Watching the Skies » Photo Gallery

Gallery: Fall colors at Joe Pool Lake

Sean Toner — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 02:00:51 +0000

Two sets of galleries taken this autumn season at Joe Pool Lake in southwest Dallas County. Sunsets illuminating already vibrant fall colors along the hilly tree filled backdrop of Cedar Hill makes for a truly beautiful sight here in the D/FW Metroplex.

Taken 11/5/11 along the dam at Joe Pool Lake:

05-Nov-2011 18:13PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 6.3, 16.0mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 160	05-Nov-2011 18:15PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 6.3, 16.0mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 160	05-Nov-2011 18:18PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.0, 16.0mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 160
05-Nov-2011 18:29PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 9.0, 300.0mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 1250	05-Nov-2011 18:36PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.6, 16.0mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 160	05-Nov-2011 18:58PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 4.0, 50.0mm, 0.02 sec, ISO 640

Click here to view this complete gallery.

Taken 11/27/11 at Cedar Hill State Park:

27-Nov-2011 17:39PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.6, 34.0mm, 0.002 sec, ISO 160	27-Nov-2011 17:40PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.6, 39.0mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 160	27-Nov-2011 17:46PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.6, 18.0mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 160
27-Nov-2011 17:50PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 9.0, 29.0mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 160	27-Nov-2011 17:58PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 6.3, 50.0mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 160	27-Nov-2011 18:22PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.6, 50.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 160
27-Nov-2011 18:33PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 4.0, 16.0mm, 0.04 sec, ISO 400	27-Nov-2011 19:03PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 2.8, 39.0mm, 0.6 sec, ISO 160	27-Nov-2011 19:11PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 4.0, 16.0mm, 5 sec, ISO 160

Click here to view this complete gallery.

Gallery: Overnight thunderstorms in D/FW

Sean Toner — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 08:43:26 +0000

Severe thunderstorms impacted the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex early 10/23/11, bringing high winds and hail. Spotty reports of high winds came in, with separate reports of 70+ mph in both Plano and Rowlett. With the passage of a strong thunderstorm outflow here in Irving, temperatures dropped from 78 F to 64 F in a matter of just 5 minutes.

Storm total rain as of 3:48am CDT

Storm total rain, zoomed in on D/FW.

I took several long exposure photos and uploaded them into my galleries. Lightning tonight wasn’t very photogenic, but when stitched together in time lapse, you can see the evolution and approach of the strong thunderstorm outflow boundary.

23-Oct-2011 01:51PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 7.1, 16.0mm, 10 sec, ISO 160	23-Oct-2011 01:47PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 7.1, 16.0mm, 10 sec, ISO 160	23-Oct-2011 01:40PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 7.1, 16.0mm, 10 sec, ISO 160
23-Oct-2011 01:32PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 7.1, 16.0mm, 10 sec, ISO 160	23-Oct-2011 01:34PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 7.1, 16.0mm, 10 sec, ISO 160	23-Oct-2011 01:22PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 7.1, 16.0mm, 10 sec, ISO 160

Click here to view the complete gallery.

Departure of overnight T-Storms

Sean Toner — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:30:20 +0000

Here is a quick cellphone camera grab of the departing overnight thunderstorms. You can see the large scale subsidence behind this trough evident in the cloud pattern. A sharp ending to cloud cover between the trough and the ridge behind it.

Gallery: Incredible lightning over the D/FW Metroplex

Sean Toner — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 06:55:31 +0000

Scattered thunderstorms which developed along a southward moving cold front produced some of the most photogenic lightning I have ever captured! These storms brought some beneficial rain to the region, but I think the main headline from this event is the intense and quite impressive night time lightning show.

First off, below is radar estimated rainfall for the area on 9/29/11. Most areas around D/FW received 1/10th to 1/4th of an inch, with isolated areas receiving 1-2 inches of rain. We will see how these compare to actual observations once they come in later.

Storm reports from around the area show high winds were tonight’s main severe threat. Several reports of winds exceeding 50 to 60mph came in from Tarrant, Johnson, Dallas and Ellis counties. Multiple trees were reported down in River Oaks, just northwest of Fort Worth.

My favorite part of the evening was the amazing lightning however. Take a look below for some shots I’ve specifically selected.

29-Sep-2011 20:45PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 4.0, 16.0mm, 10 sec, ISO 80	29-Sep-2011 20:42PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 4.0, 16.0mm, 10 sec, ISO 80	29-Sep-2011 20:48PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 4.0, 16.0mm, 10 sec, ISO 80
29-Sep-2011 20:52PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 4.0, 16.0mm, 10 sec, ISO 80	29-Sep-2011 20:54PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 7.1, 16.0mm, 30 sec, ISO 80	29-Sep-2011 21:00PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 7.1, 16.0mm, 30 sec, ISO 80
29-Sep-2011 20:57PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 7.1, 16.0mm, 30 sec, ISO 80	29-Sep-2011 21:55PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.0, 16.0mm, 10 sec, ISO 160	29-Sep-2011 21:59PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.0, 16.0mm, 8 sec, ISO 160

EDIT 12/3/2011: I created a combination of all lightning photos taken this evening into one epic lightning exposure.

Click here to view the complete gallery.

Galleries: Playing tourist around D/FW

Sean Toner — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:11:26 +0000

I got to play tourist around D/FW for a long 3 day weekend. Here are the grand collection of geotagged photos around the metroplex.

16-Sep-2011 13:48PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.0, 28.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 160	16-Sep-2011 16:05PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 5.0, 135.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100	16-Sep-2011 21:42PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 2.8, 135.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 4000
17-Sep-2011 20:16PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 4.0, 50.0mm, 0.05 sec, ISO 1600	18-Sep-2011 15:20PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 2.8, 16.0mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 160	18-Sep-2011 16:06PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.6, 16.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 160

09-16-11 Joe Pool Lake & Cedar Hill State Park – Click here to view gallery.
09-16-11 Fort Worth Stockyards – Click here to view gallery.
09-16-11 Stockyards Championship Rodeo – Click here to view gallery.
09-17-11 Plano Balloon Festival – Click here to view gallery.
09-18-11 Dallas World Aquarium – Click here to view gallery.
09-18-11 Downtown Dallas – Click here to view gallery.

Gallery: Plano Balloon Festival 2011

Sean Toner — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 03:00:55 +0000

The yearly Plano Balloon Festival, this year sadly was a bit of a disappointment. This year, no balloons launched at 6pm, despite no hazardous weather existing for 60 miles in all directions. At least the fireworks show was decent.

17-Sep-2011 17:30PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.6, 300.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 200	17-Sep-2011 19:29PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.6, 300.0mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 1600	17-Sep-2011 20:06PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 4.0, 16.0mm, 0.8 sec, ISO 400
17-Sep-2011 19:04PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.0, 100.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 400	17-Sep-2011 21:08PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 22.0, 28.0mm, 30 sec, ISO 160	17-Sep-2011 21:13PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 4.0, 16.0mm, 2 sec, ISO 160

Click here to view gallery.

Gallery: Stockyards Championship Rodeo

Sean Toner — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:03:42 +0000

Rodeo at the Cowtown Coliseum, in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Bull Riding, Barrel Racing and more!

16-Sep-2011 20:16PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 4.0, 103.0mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 800	16-Sep-2011 20:27PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 2.8, 135.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 2500	16-Sep-2011 20:38PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 2.8, 108.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 5000
16-Sep-2011 20:41PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 2.8, 135.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 4000	16-Sep-2011 21:40PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 2.8, 123.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 5000	16-Sep-2011 21:52PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 2.8, 123.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 3200

Click here to view gallery.

Gallery: Fort Worth Stockyards

Sean Toner — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:01:29 +0000

The Fort Worth Stockyards, registered on the National Register of Historic Places. Cattle drives, rodeos and more western gear than ever imaginable are here.

16-Sep-2011 15:55PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 2.8, 50.0mm, 0.033 sec, ISO 1600	16-Sep-2011 16:04PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 5.0, 135.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100	16-Sep-2011 16:04PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 5.0, 135.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100
16-Sep-2011 16:05PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 5.0, 135.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100	16-Sep-2011 17:48PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 2.8, 24.0mm, 0.04 sec, ISO 800	16-Sep-2011 18:02PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 4.0, 31.0mm, 0.025 sec, ISO 800

Click here to view gallery.

Gallery: Joe Pool Lake & Cedar Hill State Park

Sean Toner — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:00:45 +0000

Signs of the worst 1 year drought in Texas state history are apparent here at Joe Pool Lake. The lake surface has fallen several feet, and in some areas retreated down the shore by a good 40 or 50 feet from normal.

16-Sep-2011 13:50PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 2.8, 26.0mm, ISO 160	16-Sep-2011 13:48PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.0, 28.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 160	16-Sep-2011 12:58PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.6, 300.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 160
16-Sep-2011 12:43PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.6, 36.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 160	16-Sep-2011 12:40PENTAX Corporation PENTAX K10D , 9.0, 43.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100	16-Sep-2011 12:09PENTAX PENTAX K-5 , 5.6, 16.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 160

Click here to view gallery.

Gallery: Colorado Rockies in Summer

Sean Toner — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:26:26 +0000

My four day road trip out to the central Colorado Rocky Mountains to see Pikes Peak, Cripple Creek and other area attractions. Four days just isn’t enough for all the things to see out there either!

I got to visit the summit of Pikes Peak, a 14,110 foot tall mountain with a road to the top. Got to see the beautiful Seven Falls near Cheyenne Mountain. Toured the area around Cripple Creek and Victor for old abandoned and still active gold mines. Also got to finally visit the top of the Capulin Volcano in New Mexico.

07-14-11: Driving out to Colorado – Click here to view gallery.
07-15-11: Pikes Peak and Ute Pass – Click here to view gallery.
07-15-11: Seven Falls – Click here to view gallery.
07-16-11: Cripple Creek and Gold Mine Tours: Click here to view gallery.
07-17-11: Capulin Volcano and the drive home: Click here to view gallery.

All photos are geotagged with accuracy down to the minute they were taken. You may need to view the photos directly from my Picasa Web Albums to see the geotags correctly. View them directly in Picasa by clicking here.