Going Leafing...

  I flew my camera on another balloon this week to try and capture the Aspen leaves changing up in the mountains.  It was pretty excellent conditions and I think I got some good stuff!  This photo is from 95,000 feet above Floyd Hill.  We had to hike a little ways, but it was well worth it.

  I also had my GoPro taking video of the balloon when it popped and got some incredible images of the latex balloon bursting.  My favorite is the one where it just starts showing the first sign of popping, but most people prefer the later ones when it really gets shredding.  The latex dust "sphere" left behind is also pretty cool.

The Antarctic Ozone Hole

The Antarctic Ozone Hole from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

  If you ever wondered, "what is the Antarctic Ozone Hole?"  "Is the ozone hole always there?"  "How bad is the ozone layer?"  "Or, what did Patrick do down in Antarctica other than photograph aurora?"  This video is for you!

PotD #003

  The Southern Colorado Front Range looking towards the Black Forest and Colorado Springs, and the snow-capped rocky mountains, including Pike's Peak in the isolated collection of snow-capped peaks!

Galapagos

I went to the Galapagos Islands for work and then a week of vacation and got some good photos.










Check out my albums here on flickr

High Altitude Balloon Flight

Balloon Flight from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

  A short video compiling footage from two balloon flights last summer.  Includes high resolution photos from above 85,000 feet as well as video from launch, burst, and landing.

  Music by Excavacations - Actual Behavior

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.