More Winter Weather: This Round Looks to Be a Doozy

We’ve got another winter storm on the way. It’s expected to hit around 1:00 a.m. and hit its max here around 7:00. By the time it”s over, we could have up to eight inches of new snow, and with more winter storms in the forecast for these next few days, that’s just the leading edge of the snowfall.

But this is nothing new. Already snow is old hat. Since November, Michigan has gotten slammed with one major winter storm after another. A series of Alberta Clippers dumped a squatload of the white stuff on us a few weeks ago, and that was just part of the cold season”s synoptic fun. We’ve had freezing rain, flurries, and whiteouts. Of course lake effect snow has pitched in its obligatory contribution; what would Michigan be without that?

And it’s not even winter yet. Not officially, not till Sunday.

Sure seems like winter, though. Not only so, but it seems like this winter is well on the way to eclipsing the one we had last year, and that one set a record for snowfall.

This latest round of incoming winter weather promises to chuck in pretty much everything a body could hope for. I see lightning flashes recorded in Iowa. We may be logging some of that here in West Michigan come morning. Interestingly, besides looping us in for a winter storm warning, the SPC has included our area in a “general thunderstorms” region. With thundersnow a distinct possibility, I have a hunch that life is about to get fun.

Tomorrow will be a day to lay low, write, and enjoy being indoors with a good mug of brew and my friend Lisa to make for good conversation. I don’t mind that arrangement, not at all. I can”t believe I”m saying this, but…winter ain’t all that bad.

December 18, 2008 by
Filed Under: Life, Storm Chasing, Weather

Saxophone Art

Ready for a little personal window into my life? I’ve got this sax art thing going on in my apartment. Nothing major, but I thought it would be fun to give you a glimpse of some of the saxophonical objects that occupy my living room.

We’ll start with my saxophone lamp. This was a gift from my beautiful mother. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on it. It”s majorly cool–the photo doesn”t nearly do it justice. And yes, it’s made out of a real saxophone. I could take the guts out of the lamp, have the horn reworked, and then play it. But I like it as a lamp much better.

This funky little guy was given to me by my wonderful sister, Diane, one Christmas years ago. He’s the product of a nylon stocking, a bit of fabric, and Diane’s immense creativity. Another treasure. I love the gnarly expression on his face. He’s clearly a street musician. His saxophone looks a bit like something you’d find swimming around in the sea, but its lack of anatomical correctness contributes mightily to its coolness quotient.

If you’ve never seen a saxofrog before, now you have. He may not be green like Kermit, but he plays ten times the horn. My beloved buddy Duane gave him to me out of the blue one day. He’s found a nice, shady spot to busk beneath my Chinese evergreens. The frog, that is, not Duane.

I know just what you”re thinking: “Aaawwww!!!” Let me tell you, though, that besides cornering the market on Cute, my little furry bear pal, here, is a formidable alto player, and as a section leader, he”s dynamite. Besides that, he’s quite the literati, and loves to surround himself with good books.

There you have it–the things that make for a sax player”s living room. Hope you enjoyed the tour!

December 17, 2008 by
Filed Under: Jazz, Life, Music, Saxophone

Tornado Photos I Have Known and Flubbed

Even as I’m discovering the rewards of winter photography, I confess that I’m beyond eager for storm season 2009 to arrive. I expect that it will be the year when I finally–finally!–start taking some decent storm photos.

I bought my Canon Rebel XTi with Sigma 18-200mm OS glass in March of this year. Not knowing a thing about DSLR cameras, I naively figured that the automatic settings would make up for my lack of experience. As a result, I made an absolute mishmash of my chase photos. In the extremely low light of some of the storm environments I encountered out west this last May, my camera would refuse to fire at the worst possible moments. Alternatively, the flash would go off, illuminating such fascinating subjects as the rain streaks on the windshield which my auto-focus, in a display of whimsical and sadistic humor, was zeroing in on while ignoring the tornado crossing the road in front of our vehicle at close range. Here”s what I”m talkin” about…

Not exactly everything one could hope for, right?

Please don’t chide me for not spending time getting to know my camera–I thought I had done just that. But the fully manual mode, which could have saved me a lot of grief, was still a mystery to me. So was RAW, and white balance, and bracketing, and anything beyond the basic automatic settings. Nuff said. I got what I got.

Not all of it was terrible, either. If you like wall clouds, I wound up with some cool shots. And at least one tornado photo turned out well enough that you can actually see an elephant”s trunk waaaaay off in the distance, provided you squint and use your imagination.

Still, the Oberlin cone…the small tornadoes circumnavigating the backside of what I think was the Quinter meso…the Hazleton, Iowa, wedge…oh, maaan, the shots I screwed up! I see some of the beautiful images captured by other chasers on Stormtrack, and I’m filled with a mix of admiration and pure-green envy. I could”a been a contender!

But 2009–that’s when I get to redeem myself. I hope. If it”s a good year for storms, and if it’s a good year for me as far as getting to where the storms are, then I think I”ve finally got both the equipment and the basic know-how to put some decent taxidermy in my convective game room. I can”t wait to try!

December 16, 2008 by
Filed Under: Life, Photography, Storm Chasing, Tornadoes, Weather

Snow Photography at Maher Audubon Sanctuary

Today was my second winter photo expedition, and I returned from it more impressed than ever with the stunning possibilities that reside in a snow-clad landscape. It was after 3:00 p.m. when I headed out to the Maher Audubon Sanctuary on 108th Street near the Coldwater River. The afternoon sun had that marvelous slant to it that brings out the gold in the light, and long shadows stretched through the woods and added drama to the snowscape.

Once again I’ll conserve my words and let a few images tell the story.

Frozen Swamp

Cattails

Snow Sculpture

Tree Trunk

December 10, 2008 by
Filed Under: Life, Nature, Photography, Weather

Alberta Clipper: A Michigan Snow Slam

The low has lifted off to the northeast into Canada and the skies are clear, but the wind is still lashing powdery snow across the landscape as the tail end of an Alberta Clipper reluctantly eases its grip on Michigan. From what I can judge looking at RUC and NAM, the winds should die down by late morning or early afternoon tomorrow as a high moves into the area.

Here’s what the system looked like on GR2 earlier today.

Of course, this is just the radar at KGRR; a regional composite would depict the system in its entirety. It hasn”t been as bad as I”d anticipated, but it has still dumped a lot of snow. Taken all around, we are experiencing what I would call a good, old-fashioned Michigan winter–the real deal, the way things used to be. We got one of those last year, too. And it won”t be such a bad thing if we get another one. The Great Lakes water levels could stand another good injection of snowmelt, and the way the season has started, they look to be getting one.

Having just discovered how rewarding winter photography can be, I”m curious to see what the season holds. Tonight, having driven home from a gig, I can safely say that black ice and cold temperatures are a part of the mix. But that”s just part of the price tag for living in Michigan, and there are compensations. I”ll be standing by with my camera, hoping to make the most of the snowy season.

December 6, 2008 by
Filed Under: Life, Nature, Storm Chasing, Weather

Winter Photography: My First Images

Looks like I caught the perfect weather yesterday for my first foray into winter photography. Today the sky is a milky gray monochrome filled with a constant supply of snow, now light, now heavy, subject to the whimsies of the lake effect. But yesterday was magical, a day of contrasts–of fantastic cloudscapes, resonant, deep blue skies, dancing snowflakes, and vanilla-colored curtains of distant snow showers gleaming in the slanting sun.

I’m not going to say much more about it. Instead, I’m going to let a few pictures tell the story. These were all shot southwest of Hastings, Michigan, near the Barry State Game Area.

Cloudscape — I’m captivated by the expressiveness of the clouds. And I love how they seem to follow the contours of the treeline like a penumbra.

Linescape — Winter strips the landscape down to its fundamental geometry, to tapestries of lines and angles. I’m so pleased with how this shot turned out. Not bad for a greenhorn, I think.

Transfiguration — The stump to the right of the backlit tree makes me think of Moses before the burning bush.

Old Drive — The Barry State Game Area is punctuated with the relics of old homesteads and farms that couldn”t quite make it in the sandy soil. I’m sure a house once stood here. All that’s left is the drive leading past the trees into an empty field.

December 5, 2008 by
Filed Under: Life, Nature, Photography, Weather

Snowy Landscape

My friend Kurt Hulst brought to my attention the fact that I don’t include many photos in my blogs. This is true. Part of the reason has had to do with my learning curve as a photographer. But I fancy that I’ve improved quite a bit since I first bought my Rebel XTi in the spring; the rest of the matter is simply that I’ve limited myself regarding this blog to storm chasing and sax playing.

Now, storms come when they come, and unless global warming accelerates remarkably, I expect it’ll be a while before we see anything resembling springtime weather. As for the sax, when I”m at a club, it’s usually to play, not to photograph.

So those are my excuses. But I think maybe I need to broaden my options a bit for the sake of adding a little color to this blog. Otherwise, I face three months–four, really–with little to say, weatherwise, other than, “Dang, I wish the spring would get here.” And all that time, the winter has a beauty and interest of its own, and photo opportunities I hadn”t imagined.

Until today, that is, when I set out to photograph my first snowy landscape of the year. I drove out to some of my favorite backroads in Barry County, out near my church west of Hastings. There, in the glacial hills near the Barry State Game Area, the landscape is particularly photogenic, and I was not disappointed in what I found.

Here is one photo. There are others, but this will do for now.

Kurt, this one’s for you!

December 4, 2008 by
Filed Under: Life, Nature, Photography, Weather

Lake Effect Snow

Down comes the snow. Here in Michigan, we get snow even when nearby states are snow-free. How so? It’s called “lake effect snow,” and it arises when the relatively warmer waters of Lake Michigan evaporate, condense, and freeze into snowflakes in the colder air above. This can add real interest when you’re out and about. You can be driving under crystal blue skies one minute and whiteout conditions the next. The closer you are to the lakeshore, the thicker the snow; inland, it gradually thins out, though the snow bands can stretch a long ways.

As I write, lake effect snow is falling here in Caledonia, forty miles east of Lake Michigan. I might as well get used to the stuff since I’ll be seeing a lot of it these next few months. I’d like to think that it”s at least helping to raise the water levels in the Great Lakes, but that”s not how lake effect snow works. Synoptic winter systems get the job done, but lake effect snow is just sleight of hand, robbing Peter to pay Paul. It takes from Lake Michigan, winds up back in Lake Michigan, and leaves us neither the richer nor the poorer.

I have to say, though, snow-Grinch that I am, that right now, this snowfall sure looks pretty.

December 4, 2008 by
Filed Under: Life, Nature, Storm Chasing, Weather

Snow Drifts, F5 Data, and Spring Weather Dreamin’

And so we head back into winter, or winter heads back into us. Yesterday, temperatures hit the forty-five degree mark, the streets ran with water, and the whole landscape appeared to be in meltdown. Yet today, as the snow flies outside, the notion that storm chasing season lies just around the corner seems almost absurd. Nothing outside my window offers so much as a hint of spring weather on the way. The borders of the parking lot at my apartment are demarcated with tall piles of snow, and I”m sure that by tomorrow morning, the plow will have plenty more material to work with.

This afternoon, after a sushi lunch at the Tokyo Grill, I saw my close friend Kimberly off at the airport. She came out for an all-too-brief but very nice visit for my birthday, which is today. We had a great time, which included dinner yesterday with my mother and sister; and on the day before, Saturday, a drive along the Lake Michigan coastline. The ice formations are spectacular this year, and Kimberly, who lives in California, had never seen them. They were quite beautiful, with thin clouds of wind-driven snow spray dusting across them, driven by a chill west wind and lit by the evening sun.

As I write, Kimber is homeward bound, and I can hear the wind whooshing through the trees outside (my gosh, is it really blowing steadily at twenty-four miles an hour?), sounding every bit as cold as the eighteen degrees that the airport METAR indicates.

Yet the sun rose at 7:36 this morning and set at 6:15 here in Caledonia, Michigan. And my online sunrise-sunset calendar shows that between today and the end of this leap-year February, we will gain another thirty-one minutes. I like that thought. Winter really isn”t here to stay. It may seem like that”s the case right now, but in just a matter of weeks, those springtime lows will come swinging like giant wrecking balls out of the Pacific Northwest down into the plains, deepening as they travel, sucking in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, and making life a lot more interesting for storm chasers.

I”m particularly excited about one of the tools I”ll have in my chase kit this spring. For quite a while now, Andrew Revering has been hard at work on a major upgrade of his fabulous F5 Data forecasting software. Besides an extensive graphical overhaul, the new version will include the addition of GFS to the suite of forecast models. I used F5 Data quite heavily last year and loved it. The upgrade is due to be released any day, now, and I”ve been looking forward to it with the eagerness of a kid on…well, on his birthday. With two chases already under my belt between January 7 and February 5, I anticipate that my F5 subscription will get a lot of use this year.

So let the snows fly. Not long from now, those wintry blasts will weaken into emphysemic frailty, and gasp their last as the Gulf of Mexico reopens for business. I”m ready. Can you tell?

February 18, 2008 by
Filed Under: Life, Storm Chasing, Weather

Art Pepper: Sweet, Sad, and Soulful

I love Art Pepper”s playing! What a refreshing departure from the balls-to-the-walls bebop of the forties and fifties. An icon of what came to be known as the “West Coast style” of jazz, Pepper had a unique sound and improvisational approach that identify him instantly whenever you hear one of his recordings.

Tonally, Art Pepper was cut from a cloth similar to Paul Desmond. But the similarity doesn”t go very far. Pepper had the same silky, creamy texture as Desmond, but with a brittle, somewhat hard edge to it. Part fruitiness, part sigh.

Art”s improvisations are beautifully lyrical, liberally punctuated with a very personal sense of space. He delivers his ideas in crystalline clauses separated by semicolons and emdashes of breathing room. The overall effect is one I find completely captivating. No one else I”m aware of has ever duplicated it, and no one needs to. One Art Pepper is sufficient. I”m simply glad he was here, and that he left us such a lovely legacy in the way of musical expression.

nCheck out this recording of Art Pepper playing “Besame Mucho.” You”ll easily notice Art”s trademark sound and use of space. You”ll also pick up on the fact that the guy had a wonderful technique, one which served him well, not to mention those of us who admire his playing.

When you want a taste of something a little different–a blend of prettiness, sadness, and soul–listen to Art. He had a hard life, but his playing is tender and sweet.

February 13, 2008 by
Filed Under: Band, Entertainment, Jazz, Life, Music, Recording, Saxophone
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