Chasing light with a little luck

All I can say is WOW, what a week. I have been chasing the Perseid Meteor Shower all week with fellow photographer Dan Newton (see his shots HERE). We eventually ended up on the Playa in the Black Rock Desert. Unfortunately, the shower was ending when we made it to the Playa so we were only able to photograph a few small meteors.

The first night of the meteor shower was the best night to view the shower (in Nevada anyways) and allowed me to get some different colored meteors. I submitted one of my favorites to the Associated Press, which was picked up by National Geographic (SEE THE IMAGE).

A stitched panoramic image of our camp on the Playa. The Milky Way and Jupiter are above our camp. Click to see the bigger and better version.

Getting the images was all but easy. Basically, I watched the shower, pointed my camera in the general direction and kept the shutter firing. I got about one image for every hour I had the shutter firing. I would see the meteors from overhead, but few would even make it to the general area my camera was pointed at. Damn things!!! So it was about 99.99% luck and .01% skill.

Thanks again to everyone who went with me on my crazy adventure to photography a few meteors. It was a great experience and a fun chase!

-Kevin

(Above and Below: Perseid Meteors in the night sky over Vinton, Calif.)

The last hour of sunlight on the Playa

Dan taking pictures in the Playa

An HDR shot of me on the Playa before sunset.

Our tent on the Playa at 2 a.m.

Another self-portrait of me on the Playa. Beam me up!

Sunrise on the Playa which culminated the chasing of the Perseid Meteors.

Knockout week

It was a great week to be in Northern Nevada. I had a funtastic time shooting fireworks with Fielding, Dan and Meghan in Tahoe City. Thanks for the strawberry Meghan! I was really pleased that during my star-trail exposure (after the firework show), an extra firework was shot off adding a cool aspect to my shot.

The boxing fight had some great faces and some great hits...3 KO's. I will post the KO's as soon as they are published first from a few clients. The shot on the right is one of my favorites from the night.

(Right: Tyler Hinkey, left, and Andre Carthron punch each other during the heavy weight round at the Reno Events Center on July 10. Carthron won the match. Photo by Kevin Clifford).


(Below: Fourth of July fireworks are shot over Lake Tahoe near Tahoe City, Calif. Photos by Kevin Clifford.)

This one is to my mom

My mom graduated last month with her Master's Degree at the University of Nevada, Reno (pics below). She has been working on this degree for a long time, due to helping me and my brother get through school. Even though I say thank you once in a while, it does not really convey the great appreciation and sacrifices she has done for me. Thank you again mom for all your hard work and all the time you had to put up with me. I love you!

As for next week the Reno Rodeo will be starting so that means a week of straight shooting, beef jerky eating and getting dirty.

-Kevin

Boston Baked Beans

Yeah, I know that it's been a few months since my last update. I have been quite busy to say the least, which is a good thing for this type of economy. I logged over 7,000 miles in May alone so far. I've shot lots of photos since then, Easter, Nevada Legislature, general newspaper assignments, etc. But instead of showing my typical photos, I decided to post photos from my vacation to Boston to visit recent master's graduate Crista. Congrats to her! It was a fun adventure in Boston and I wish I could have spent more time there. Also, soon I will post my projects that I have been working on when I have completed them. Until next time!

-Kevin

Shots from the plane rides to Boston. Some pretty cool patterns and a cool view of Half Dome. It's also amazing how LA is so packed companied to farm sites across the country.



The first few days at Boston. It's cool that the city has some great parks, historic grave sites and some cute wildlife. The skyscrapers are also huge, which is a change from casino's and hotel skylines.






The Bunker Hill Memorial was a fantastic view, but unfortunately it closed down right as we got there so we couldn't get a shot from the top.

Had to at least go to a Red Sox game before I left. It was a really fun time and they won! The experience was just like being in the movie FEVER PITCH.



Tea into the harbor...history repeats itself!