Bloomin' Orchid

Paphiopedilum Philippinense

  The large slipper orchid I got in the spring for my birthday sent up its first spike and bloomed over the New Year!  I got this from Fantasy Orchids in Louisville, CO which is just an incredible greenhouse. I bought it out-of-bloom, so this was especially exciting to witness as it progressed over the month of December and in to the 2014.  The technical name is Paphiopedilum Philippinense and they are known for their long petals which are currently at 7" on the first bloom.

Paphiopedilum - Three open, one to go.

Paph "tentacles" emerge

Paph Staminode

A pretty good Festivus present.

Flickr Update

pcully's photostream on Flickr.

I've discarded my website for a new flickr album and am actually incredibly happy with it. Check it out!

Take the Highway... (to the Moon over the Great Divide)

The Moon sets above the Great Divide from 86,000 feet above Colorado.

flickr version with labeled landmarks

  The snow-capped Rocky Mountains of Colorado stretch across this photograph taken on June 27, 2013 from 86,000 feet.  The waning Moon shines in the black sky above the Earth's thin atmosphere.  I-70 snakes up from the bottom towards Loveland Pass and the Eisenhower Tunnel.

The Moon above the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Dillon Reservoir, I-70, Georgetown, Berthoud Pass, and Winter Park / Mary Jane

  In the center of the photo can be seen (from top-left to right) Dillon Reservoir in Frisco, CO, I-70 snaking down from the Eisenhower Tunnel to Georgetown (in valley stretching from left to right,) and Berthoud Pass to Winter Park Ski Area in the top right.

Lake Granby and the Continental Divide

Denver and Boulder from 86,000 feet.  

  From a view looking northeast, the sprawl of Denver can be seen in the bottom right.  Nestled against the foothills and iconic Flatirons, Boulder is on the left, below center.

Go Higher

Boulder, Colorado and the Continental Divide from 100,000 feet.

 Snow-capped peaks highlight the Continental Divide while smoke from forest fires fill the valleys.  I'm hoping to get a clear day soon for a follow up, but may have to wait until winter to get a transparent air mass.

Zion Videos

Three trails in Zion National Park from this past October.  Zion is an incredible place I hope to get back to soon.

The Subway Trail - Top to Bottom from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

Zion - Angels Landing from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.
Zion Narrows from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

In Video Form

South Pole Aurora from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

  Best fullscreen and HD.

Aurora #1

2009 Winter-Over Crew - South Pole, Antarctica

I was in charge of putting together the station winter-over crew photo for 2009.  This was one of my favorites because I really nailed the exposure with the right number of headlamps and flashlights reflecting off the snow covered station.  That's me in the bottom left corner.

The Moon and Aurora above the South Pole Stations.

  The Moon, aurora and stations from my work out at ARO.  The Atmospheric Research Observatory is located a quarter mile out in the "Clean Air Sector." 

Aurora above the Old Dome Station during its last winter before demolition.

I still got to see some pretty impressive aurora even though we were near the minimum of the solar cycle in 2009. One of my favorite photographic targets was that of the Old Dome Station.  The geodesic dome housed our frozen food storage for the year.  Every two weeks a group of volunteers would head out in to the frozen aisles and gather the request from our amazing chefs.

Aurora and the Milky Way above the Atmospheric Research Observatory

 I really enjoyed working at the Atmospheric Research Observatory.  With it placed a quarter mile away from the station I had plenty of time for my eyes to dark-adapt for aurora and star gazing.

Meteor and Aurora above MAPO and the South Pole Telescope.

One weekend I decided to hike out to the South Pole Telescope in order to get some photos during a calibration period when the telescope remains motionless.  On the way out to the telescope I decided to pause for one photo of the MAPO building and got lucky with a meteor streaking through the Milky Way.

 Aurora above a Scott Tent and the South Pole.

  I never actually ended up doing it, but a half dozen of the crew ended up spending a night camping out in the Scott Tent set up next to the South Pole marker while it was -80F.