Land That Spring Forgot

March 20, 2018 was the official first day of spring. Mother Nature had other ideas. A winter storm with high winds affected most of the state of Iowa on Saturday, March 24, and dumped about 7 inches of snow where the above image was captured--at Dry Run Creek at the border of Cedar Rapids and Marion. I positioned my Vanguard Alta Series 70 tripod in the shallow, slow moving water of the creek. This image is a stack of 13 images (10:47-10:50 pm CDT), all 2.5-second exposures at f/22, 100 ISO and 11mm focal length. Stacking via StarStaX2. I used my Tokina AT-X Pro DX 11-16 mm f/2.8 lens with an X2 77 mm ND filter. The camera did not capture the horizontal snow in the air at the time. At this moment it was 30 degrees F temperature, 30 degrees dew point and 97% humidity.

Black and white version of top image.

10:50 pm. Looking the opposite direction at the same spot as the top images. Single exposure with same camera settings as top images. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Radar image capture for same time as photographs, showing extensive area of snow. Target icon indicates position of photo captures.

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Foggy Freezy

Fog advisories were issued from the National Weather Service on Sunday morning, March 18, 2018  in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Fog, mixed with sub-freezing temperatures and high humidities, converted landscapes into frosty-freezy views. The panoramic view above looks west-to-north at 7:55 am CDT from the back grounds at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids. Air temperature was 27 degrees F, with humidity at 89%.

7:56 am. Looking the opposite direction from near the same location.

8:28 am. Frosted grass-level view from the church's front grounds, looking northeast.

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Ghost Sun, Sky Blaze

Often, photographers arrive at a desired location for an intended photoshoot and find opportunities in addition to, or in place of the original subject. Good examples of this was waiting for the planet Mercury's greatest eastern elongation appearance just after sunset on March 14 and 15, 2018. Above, the sun, 10 minutes below the horizon on Wednesday, March 14, illuminated a passing cloud and through special atmospheric conditions created a spectacular "false sun." The image was captured from the grounds at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Aperature priority at f/16)

Same thing the next evening on Thursday, March 15. As I waited for the sky to darken and for the planets Venus and Mercury to emerge from behind a cloud-streaked sky (toward the left in the above image) the mixture of ambient light from dusk and the clouds created a breathtaking farmstead scene at 7:48 pm CDT. 0.4-second exposure at f/6.3, 500 ISO and 85mm focal length. Image looks northwest from Radio Road in Marion, Iowa, about one mile east of Highway 13. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Ides of Mercury

The planet Mercury achieved its greatest eastern elongation from the sun for the year at 1:18 pm (CDT) on Thursday, March 15, 2018. During this stage, it was actually higher in the sky than its brighter companion, the planet Venus. Above, the -3.91 magnitude Venus is seen at center, with the -0.15 magnitude Mercury about 3 degrees above and right of it (near top of image) at 7:53 pm CDT.
The image looks west from Radio Road, about one mile east of Highway 13, northeast of Marion, Iowa. It is a 0.4-second exposure at f/6.3, 500 ISO and 85mm focal length. Minutes after this image was captured, clouds from the right moved in and obscured the scene. Air temperature was 41 degrees F.

Shown here the previous evening at 8:02 pm from the grounds at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The scene preceded Mercury's greatest eastern elongation by about 17 hours. Air temperature was 43 degrees F. 0.6-second exposure at f/4, 400 ISO and 90mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Robinanza Despite The Cold

Looking skyward, a lone robin perches in the high branches of a tree in Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Saturday morning, March 10, 2018. On the grounds below, there were literally hundreds of hungry robins foraging for food, presumably on their way north.

Even though it seemed these robins got bad intel--as snow was still on the ground and temperatures were in the mid-30s--there were an amazingly large number of them. Above, they feed from areas of the park that were clear of snow. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

This image, taken the next morning from the front grounds of Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, shows a large group of robins feeding on the ground and some in the branches of a flowering crab tree, which provided small berries. iPhone 6- Plus camera.

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Mixed Bag of Precip

Just 24 hours before the above image was captured at 3:28 pm CST, Monday, March 5, 2018 in Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, conditions were sunny with mild temperatures of 54 degrees F. But hey, this is Iowa, and things change in an instant! Above, freezing rain clings to the branches of a European Larch. Below, likewise on the branches of a lilac bush, coating green and supple buds waiting for the signal of spring.

The day brought a broad mixed bag of weather conditions this day: rain, sleet, freezing rain, lightning, high wind and finally snow. This is definitely what it means to have March come in like a "lion." Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

This is what my weather station read at the moment (above), as well as a radar image (below):

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Florida Evening Sky

A waxing crescent moon accents a tranquil evening sky in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, February 17, 2018. What better view can one have while relaxing on a patio for a barbecue with temperatures in the 70s in February? This image, captured at 6:40 pm EST, looks west from Patricia Lane in the city. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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