Story Pines Inn

09/04/2026

A story worth listening to…

08/29/2026

Today

08/13/2026

07/17/2026

Another glorious day at SPI 🌻🦋♥️

07/16/2026

Let's start things off right by shooting flying ashtrays... Right?

07/06/2026

The odds were stacked against me. They always are, when the goal is to photograph two things together that are rare by themselves. An active lightning storm drifting under the stars, not too close and not too far. It can’t be moving away too fast or approaching or weakening or have trailing clouds behind it getting in the way. And during summer lightning season, bright auroras are less likely because the nights are short. When the northern lights are out, the instinct is always to head away from storm clouds, not towards them. It’s no wonder that I’ve tried and failed so many times for so many years to get this shot.

But finally on the eve of Independence Day all the ingredients started coming together. On a hilltop outside of Sheridan I waited for the obscuring clouds to clear as darkness fell. Through holes in the clouds I could tell that this was no ordinary aurora. It was the best of the year. Within minutes the sky opened up while at the same time the electrical storm intensified. Red pillars and pulsing green waves shot up to the zenith and beyond, covering half the sky. Lightning was near constant, striking the ground and illuminating the thundercloud above. The edges of the anvil took on a silver sheen as a bright moon rose to the east. No fireworks show could ever compare to what I witnessed that night.