Author | Lightnews

Mike Sturm

@jmichaelsturm.bsky.social

440 followers 1.2K following 160 posts

Husband. Dad. Christ follower (love your neighbor type). Linux and open-source software enthusiast. Space junky. Amateur astrophotographer. Hard disk drive firmware engineer from Edmond, Oklahoma.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Nov 11

Hello Bluesky! I am excited to be here. My family and I live in Oklahoma where I am a firmware engineer for a hard drive manufacturer. I have many hobbies (astrophotography, planetary science, sci-fi) but not enough time! I am politically liberal but attempt to understand other perspectives.

3 25

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · 1d

For this week’s photo challenge “centered composition”, I submitted this closeup of a garden spider by our trash dumpster which surprised me when I took out the trash today. So glad I didn’t bump into it! #52frames_centeredcomposition #nikon #z6 #photography

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · 8d

This week our photo challenge theme is “shadows”. I found a willing subject - this jack-o-lantern seems pleased with his long shadow. I also enjoyed the sun setting behind a park bench. #52frames_shadows #nikon #photography

Jack-o-Lantern with his long shadow on a sidewalk

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · 16d

The theme for this week’s 52Frames photo challenge is “time.” I could think of no better subject than the western “Gate of Time” at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. 9:03 marks the moment after the bombing on April 19, 1995 and the start of the long road of recovery. #52frames_time #photography

Western Gate of Time at the Oklahoma City National Memorial

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · 22d

For this week’s 52Frames photo challenge “Textures”, I found some interesting tree bark in our neighborhood park and tried “focus stacking” for the first time. #52frames_texture #photography #nikon #z6

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · 29d

Radiohead’s OK Computer is one of my all-time favorites, exploring tech, isolation, and anxiety. For the 52Frames “Soundtrack” challenge, I tried to capture the tension between humanity and technology as a tribute to this alt-rock masterpiece. #52frames_soundtrack #photography

Computer, keyboard, mouse, and a screen with words that echo themes from Radiohead’s “OK Computer”.

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Sep 27

Creativity on offense is nice to see for a change.

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Sep 24

Agreed, the hypocrisy is blatant, and as an Oklahoman I wish he would do his job by supporting our underpaid and disrespected teachers and working to improve education instead of auditioning for a federal job or governor.

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Sep 24

If the world survives another 1000 years, I wonder what historians in 3025 will say about the insanity we are witnessing before our eyes. By the way, future historian… if you are reading this, please use your time machine to fix this timeline.

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Sep 23

How can the government require a partisan political organization be installed in every school? This has to be unconstitutional.

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Sep 22

I enjoyed my brief time in the panhandle of Oklahoma for the Okie-Tex Star Party. Storms rolled in before midnight, but just before sunrise we got to experience Bortle 1 skies! #astrophotography #nikon #z6 #orion #andromeda

Orion, Stack of 4x15s, Nikon Z6, 24mm, f/4.0, ISO 10000

Cassiopeia, Andromeda Galaxy, and Triangulum Galaxy, Nikon Z6, stack of 4x25s, 24mm, f/4.0, ISO 6400

2 45

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Sep 15

I love images of 67P like this one because they transform a blurry patch of light in the sky into a PLACE that I can imagine visiting. So cool!

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Sep 15

TBH I didn’t realize that UCF was that bad. They must be if you’re ranking them below my OSU Cowboys after last week’s debacle! 🤣 Of course, I am holding out hope that the Cowboys will start moving up, at least as small amount, as the season progresses.

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Sep 13

The theme for this week’s 52Frames photo challenge is “out of place”. I always thought oil wells on the grounds of the state capitol seemed out of place. This retired well serves as a reminder of how the industry shaped the economy and politics of the state. #52Frames_outofplace #photography

Oklahoma State Capitol building with a retired oil well beside it

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Sep 7

This week’s 52 Frames challenge is “Shoot from Above”. I took these photos from my office in Oklahoma City. I hoped the stairwell shot would show the gap between stairs from my floor (16) to the ground floor, but the gap was too small to show that effect. #52Frames_shootfromabove #photography #nikon

Looking down a stairwell from the 16th floor.

Early morning view of downtown Oklahoma City from Leadership Square.

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Sep 7

It isn’t as bad as the performance today indicates. I think there are wealthy alumni trying to make NIL a success. Gundy has been slow to adapt to this new era of semi-pro college football and wanted to recruit student athletes who loved the game and were grateful for an education instead of money.

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Sep 6

I always assumed he had one more year to turn it around, so I think he was already on the hot seat. I knew today’s loss would be bad, but I didn’t see a near-historic blowout. Even with the disparity in budget compared to Oregon, I thought it would be more competitive. Hoping they can bounce back.

1 1

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Sep 1

For this week’s 52 Frames Photo Challenge “Reflections,” I tried to capture a reflection of the Galaxy sculpture on a reflective pillar by Leadership Square in downtown Oklahoma City. Instead, I found a distorted reflection of myself in the frame! #52Frames_reflections #photography #nikon #sculpture

Galaxy Sculpture (Alex Liberman) by Leadership Square in Oklahoma City with reflection of the photographer

1 5

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Aug 25

Low-key photography is a new genre for me, and I made many mistakes as I experimented with dimly lit subjects for this week’s challenge. After a while I realized that I was underexposing my subject. I adjusted the lighting for this photo of a nativity set angel. #52frames_lowkey #photography #nikon

Figurine of a dancing angel against a dark background

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Aug 21

Beautiful backlighting for these clouds tonight! #oklahoma #photography #iphone #hdr

1 1 12

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Aug 18

This week’s 52 Frames photo challenge theme is “abandoned”. A Google search for “abandoned near me” returned a number of interesting places. I chose this 1920s gas station on Route 66 near Arcadia, Oklahoma. My photo is not special, but what an interesting place! #52Frames_abandoned #photography #z6

Abandoned gas station from the 1920s on Route 66 near Arcadia, Oklahoma

An abandoned silo with hay bails in the foreground in a rural area north of Oklahoma City

An old windmill with a pile of bailing wire in a rural area north of Oklahoma City

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Aug 10

August in Oklahoma features noisy cicadas (shown here for this week’s 52 Frames photo challenge) and unbearable heat (not shown, but present). I have a confession - this cicada was already dead, and I posed it on the leaves! He was a cooperative subject. #52Frames_macro #photography #nikon #macro

Dead cicada on a street with two ants crawling on it

1 19

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Aug 3

For this week’s 52Frames Photo Challenge “Color Temperature”, I visited my Alma Mater, Oklahoma State University, on an unusually cool evening this week. I created this HDR photo of Edmon Low Library on the beautiful campus during “blue hour” after sunset. #52Frames_colortemperature #photography #z6

Edmon Low Library on the campus of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Jul 27

Really nice!

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Jul 27

This week’s 52Frames photo challenge theme - “Unusual Crop” - makes for some unusual shots! Quite fun! #52Frames_unusualcrop #photography #nikon #z6

Mike Sturm @jmichaelsturm.bsky.social · Jul 20

The theme for the 52 Frames Photo Challenge this week is “something new” - which can be interpreted in many ways. Macro photography is a new genre for me, and I was excited to use a new-to-me macro lens today. Cicada exoskeletons were great subjects! #52Frames_somethingnew #photography #macro #nikon