Thanks for stopping by!
I'm Phil, a meteorologist by day who happens to love photography as well. This website is where I host all of my portfolio work. Some of my photos may eventually be available for purchase as high-quality prints.
Currently based in southeastern Wyoming, I'm in a perfect spot for the types of photography I enjoy most - landscapes, weather, and astrophotography. I love getting outdoors, especially if I'm hiking or skiing. Some of the tallest and most beautiful mountain ranges in the United States are less than 7 hours away. Not only do these mountains provide plenty of opportunities for outdoor recreation, but they also look good on a camera.
The ever-changing weather over the Rockies and western Great Plains often leads to some incredible photo opportunities as well. Finally, there aren't too many other places with darker night skies in the continental U.S. than right here in Wyoming and western Colorado.
Now a little bit about my "day job"...
I actually only just recently came out west - from Pennsylvania - for grad school. In 2018 I was awarded my PhD in Atmospheric Science from the University of Wyoming. My research focused on lake-effect snowstorms that form over the eastern Great Lakes. These types of storms most frequently occur between November and February. Lake-effect storms sometimes dump many feet of snow downwind of the lakes in just a matter of days.
A few years ago I participated in large field research project called the Ontario Winter Lake-effect Systems (OWLeS) project. During OWLeS, many researchers from across the country came together to collect data in and around these lake effect events. I used some of that data collected by the University of Wyoming King Air research aircraft to look at lake effect snow bands in high detail. The goal of my work was to hopefully develop a better understanding of the processes that control their formation, persistence, and structure.
Aside from lake-effect storms, other research interests of mine include drylines (which were the focus of my Master's work), mesoscale dynamics, boundary layer processes, and airborne remote sensing and in situ observations. More general topics of interest include convection initiation, tornadogenesis, and mountain meteorology.
Since graduating, I now work as a postdoctoral research associate with the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium. I primarily help oversee an undergraduate high-altitude ballooning program called the LIFT Project, which focuses on science outreach with K-12 students across Wyoming. I also did a lot of high-altitude ballooning with the Space Grant while I was a PhD student and have personally launched almost 50 weather balloons to near space. You can check out videos from some of these balloon launches here.