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

Uintah Long Form

Uintah Long Form from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

  Here is the original video I made of Fantasy Canyon and the Uintah Basin in Utah.  In the "Ozone Balloons and the Uintah Basin" video I shortened the footage down and removed most of the night photography and time-lapse videos so that it could better capture the scene of our research and the strange atmospheric movements caused by the temperature inversion in the Basin.  This video takes a more leisurely stroll through the area, enjoying the movement of shadows on sculpted rock formations in Fantasy Canyon and the incredibly vivid sunsets through the pollution haze of the oil fields.

  Music by Chad Parsons.

The Big Burn

The BIG BURN from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

  I've finished editing the video from Snowmass this January.  I've been busy throwing together video from my trip to Vernal, Utah and the Uintah Basin but have also found time to put the finishing touches to my snowboarding video from Snowmass.  I really, really like the new perspective from the pole camera and can't wait to get it out in to the deep snow.

Updated 2/18/2013 with a track titled "Red Rooster" by my brother Jay.

Ozone Balloons and the Uintah Basin

Ozone balloons in the Uintah Basin from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.

Fantasy Canyon

Rock formation at Fantasy Canyon in Utah

  I went out to Venal, Utah for work and was lucky to be able to photograph an amazing formation in the Uintah Basin.  Fantasy Canyon is a pristine piece of beauty tucked away inside the vast sprawl of Utah's oil fields.  We were there measuring winter time ozone levels which have hit some amazingly high numbers over the past several years, and I had some free time to set up my cameras while the data came down. 

Fresh Powder on Fantasy Canyon

  We first found out about the small state park because of a curious mind and a brochure in the Vernal Airport Enterprise Rent-a-Car. 

  We were given permission to run a tether in the parking lot of the Canyon for vertical ozone and meteorological profiles.  The Uintah Basin is surrounded by three ranges of mountains which trap polluted air inside of it like a fish bowl.

Measuring Ozone from a Tether

Chance suited up for a cold afternoon.

Balloon above Fantasy Canyon

Fantasy Canyon from the balloon

  For one run I actually attached my helmet camera to the balloon in order to get some better views of the surrounding landscape.  The "canyon" consists of the eroding rocks seen just below and left of center.

I see a mayan chieftain in this silhouette.

  I worked the afternoon shift at the canyon several times and was treated to some pretty fantastic sunsets.  It felt wonderful out there in the sun, but as soon as it set, temperatures dropped in to the single digits.

  

Ozone Balloon joins Jupiter and the Pleiades

Witches Head and Three Dogs at night

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

Test Footage

  December 9, 2012 - First day of the season.  The storm pattern in Colorado finally shifted and brought glorious snowflakes to the mountains.  I woke at 5:30, gathered my gear and headed south to I-70.  I was originally headed for Copper Mountain who was reporting 6" and 7" total over 48 hours when Winter Park's report came in at 7" and 14".  I made an audible north to Granby and over Berthoud Pass.  I've been waiting for this season to start for a while and wanted to test out some of the new angles for shots since it was going to be a Sunday mad house on the slopes anyway.  I really like the perspective from the pole shots, but need to work on squeezing out a little more vertical angle to include the board and face instead of just staring at my midsection.



2013 Ski Test Footage from Patrick Cullis on Vimeo.