Eric Cox's breathtaking shots of weather conditions in Central Indiana remind us that we live at the leisure of nature, not the other way around.
photos and captions by Eric Cox
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Over here on the east side of Marion County, sunsets are very vivid. Colors run the gamut and clouds simultaneously absorb and diffuse the fluctuating hues. There may be subtle differences between what you in west-central Indiana see, in terms of sunsets, and what we in east-central Indiana witness. Grain elevators like this one, though somewhat unimpressive in their stolid ubiquity, can sometimes represent a proud beacon against a sky like that.
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Sometimes a thoughtfully angled photograph can bring two sources of interesting light into one frame, creating an interesting photo from mundane subjects. An eastbound car on U.S. 40 speeds past the lens, while, behind it, a setting sun evokes striking colors on interesting clouds.
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A roadside wetland area is awash in color as twilight descends on the Knightstown area. Such sublime scenes often cause this photographer to stop his car and reach for the camera.
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A massive shelf clouds rolls across Henry County, ushering in late summer thunderstorms. The darker clouds, which can be seen below the main cloud, occasionally threatened to swirl into funnel clouds, but eventually dissipated.
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Like graveyard whispers, early spring fog enshrouds a hillside west of Knightstown.
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Severe weather has seemed to increase over the last 20 years or so. But, while the threats may have increased, so have the opportunities for interesting photos associated with phenomenal weather. This is the tail-end of a storm system that passed over central Henry County in 2014. Calm beauty entered on its blustery, shower-ridden heels.
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Sunrise offers its own opportunities. Unimpressive in most its other attributes, this photo caught an interesting play of light on power lines.
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A typical Indiana scene plays out at Kennard Elementary School as local kids test their skills on the playground basketball court. The striking sunset makes a nice backdrop for this scene, which could’ve been cut from the popular movie Hoosiers itself.
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Spiceland Pike, near the town of Spiceland, is as picturesque as it sounds and looks. In this photo from 2013, rain clouds drop their payloads on the countryside, amid colorful flowers and winding country roads.
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Deep cold isn’t good for much, but a combination of freezing temperatures and low humidity create crystalline skies. In such conditions, inhospitable though they may be, jet contrails sometimes look surreal, here painting up a sunset like a wild-eyed water colorist.
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Corn on the right, beans on the left. Roads like this are obligatory travel corridors in this state. Yet, we regard them as things of beauty, particularly on nights with cloudless sunsets.
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A thin layer of mist hangs over farm fields in central Henry County on a typical summer morning in 2015. Like in your neck of the woods, sunrise is a tranquil time here - a quiet time, before the world opens its noisy mouth.
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[author title="About Eric Cox" image="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/28241_1340834717199_7040073_n.jpg?oh=f5a97200c40c0020a297005334d2135c&oe=5730C2E8&__gda__=1462258632_b21fabb5c3deff1cde0bc33ab2d54adf"]Eric Cox is the publisher and owner of The Banner, Knightstown’s award-winning weekly newspaper. A husband, father, freelance photographer, photojournalist, writer, editor and cycling enthusiast, Cox is an Indianapolis native who resides in Henry County.[/author]
