Amazing morning of fog on the Front Range.

Although the freezing precipitation event didn't amount to much, the freezing condensation event this morning was truly impressive. Boulder (and several other cities) were locked in a freezing valley fog for several hours. Visibility was very poor and most of the landscape was covered with a thin layer of frost. As the fog cleared, I witnessed fog "devils" rising over the Front Range as stronger upper level winds plunged down toward the 700mb level. As the fog deck lifted above my head, I could see wave clouds (associated with high wind events) illuminated by the rising sun. Quickly reviewing my photos, I can see that I've pulled off the best fog shots I've ever captured (one of these shots will appear on perilousplanet.com in a couple weeks - above shot is just general documentation). Meteorologically, it was an incredible day.

Although fog is less glamorous than some hazards (such as a tornado), it is still a significant hazard and has claimed the lives of thousands of people. Although the National Weather Service predicted this fog and issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook that described current conditions of less than 1/4 of a mile, they failed to issue a dense fog advisory. At 6000 feet near the city limits of Boulder, visibility was less than 500 feet on county roads for several hours. I'm going to contact NWS to request clarification of their reasons for not issuing an advisory for this event, and strongly encourage them to review their policies pertaining to the issuance of advisories.

Gearing up for freezing precipitation event.

The next couple days show some promise of freezing precipitation. Cloud depth looks to be shallow however, probably resulting in freezing drizzle only and little accumulation. The same cold front responsible for this drizzle will likely produce freezing fog against the Front Range. In either case, the potential for hazardous weather exists and I'll be carrying my gear with me all day. Photos to follow if I can get some good shots.

New photos added to Perilous Planet.

I've added two photos to the Perilous Planet website: One Iowa '08 flood shot and one temperature extreme shot from here on the Front Range this summer. Although 102 degrees wasn't the highest temperature recorded on that day, I really like the contrast of this particular shot. More updates to come before the holidays, but I promised my Hazardous Weather class a killer slideshow next week so I need to finish that up first.

New community for photojournalists in the Denver Metro Area.

I've created a new community for photojournalists working along the Colorado Front Range. Simply called, Front Range Photojournalists, this community intends to be just that - a community of working photojournalists and photojournalism students. Weekly gatherings in downtown Denver bring us together to exchange ideas, share battle stories, and just make connections with other journalists working in our field. No membership dues, no required meetings. Your participation is your membership.

To join this group, you'll need a Facebook account. Then search for the name of the group and make a request to join. Our first informal meeting is next Thursday at 6:00pm at The Market in downtown Denver. I encourage all photojournalists, from students to retiring professionals, to take a little time to help us develop this community. I think it will be quite rewarding for all involved.

Long weekend of editing and gear updates.

I managed to edit about 1000 photos this weekend. Apparently, not a moment too soon as the Front Range's unseasonably warm weather finally moves out and Fall makes a serious appearance in about 48 hours. One of my extremely brief shoots was a grassland fire along US 36. After the action died down, I found myself stuck in traffic, as usual.

Gear Update: I finally secured a longer lens with legacy glass that won't slow me down too much. Resolution testing next week against Nikon's best to make sure it's up to the task of the new higher resolution sensors. After some distribution issues, my new Kata journalist's bag arrived as well. While it hasn't been put though it's paces in really extreme conditions yet, it's one of the best I've used so far. Nothing like Israeli-made gear.

Tomorrow's MTR 3500 Hazardous Weather Topic at Metro State College: Windstorms. Timing couldn't be much better. Since my house is located in one of the most extreme wind environments on planet Earth, I don't think I'll be doing much prep work for this lecture. Now if I could just get some sleep! :-)