I was born and raised in central Nebraska and still have an affection for the landscapes there. This image was made at a small way-side area just off the Loup river near St Paul. It had been windy for several days before I ventured out, but on this morning the conditions were absolutely perfect to capture these cotton wood trees reflected in a small lake.
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This is my humble attempt to capture the Aurora that was visible a few weeks ago in South Dakota. Didn’t have to work too hard however since my back deck has a clear view to the northern sky.
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I was reviewing some old photos and came across this image of a grove of aspen trees I made in the fall of 2022. The leaves were quite glorious in their autumn shade of yellow, but since there wasn’t any directional light to add contrast, I converted the picture to black and white. The silver color of the leaves and tree trunks now contrasts nicely with the dark background.
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This image was made on the same morning at Bear Butte State Park as a similar image I posted a few weeks ago, but from a slightly different position. I like the patterns and textures and the sky was cooperating nicely, but I went with a black and white version instead because the color version reminded me too much of a cattle feedlot after a hard rain (if you catch my drift)
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This image was made on a wintry morning from Lookout Mountain looking south towards the Black Hills. What I liked about the scene was the way the shapes, lines and textures lead the eye up through the hills and forests where Spearfish Canyon was eventually carved. While the walls of the canyon aren’t visible from this vantage point it’s easy to imagine how the forces of nature all worked to make this beautiful place.
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After trying to figure out where the milky way core was going to be in relationship to Devils Tower, I went to the approximate spot I had scouted out last year. I say approximate because I couldn’t find the exact spot in the dark. Turns out that I was much lower in elevation in the spot I shot from and so the core was behind the tower. Dawn was quickly approaching and with no time to find another shooting spot, I had to make the best of what I had.
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I was on Lookout Mountain in Spearfish, South Dakota a few days ago desperately looking for a composition when I spotted a group of deer milling about the brush and trees on a ridge about 300 yards away. I decided to see what I could capture, but by the time I got my camera and tripod out, switched to a long lens, and composed a shot, these were the only two deer left. I guess I crashed their party.
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I’ve always wanted to make an image of the famous Bear Butte barn with a snow covered butte as the backdrop. I finally got my chance a couple of weeks ago, but oh boy was it cold! (the image was made on the same day as my previous post) Since it’s an old barn I prefer a more vintage black and white look.
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I came to Bear Butte State Park near Sturgis South Dakota intending to shoot the iconic barn on the east side of the mountain. While there I noticed a sun halo (or sun dog) fading in and out as the frozen mist moved across the landscape. I wondered if I could catch Bear Butte framed by the halo if I got around to the other side, facing southeast with the mountain between my camera and the halo. I drove as fast as I could, but arrived only in time to get a quick hand held shot, exposing for the sky but luckily being able to bring out shadow detail on the mountain in post.
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Well, you can try it just not in any other season but winter. I tried going to this spot on the west end of Bear Butte Lake in South Dakota in early fall, made one wrong step and sank up to my knee in mud. I got my foot out with a little effort but getting my boot back was a little more problematic. No problem on this morning however as the temperature was around 17 degrees F.
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Continuing my fascination with snow drifts, I couldn’t resist capturing these swirls just as the morning sun was kissing the foreground dunes.
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I realize there’s a lot going on in this image, but what drew me to the scene were the soft piles of snow and the way the setting sun was playing across the tops of them. Even in the dead winter you can still find warmth.
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The fractures in the ice on top of the dark dark, deep water below reminded me of lightening at night in this image made at Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park, South Dakota.
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Keeping with the snow drift theme, I shot this image in late afternoon because I like the way the snowy swirls were contrasted by the setting sun.
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I really admire images of desert sand dunes but after a recent blizzard here in Spearfish, snow drifts make a good substitute.
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We were in the midst of a major winter storm with all the roads closed or no travel advised, so my wife and I sat in the upstairs bedroom and picked out compositions in our back yard using a long lens. This is one of those images.
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A full moon setting behind the camera turns night into day in this image of a frozen bridal Veil Falls in Spearfish Canyon, SD
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Sometimes there’s water in the ditch in the foreground of this image that would have made a nice lead-in to the rest of the picture, but it still captures the quiet and calm feeling of a crisp autumn morning I was enjoying at the time.
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The steep terrain and heavy brush prevent access to this hidden world shot from the summit of Cement Ridge in the Black Hills of Wyoming on a cold and foggy late autumn morning.
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The light show in the morning sky was over, so I decided to process this image in black and white. A 30 second shutter speed smoothed out the ripples in the lake for a softer more tranquil reflection of earth and sky.
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