Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 14/06/2025Last week I caught some of the most phenomenal events in the sky. These sprites were so strong and so close that their colors reached maximum intensity from my vantage point. The pink, purple, and blue colors at the lower 40-50km altitude are where the air is denser, meaning where molecules 620059
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 02/06/2025I've been accused of AI quite a bit lately. I get it, the current social media trends do not foster an environment of trust. But with real photography, we have the human touch and true imagery of nature that can uncover secrets about our world that an AI eye simply cannot. 27112
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 06/04/2025This old house in Oklahoma overlooks yet another storm passing by in the night. The inhabitants are long gone, but I often wonder about the sights they saw- their experiences that were never shared before the time of social media and photography. 313824
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 26/03/2025Springtime scenes early this morning in Oklahoma 1854444
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 15/03/2025Sometimes it is hard to believe that red sprites are nature. This finer details in this second jellyfish sprite from Feb 2024 shows some exciting features. Like the linear waves in the sprite halo - likely atmospheric gravity wave patterns like we see in airglow- 19019
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 14/03/2025Once upon a lunar eclipse, I got the alignment of a lifetime 18653102
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 12/03/2025New video of an amazing series of TLE's. youtu.be/OmqqHcN58EQ 1213
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 01/03/2025Happy battery charging day to all those on the plains who celebrate Sunday storms 🌩️ 0110
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 01/03/2025I opted against bird feeders for years because the resulting weeds in the flower beds were a pain. Now, I’m not giving up these moments for anything 0221
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 01/03/2025This photograph wouldn’t be possible without the forecasts, radar, and data provided by NOAA and NWS. I’m not a wealthy man. If these weren’t public products, I couldn’t do what I do. 440163
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 11/02/2025Red Sprites from Beavers Bend, Oklahoma. This was one of my favorite nights from this picturesque spot in southern Oklahoma - surrounded by the quiet of nature with a distant display of epic proportions. 217827
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 05/02/2025Red sprites are the perfect blend of science and nature, fleeting moments of beauty in our own atmosphere. Each red spear is an excited ion channel, several miles long and triggering 50 miles above some massive charge change in the clouds below. Our very own electric zoo, right above our heads. 6818232
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 04/02/2025The amazing and elusive beauty of nature on a millisecond timescale. Red sprites remind us that our planet is incredibly special, and still has some secrets that aren't always easy to find. 1039680
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 08/01/2025My kiddo sent this to me this morning. I love how he thinks of me when he sees a sunrise. I hope that never changes 1804
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 07/01/2025There's something about the swamp at night. It comes alive with the sound of the wild. The cries and choruses of a thousand creatures that otherwise remain hidden during the daylight. It is a place of sharp, black shadows and still reflections on moonless nights. 222024
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 02/01/2025 buymeacoffee.com/paulmsmithph...buymeacoffee.comHappy New Year! Sprites from the swamps — paulmsmithphotoPost by paulmsmithphoto 040
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 30/12/2024I had images in my head of what I wanted to capture on my recent adventure to the southern USA. I wanted storms and sprites with Bayou foregrounds. Man, it is a tough place to chase- dark skies are hard to find as are accessible, treeless areas to get a view. 316735
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 18/12/2024Put my Jeep up for sale. Genuinely feels like letting go of a good friend. So many epic adventures together from Northern Canada to Galveston, Texas and everywhere in between. 200k miles of memories. Dang, I'm getting sentimental in my old age 1260
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 15/12/2024I found myself complaining so much about AI , conspiracies, and anti-scienceness, that it was eating up a lot of my time unproductively. I decided a better strategy for pushback would be to create real and science-based longer form content. Certainly a better way to spend time. 2463
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 15/12/2024Red Sprites and Andromeda over Missouri lining up perfectly with a lone tree. Chaos in our atmosphere paired with cosmic chaos. Nature is awesome. Single image 1156472598
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 30/11/2024These two pictures of nature have been licensed for a permanent exhibit display at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. A great honor. Also available in my print store if you'd like your own display :) 614425
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 28/11/2024Thankful for family, friends, and nature. All the best! 2667
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 24/11/20241) I'm working on a new video on the complexities of red sprites. Catching them in slow motion has been eye-opening. I postulate that we could subcategorize them into far more than just jellyfish, carrots, columns etc. Three random examples here with a very complex, channel-rich red sprite grouping 46612
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 23/11/2024This shot over a small Oklahoma homestead last month involved a close sprite grouping. The almost circular pattern can be seen where sprites trigger in the QE field conditions centered around the parent stroke. 37159192
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 22/11/2024This image will be in the NASA calendar for 2025. One of the most detailed red sprites I have captured. Plasma physics is both beautiful and wild. Available as a print on my website for those who'd like to support my work 1247664
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 21/11/2024I never entered my images for APOD, but when asked to submit for the NASA calendar I decided to give it a go. Glad to be able to say that one of my images was chosen to be included next year. A great honor 3511
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 20/11/2024Hey I'm Paul, and I like to chase unusual sky scenes 622030
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 16/11/2024A brilliant red sprite cluster up close. When plasma physics meets nature on a massive scale, it is simply mesmerizing 516730
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 14/11/2024Storm structure, that's what I need right now. Storm structure 38613
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 14/11/2024Looming. But as any nature lover will tell you, you can't avoid it, but there is always calm after the storm. 1365
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 13/11/2024One of my favorite single shots of late. Where nature on a millisecond timescale meets structures that have rotted over decades. The same weather that has beaten this old barn to the ground causes the most beautiful and intricate sky phenomena behind it. This is nature- not AI. 1247188
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 10/11/2024Red sprites dance silently in the night above an abandoned Oklahoma homestead. 515823
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 23/10/2024Happy atmospheric optics season to all who celebrate. 0597
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 23/10/2024 Hardly anyone lives where this picture was taken, yet the contrast of the ugly and stressful man-made light against the beauty of nature in storms and the night sky made for a poignant scene. I still think nature wins, but light pollution needs serious addressing. 6373
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 22/10/2024Storms and comet in Oklahoma last night. That air glow was intense 1519
Reposted by Paul M SmithFaine Greenwood @faineg.com · 17/10/2024Hey new Bluesky users: this website has no centralized algorithm. If you think it seems dead in here, it's absolutely not. However, you are going to have to follow more people than you did on Twitter to see a lot of action in your Home feed. 155104722656
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 18/10/2024Starter packs is what was missing from here a few months ago. This is the way. Ready to fill my feed with science and expertise again 1210
Reposted by Paul M SmithJayIsPainting 🍁 @jayispainting.earthskyart.ca · 17/10/2024OK...I've created a starter pack for #WxSky (because that's what we're calling it) About 30 stormchasers, meteorologists, & photographers. If you'd like to be on or off the list let me know. You can follow all these with one click or pick and choose. go.bsky.app/BSfDE7c 5415364
Reposted by Paul M SmithBeth Allan @beth.bsky.social · 18/10/2024There are some excellent starter packs of people to follow in these comments. 041
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 18/10/2024Mars is cool, but I'd much rather we bulk up NASA and aim for that as a public entity rather than have one individual own it. One guy with sh*tty opinions having all that influence, money, and power has me very nervous about the future. Pic for attention 3657
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 20/02/2024Winter feels extra long this year. I can't wait to see what this year's storm season brings when it finally comes. Here's a stack of fireflies and meteors with a massive Red Sprite over Arkansas—Nature's luminosity at its finest. 0347
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 13/02/2024Picking shots for the new banner image reminds me how awesome nature is 🙂 0131
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 13/02/2024My take on the new Twisters movie 😅. Seriously tho, Speilberg, you on here? 0164
Paul M Smith @paulmsmithphoto.bsky.social · 11/02/2024Heyo! First post in a new app may as well make it an original one. From the night of February 2nd 24. Red sprites in airglow over DFW storms 310729