photoshop user and are tired of paying for their subscription and getting constant updates, these may work for you. I will provide links to the software and YouTube channels for tutorials on each piece of software. The two resources are GIMP and Krita (pronounced like Cheetah).
Screen shot of the GIMP interface
GIMP is available for Linux, Windows and MacOS. According to the GIMP website -
“The Free & Open Source Image Editor
This is the official website of the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP). GIMP is a cross-platform image editor available for GNU/Linux, OS X, Windows and more operating systems. It is free software, you can change its source code and distribute your changes.
Whether you are a graphic designer, photographer, illustrator, or scientist, GIMP provides you with sophisticated tools to get your job done. You can further enhance your productivity with GIMP thanks to many customization options and 3rd party plugins.”
A couple of experts on YouTube in GIMP are Logos by Nick and Davies Media Design. Check them out.
Screen shot of the Krita interface
I recently stumbled upon this software so I am not too familiar with it. I watched a couple of tutorials to see what it is about.
According to the Krita website -
Krita is a professional FREE and open source painting program. It is made by artists that want to see affordable art tools for everyone.
concept art
texture and matte painters
illustrations and comics
I’m not familiar with any YouTube channels for this resource yet. When I find some, I will post them on my blog.
I hope you find these two free resources helpful in future creative processes. Let me know in the comments if you have used these or if there are any other good ones.
Thanks and have a good one. Peace.
I have been busy either watching storms come in or going out storm chasing from May 23rd to May 28th, six straight days of footage. Most of the storms came through close to my house so I didn’t have to drive anywhere. There were a couple of storms where I drove to storm watch and I got to chase one storm. With the storm chase, I had to get home quickly because I was getting chased by the storm. Below are the best shots from each day. I hope you like them.
May 23rd - south of Eunice, Louisiana
May 24th - southeast of Eunice, Louisiana
May 25th - south of Eunice, Louisiana
May 26th - north of Mamou, Louisiana
May 27th - southeast of Eunice, Louisiana (taken while under my carport)
May 28th - south of Eunice, Louisiana (two lightning strikes a frame apart from each other)
I am currently working on a video highlighting all of the lightning strikes from each day. I have several hours of footage to go through.
I hope you enjoy the pictures. If you haven’t subscribed, please do so. I am going to shut down my social media at the end of June. This website and YouTube will be my only focuses.
Thanks and Peace.
By far, my favorite thing to photograph is lightning. When I am able to catch a good bolt or streak, I get excited and I want to photograph more. Here are some of my favorite lightning shots I have been able to catch.
Taken August 21st 2017 during a storm east of my house.
Taken May 01 2016 during a severe thunderstorm right outside my house.
Taken July 11 2014. This was my first and only full moon, stars, and lightning in one shot taken in Branch, La.
Taken September 13 2013 - My first cloud to ground strike shot south of Eunice, La.
Taken August 24 2015. This storm chase lasted around three hours and was shot south of Eunice, La.
I have been trying to capture lightning on and off since 2007 when I was stationed in San Angelo, Texas. I have been an official storm spotter since 2013 when I started storm spotting with Andy Thibodeaux of Cajun Weather Spotters here in southern Louisiana. His Facebook page is right here. If you are in the southern Louisiana area, give Andy a follow. He gives weather updates especially when there is severe weather in the area.
This is the first of many posts of my favorite lightning captures. I hope you like it. If you have any questions, please comment below. If you like my content, please like and subscribe.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. There is a chance of thunderstorms this weekend. Maybe I can get more lightning. Take care. Peace.
Since I’m focusing on improving my mobile photography, I invested into some attachable lenses from Moment. I have been following them on YouTube and decided to get some of their lenses and see what I can create with them. They were running a sale at the time, so I got their 1.33 Anamorphic Lens, Wide 18mm Angle Lens, Telephoto 58mm Lens, and Macro 10x Lens. I also got their phone case so the lenses can attach to the phone.
1.33 Anamorphic Lens
I’m having fun with these lenses. My favorite one so far has to be the Macro lens. I’ve really enjoyed figuring this lens out and seeing what it can do.
If you get a chance, grab a case, lens, and have some fun. I will post pictures from each lens so you can see what I was able to capture with them. I am no way affiliated with Moment or their products. I just like their stuff and wanted to share with you.
I hope everyone has a good one. Peace.
