I'm a big fan of hot weather. I know there are others out there just like me. Last week proved that too much of a good thing is not all that great. At least we don't live in Phoenix or Las Vegas or anywhere in a desert. Death Valley recorded [...]
I'm walking on sunshine , wooah I'm walking on sunshine, woooah I'm walking on sunshine, woooah and don't it feel good!! -Katrina and the Waves 1985 The past few weeks have had these four seasons all rolled in to one. One day, you need a quart of sunscreen, the [...]
Ah, summer. Wait a minute it's January, right? Okay. You know those middle summer thunderstorms we get around here sometimes? Those 'weather events' offer a brief cooling respite during the dog days of summer. It feels good, takes the edge off those hot days and a sure sign that fall [...]
I peruse Sonoma County-and beyond sometimes-in search of scenic weather photos...when I'm not shooting daily assignments. Every once in awhile these two mix and that's a good thing, nothing beats slopping through hurricane force winds and torrential downpours with a camera in your hands. Save for a couple of instances, [...]
Hang on to your hat. A wind storm is on the horizon. If the forecast holds true, this could be a prolonged damaging event, with winds a little stronger that the wind storm we had way back in March, gusts reached as high as 50mph that night. The National Weather [...]
How can you photograph fall with very few leaves turning? Ah. A human induced fall backdrop, courtesy of Art Start and the St. Rose and West End Historical Districts on Saturday. I can see a fall weather photo in the future. -Kent Porter
Sky watcher I am. My head is either in a cloud or behind a camera. When I can find a way to combine the two, my inner weather geekdom is happy. The cumulus build-up has been pretty incredible the last few days over forests way to the north. At any [...]
It's so hot you can fry an egg on the sidewalk. Well, not really. This is a mini heat wave. A junior to the senior heat we get in August and September. This is a non-fry an egg on the sidewalk type of wanna be broiler. With a little time [...]
Finally it seems, summer has arrived. Even though the temperatures are about normal for June, it feels downright hot. I guess because winter stole the show from spring. What we all need to do now is acclimatize to the incipient summer. I couldn't get out of the hot weather [...]
March ended with an early season heat wave. About time, Mrs. Nature. Oh, but those couple 'o weeks of rain were gully washers. Old Man Winter, the husband of the Mrs., was going out kicking and screaming. Mother Earth wasn't giving up that easily, especially after we were teased with [...]
How many frames in a photojournalists life? Millions. Literally.
I’ve lost count since I started shooting photos at eight years-old with a Polaroid Land Camera (which I still own). It’s a way of life this photojournalism thing which is endlessly fascinating. The trip along the way, now in my 31st year professionally and the last 25 with the Press Democrat, has been an adventure in life. What it has to offer, ranging from implausible beauty to the utterly cruel things life randomly pitches out have shaped and molded who I am. That means I get to witness history. Pretty cool, eh? This journey has included photographing lots of inanimate objects which can be terribly boring. I’ve also borne the brunt of people unhappy to see a photographer show up to document less than pleasant circumstances. Then there’s the weather, which wreaks havoc on the human race daily. So I document the clouds. My advice for anyone having a bad day is to go outside and take a picture of those clouds once in awhile. It will do wonders for the interior beast. Unless you are using a metal tripod in an electrical storm.
-Kent Porter