High above Colorado

The Rocky Mountains and Boulder, Colorado

The full resolution image with the ability to zoom on Google Photos.

  I've been going back over some of the photos from my balloon flights the past few years and started wondering if I could stitch a few of them together in to a panorama.  Turns out, yes I can!  I can barely believe how well they are turning out.  If you follow the link to my Google+ version it will allow you to zoom in and look around at everything.

Detail visible in Boulder and the Flatirons when you zoom in.

Silverthorne, CO and Dillon Reservoir.  Coming from the lower right is I-70 heading up to the Eisenhower Tunnel and the split off for Loveland Pass. To the left you can see the ski slopes of Breckenridge.  Behind Breck is Copper Mountain, and it's not as clear, but Vail, the wide open back bowls, and blue sky basin.

Berthoud Pass on the way to Winter Park and Mary Jane is one of my favorite bits.

Barker Reservoir and Nederland, Colorado up in the foothills from Boulder.  A bit further up from Ned is Eldora (town and ski area) and Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.

Launching an Ozonesonde from Boulder

Everything better be secure.  Burst is not gentle...

This one didn't even hit the ground!

"Moon Balloon"

   A couple of years ago I did another flight in order to capture the moon above the haze of our atmosphere.  I made a video of that launch from some GoPro footage and some other small cameras.

Balloon Flight from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.
Video and photography from two high altitude balloon launches from Boulder, Colorado. Views of Boulder, Denver, and the Continental Divide from over 85,000 feet as well as video of launch and burst.  This video was from an earlier balloon flight where I was launching in order to capture the moon near the horizon after the package had made it above the bright glow of the atmosphere.  Out of roughly 700 images, the moon was in a grand total of 3...

The balloon bursting at over 100,000 feet!

  The balloon starts out roughly six feet across, but by the time it gets to 100,000 feet it is almost 30 feet in diameter!  This sequence of four images is from a GoPro running at 48 frames per second.

Launching an ozonesonde balloon at the South Pole in 2009

  I learned about launching balloons working for NOAA measuring the ozone layer.  One of the trickiest places to launch balloons is at the South Pole while measuring the annual formation of the Antarctic Ozone Hole.  I wintered over during the 2009 season and during the six months of darkness the rubber balloons are unable to stretch without the warmth of the sun shinning on them.  We must instead launch the instruments on large plastic balloons. 

  My website: www.PatrickCullis.com
  I have more images from above Colorado at my page on High Altitude Balloons.
  Night photography from Antarctica are here:
  Photography of Boulder's iconic Flatirons are here:

Warning:  I have read the FAA regulations on free flying balloons many times and they are very specific about size, density, and weight restrictions.  If you want to fly a high altitude balloon, please be sure that you are not breaking any laws. 

Thank you cloud forecast

  It was looking doubtful right down to the moment I started hiking up the trail to set up my tripods.  Thick pockets of clouds continued to linger on the front range right up through sunset, but the Canadian astronomy forecast held true and they began to break right on the mark.

Boulder Panstarrs from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

Comet Panstarrs above Boulder, CO

Comet Panstarrs - Updated 3/15

Comet Panstarrs - March 14, 2013 from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

  I'm much happier with the footage from my second attempt on the 14th.  

Comet Panstarrs - March 13, 2013 from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

  Although the haze that had hung over Boulder all of Wednesday finally began to burn away by the end of the day, some serious wave clouds built above the Frontrange and distant divide as sunset approached.  I decided it was only a short drive to a good overlook so I headed out to see what I could see.  Finally at 45 minutes after sunset the comet burst from the upper layer of clouds and quickly made its way down to the horizon.  I got a couple of good shots I was able to splice in to this movie, but the view through the binoculars took the cake.  Amazing!

Comet Panstarrs - March 13, 2013 - Through the haze and in to the clouds.

Comet Panstarrs over the Flatirons of Boulder, Colorado - March 13, 2013

Snow on the Flatirons

Snow on the Flatirons from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

  Video from my photo shoots of the Flatirons in Boulder on February 27th.  I took photos early in the morning before sunrise and then later in the evening after sunset and before the nearly full moon rose on the eastern horizon.  Once the moon rose, it put a spotlight on the iconic peaks while the stars were still visible.  Music is by Excavacation and my good friend Chad Parsons.  Thank you to him for providing good music to set my photos to.

Moon Burn Pt2

The Flatirons Pre-Moonrise

  Since I've been waiting over a year for the proper snow and lighting conditions to align, I decided to sack up and head back out in the chilly evening to set up cameras under crystal clear skies.  At first the bright stellar jewels of the western sky stole the show above the muted peaks of Green Mountain.  Then the moon rose and set a spot light upon the landscape, making the recent snow glow bright in the night.

The Moon rises in the East

Orion and Sirius above the Flatirons

Moonlit Flatiron Long Exposure

Moon Burn

Moon over the snow covered Flatirons

  Snow fell on the Flatirons yesterday and I decided it was about time for me to muster the motivation and take a few pictures before the warm Boulder Sun bakes it off.  In the first two you can just make out the halo that surrounded the Moon before the clouds continued to clear.  It was a seriously beautiful night.

Frosty Flatirons

The photographer and Boulder, CO

The Flatirons and Moon

The Geminid Meteor Shower

Geminid Fireball above the Flatirons.

  The Geminid Meteor Shower peaked the night of December 13-14 and the weather held off just enough for me to get some really nice shots of some really bright meteors.  This one at top is my favorite and the largest fireball I captured above the Flatirons along with Orion, Jupiter, and the Pleiades.  The National Weather Service forecast was predicting 50-73% cloud cover throughout the night.  Thankfully, predicting the weather still proves nearly impossible and the world is full of pleasant surprises.

Geminid2012 from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

Geminid Meteor

Geminid Meteor over the First Flatiron

Clouds

  I set up a camera for six hours filming clouds over the Flatirons on July 18, 2012.