Photo Friday – Wary WitnessesPosted by drfl on January 20th, 2012

Badlands National Park is a playground of shapes and forms, patterns and colors. Whenever I visit I explore these rock formations with a longer lens to capture a more intimate view of the park. The light was especially nice on this morning giving a warm pre-sunrise glow. To see what this area looks like from a wide-angle lens check out Morning Illumination taken 2 years previously. On the right side of that image you can see the area on which I chose to focus for today’s post. I also decided on the panoramic view because I felt the wide horizontal lent itself well to exploration of the shapes and colors in this image.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200 f/4l @ 127mm, f/9, .6s
Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Photo Friday: Badland’s Sentinel (B+W and Color)Posted by drfl on February 25th, 2011

For Photo Friday I present an image taken in 2009 on a trip to Badlands National Park.  Badlands is one of my favorite National Parks, not only for the stark terrain, but also because it is my closest National Park (it beats Rocky Mountain by a mere 100 miles).  I captured this image in the Sage Creek area of Badlands and have attempted to process it several times, but never quite captured the feel I wanted until this week.  When taking this image I purposely envisaged it in monochrome, but I also like the color.   If you like, drop a line to which version you prefer.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/9, 1/400 sec.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Some Days Go Fast, Others MeanderPosted by drfl on September 8th, 2010

An American Buffalo that decided to meander (thankfully) toward me.  He lost interest quickly and turned away.

Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 300 f/4l, f/6.3, 1/160 sec.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Why do YOU photograph?Posted by drfl on March 22nd, 2010

Cutting through all the discussions of technique, equipment, vision, etc. exists one underlying question: Why?  Why do you photograph?  Well, I can’t really say why YOU photograph, but I can try to answer why I photograph.  Before I do that though, why is the question of why so important?  What motivates us to create a photograph?  What motivates us to create anything?  If we were to look upon the face of a new mother or father we could see the joy, pride, and wonder of their creation.  We revel in our innovation. This motivation is embedded in the DNA of our species.   We are creators. 

Some might draw, create music, or paint, or create lego monuments, but for me (and probably for you) photography is the tool of creation that we choose.  So why do I photograph?  I photograph because I’m a visual person.  I learn better visually, I understand concepts when they are illustrated visually, I guess I like sightly things.  The elegance of light.  The contrast of shadow.  The qualities of color.  Telling a story with a picture.  Describing a mood without words.  Conveying feeling through a single image.  To me, this is power that photography holds and why I do it. 

Why do YOU photograph?

Feel free to ignore the question, think about the “why” introspectively, or leave some thoughts in the comment section below. 

Photo Friday: Morning IlluminationPosted by drfl on December 11th, 2009

A morning that started off cloudy and not very promising turned into a beautiful morning overlooking the Badlands National Park in South Dakota.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/11, 3.2 sec., 3-stop hard ND Singh-Ray Grad
Badlands National Park, South Dakota

This photograph can be viewed on my website at: Morning Illumination – Badlands National Park at Sunrise

Familiarity Breeds Appreciation – Welcome to WonderlandPosted by drfl on September 24th, 2009

Often, travel photographers tend to go to different locations to shoot. The tendency is to grab a few shots of the grand scenics, the locations that are familiar to the masses and then move on. From a commercial perspective, these are probably the shots that sell the most as they are the locations that people remember when visiting a popular location. The saying “familiarity breeds contempt” comes to mind to describe these individuals. There are some photographers, however, that like to explore an area and find images that don’t fall into the “shoot and go” mentality. It is those artists that gain a greater appreciation for a place the longer they visit.

My wife and I have visited the Black Hills and Badlands area in South Dakota three times together. Before that we both traveled there multiple times as children. Indeed, it is a popular destination for people that live in Nebraska as the Badlands is the closest national park. We both have fond memories of this area so it was no surprise that we decided to take our 2 year old on this trip. Each time I return I gain a greater appreciation for the landscape, the wildlife, and the nature of the area and I find myself shooting areas that are not the “popular” locations. Today’s shot, while close to an overlook, is not a popular spot and I found myself hiking a little ways for a new perspective. The weather was very cooperative and gave me some god beams shining down on the ridges in the distance. I saw only one other soul while shooting, and he was photographing a deer (I think). It was a peaceful, serene morning in a place of which I was familiar and appreciate.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 29mm, f/11, 1/20 sec., Singh-Ray 3-Stop Hard Grad
Badlands National Park, South Dakota

This photograph can be viewed on my at: Welcome to Wonderland – Badlands National Park, South Dakota