Guy Rhodes – Photography | Videography

A New Understanding: 2015 Retrospective

Mammatus clouds in the sky over St. Nicholas Church in East Chicago, Ind., following a thunderstorm, Wednesday, June 10, 2015. Mammatus clouds are formed by cool air sinking rapidly from the upper atmosphere.

For the past several years, whenever I’ve sat down to begin selecting my favorite images for this year-end blog, I’ve gotten an overwhelming feeling of worry. I’ve always second-guessed whether I’ve shot enough things throughout the year that stand out enough to be featured together in a best-of collection. Typically, my worries go unfounded, and I’m left struggling to narrow down 50 or more of my favorite images to a palatable selection.

Floating Aloft

Sergeant Chris Clark (right) and Sergeant First Class Teigh Statler with the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team jump from the team’s Fokker C-31A aircraft over Lake Michigan during their performance in the 2015 Gary Air Show in Gary, Ind., Saturday, July 11, 2015.

As the U.S. Army Golden Knight’s Fokker C-31A aircraft became light on its wheels and floated aloft from runway 12 at the Gary Chicago Airport, the team of skilled aerial performers seated ahead of me in the plane performed their ritual of donning their helmets in unison. It’s a ritual I’ve had the privilege of photographing each year since 2006 that the team has performed in Gary, Indiana, and I was thrilled to be back in the air for another opportunity. While theatrical lighting work this weekend prevented me from photographing and enjoying the air show as thoroughly as I typically would have, I was thankful to have a small portion of my schedule free to cover one of the Golden Knights’ morning jumps in this year’s 2015 Gary Air Show.

Lighting Linus

Snow blows through the air above St. Nicholas Church in East Chicago, Ind., early Monday, February 2, 2015. The image was created by back-lighting the church with a 600 w/s strobe, fired remotely via a PocketWizard unit.

I’m not sure what it is about major snow emergencies that gets my creative juices pumping, but during the bad winter storms we’ve had over the past few years, I’ve repeatedly gotten the urge to gear up and make some unique visuals amidst Mother Nature’s chaos. Some of you might remember my Vapor Chill video from last year, where I lit clouds that formed from tossing boiling water into the frigid air. There was also my Snowpocalypse Voicemail Remix from 2011, where I juxtaposed my friend Jeff Grafton’s message about his power going out with doomsday footage of the blizzard from around my neighborhood.