Tony's Takes Photography

Wildlife, landscape and weather photography

Shocking sunflowers

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Shocking sunflowers
Lightning pops over a field of sunflowers east of Denver, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

A little bit of lightning fun on the plains of Colorado.

I was a bit late getting to this spot yesterday evening and missed much of the show. Thankfully, I did get there in time to get a few cool captures.

The thunderstorms were quite strong and very electrified sending many bolts to the ground. Throw in the orange glow of the setting sun and the flowers and it was pretty neat.

I don’t have a lightning trigger so just have to keep snapping pics repeatedly hoping lightning pops at the right time.

Lightning pops over a field of sunflowers east of Denver, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
Lightning pops over a field of sunflowers east of Denver, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Panoramic nighttime lightning illuminated thunderstorm

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Oh what a night! June 11, 2015 found me in far southeastern Colorado chasing storms. We chased this beast for a long ways and while it never did drop a tornado, it did give us some nice looks.

This image is taken after dark and those clouds are being lit up the intra-cloud lightning. It was an absolute non-stop light show.

If you look close, you can see a small town almost directly under the stormcell. It dropped baseball size hail and the straight-line winds downed powerlines.

Nighttime lightning illuminates the structure of a supercell thunderstorm in southeastern Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
Nighttime lightning illuminates the structure of a supercell thunderstorm in southeastern Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Sunset thunderstorm

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Going back into the archives for this one to June 2012. On a tornado chase near Simla, Colorado. The chase did yield one funnel cloud directly overhead and then a very rain-wrapped, obscured twister on the ground. Unfortunately, we were too far away to get ourselves in position to get a good look at the tornado. This was taken not long after when we stopped to watch the impressive thunderstorm as it wound down and obscured the setting sun.

A thunderstorm winds down as the sun sets on the Colorado plains. (© Tony’s Takes)
A thunderstorm winds down as the sun sets on the Colorado plains. (© Tony’s Takes)

Train rides into the storm

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The last few days have brought the first, real springtime thunderstorms to the Denver area and that has me thinking about storm chasing, something I hope to do in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I dug up this image taken back on May 29, 2010. While chasing in the Nebraska Sandhills area, the sky was rather ominous as a coal train headed west. Ultimately this particular chase was relatively uneventful beyond the dramatic skies but it was still a very pretty scene.

A coal train heads into a thunderstorm in the Nebraska Sandhills. (© Tony’s Takes)
A coal train heads into a thunderstorm in the Nebraska Sandhills. (© Tony’s Takes)

The infamous Campo, Colorado tornado

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The Campo, Colorado tornado on May 31, 2010 is one that few storm chasers saw but for those that were there it was incredible.

A storm system would drop six twisters in the same area that day, this the most impressive of them. It was on the ground for 25 minutes moving at a leisurely 10 mph allowing plenty of time to photograph the amazing phenomena as it tore through the ranchland.

This image was published in 5280 Magazine.

May 31, 2010 - A tornado rips through the ranchland near Campo, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
May 31, 2010 – A tornado rips through the ranchland near Campo, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Photo © Tony’s Takes. Image is available for purchase as a print or for digital use. Please don’t steal, my prices aren’t particularly expensive. For more information contact me here.

High plains beast at sunset

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Storm chasing season is a long ways away and I am already longing for it to arrive so was flipping through some older pictures. This monstrous supercell was part of a system that spawned six tornadoes in southeastern Colorado and the Oklahoma panhandle on May 31, 2010. It was an amazing day capped off by this extraordinary scene of the setting sun and a slowly dying supercell thunderstorm

A supercell thunderstorm at sunset in Oklahoma. (© Tony’s Takes)
A supercell thunderstorm at sunset in Oklahoma. (© Tony’s Takes)

Panoramic image of monstrous Colorado supercell

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Thunderstorms rolled across the Colorado plains last night seeming to explode just as they passed the Denver metro area. Numerous tornadoes were reported, one causing damage in Hugo. Large hail, lightning and powerful winds also accompanied the storm. This particular supercell was one of these storms that appeared not long before sunset. Truly an impressive sight!

Monstrous Colorado supercell thunderstorm. (© Tony’s Takes)
Monstrous Colorado supercell thunderstorm. Click for a larger view. (© Tony’s Takes)

An angry Colorado sky

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Yesterday brought severe weather to the Denver area, including a few tornadoes.  Today the weather was still interesting but far less violent.  The skies were nevertheless pretty cool looking.

An angry sky near Denver, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
An angry sky near Denver, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Impressive looking storm cell near Denver

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Severe weather struck northeastern Colorado, a common occurrence this time of year.  Heavy rain, hail and tornadoes routinely pay visits, particularly during the months of May and June.

This storm cell was in western Adams County, just north of Denver, on the edge of the suburb of Thornton.  It was rather impressive looking although it only delivered some rain and dime-sized hail.

Denver area storm cell. (© Tony’s Takes)
Denver area storm cell. (© Tony’s Takes)

Imposing storm clouds near Last Chance, Colorado

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June 11, 2011 – On this day I was storm chasing with the family. No tornadoes would be seen but there was hail, dust devils and pretty cool looking storm structure. The bright, green grass below was augmented by the evening sunlight colored orange by the blowing dust and the dark, imposing clouds above.

Storm clouds near Last Chance, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
Storm clouds near Last Chance, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)