Most of the aspen leaves in the Black Hills of South Dakota have fallen by the time this image was made, but it looks like these trees are just reaching their peek autumn color.
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Sunrise on Owl Creek
I arrived a little too early at this location on Owl Creek at the Belle Fourche Reservoir in South Dakota, and since it was a new location I had trouble finding a decent composition in the near dark. As the morning sun was rising and the dramatic sky quickly washing out, I had to settle on this scene. Not bad, but I would have liked to feature the creek more prominently in the image. That’s why scouting a location before hand is so important.
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Autumn Moods
This image reminds me of the different moods autumn seems to invoke. The vibrant leaves, the brown and rust colored grasses, gray sky and a chill in the air, all signal the end of summer and the approaching cold winter.
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Fallen Leaves
Just because the leaves have fallen doesn’t mean the autumn color is over.
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Anybody See a Comet?
If you look very carefully in the middle left portion of the image, right where the sky meets the top of the canyon, you can just faintly make out the end of it’s tail. I was estimating this particular comet would be in more of a westerly position and a bit higher in the sky for this shooting location, but sadly, not to be. But hey, the moon came up, lit the canyon, and I got a fairly pleasant picture. Sometimes even the failures can be successful (with right attitude of course)
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Autumn Creek
Every year about his time, I try to hike up Devils Bathtub trail in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota to capture the creek and the autumn leaves. This flat and tranquil section of the stream reflects the vibrant fall colors while providing a subtle peek of what lies just below the water’s surface.
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Bucking Mule Falls
Another image from our trip to the Wyoming Bighorn Mountains, A five mile out and back hike along a very pleasant trail takes you to an overlook that’s definitely worth the trip, the highlight being Bucking Mule Falls. This is a handheld picture I shot while getting as close to the abyss as I dared.
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The Bighorn Basin
Between the small Wyoming towns of Burgess Junction and Lovell on hwy 14, there is a pull out that overlooks the Bighorn Basin on the western side of the Bighorn mountains. It’s a magnificent view and no photograph can do it justice, but this is my humble attempt.
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Hazy Days of Summer
This is what the sun looks like as it rises through smoke from wildfires out west. Is this what they mean by the “hazy days of summer”?
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Surprise Aurora
I returned to the spot I shot my last post, this time looking for a starry night sky to compliment the lake and Bear Butte. Instead, I was surprised by a little aurora action. I’m not complaining.
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Black and White or Color?
The question isn’t, “what’s more appealing, black and white or color”, but what makes each appealing. The answers will be different for each observer.
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Where I Lost My Phone
I went to the place where I shot the image a couple of posts ago looking for a new composition. I found and shot several, but when I got back to my vehicle I discovered I didn’t have my phone. Panicked, I tried retracing my steps to all the places I stopped to photograph but couldn’t find it. Later I came back with my wife hoping we could use her phone to call mine and locate it that way. Nope, no service, so after searching most of the afternoon, we gave up.
That night I went through the images I shot and discovered one place I hadn’t looked so I printed that photo and, with very low expectations, set out the next morning for another search. As you can see by the image, the area was covered with thick ferns so I had to get down on my belly to see under the canopy, and after several minutes of crawling around like this, what do you know, I FOUND IT!!! I guess life can sometimes be fair after all.
Wet Summer
This year hasn’t been one for the record books as far as rain is concerned, but you couldn’t tell it by how lush the foliage is in the Black Hills this summer. This image was made at Iron Creek in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota, and is a perfect example of what I’m talking about.
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Summer Ferns
Not usually plentiful in the Black Hills, but this year large groves can be found if you know where to look. This very large growth provides a thick canopy over the forest floor almost like a jungle in itself. Be sure to tread lightly though, as the plant stems are very fragile.
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Hidden World at Iron Creek
You’ll have to get in the water and wade up stream to get to this spot on Iron Creek in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota, but it’s worth it. I love the way the mossy rocks almost glow green and yellow in the summer.
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Cabbage Patch
Well not actually cabbage, but similar. Still playing with the light and close-up of leaves in Spearfish Canyon.
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The Overseer
Shot literally feet from an earlier post in Spearfish Canyon, this composition features the same foliage but the little flower at the top seems to be overseeing the chaos of the surrounding leaves. A challenge in this image was balancing lights and darks to keep the flower from blowing while still maintaining enough light in the shadows so detail in the leaves stood out.
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Night Trucker
After shooting the milky way and the landscape, I patiently waited for a car to pass by in order to capture some retreating tail light. Instead, (and surprisingly) an eighteen wheeler rumbled by. Even better!
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Lost in a Crowd
One of the most challenging things for me when it comes to capturing close ups of wild plans and flowers is identifying a subject that brings together a subject that brings together various photographic elements that makes the image interesting and pleasing to the eye.
For me the star of the show is the smaller leaf in the center. It has a more vibrant yellow color and is nicely framed by the twig coming in from the right. The larger leaves seem to be milling about randomly while giving the little guy some space.
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Ancient One
This massive cotton wood tree is long since dead, but when it saw a lot of ancient history when it was alive and growing.
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