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Today is my last post of the year and with that I leave you with one of the most graceful creatures on earth, the pronghorn antelope.
As for next year, I wish everyone a happy, prosperous, and inspirational 2012!
Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 300 f/4l + 1.4tc, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec.
Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
Following the lead of my An End of Year Retrospective for 2010 and An End of Year Retrospective for 2009I am presenting my favorite images of 2011. These have been mainly chosen not only because I personally liked the image, but in many times because of my experience while capturing the image.
I begin with one of the first images I captured in 2011, an image of Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge. This made the list for two reasons, first, because of the flooding of the Missouri River, Boyer Chute has not been accessible and I am not even sure how it will look. Second, this was the first image I made with my Tilt/Shift 24mm TS-E II and it really showed me how much fun I was going to have with that lens.
This image almost didn’t happen. As I mentioned in my post from July, I don’t normally capture agricultural scenes, but as I was driving to my destination, I couldn’t help but stop and capture this image. The wheat, the clouds, the silos all just seem to come together.
This image made the list for a similar reason as the previous entry, I was driving on my way somewhere, saw these two horses hanging out in a field and I stopped and made a quick image. Later, upon review, I found that I liked the composition and the poses the horses had.
I included this image because it was a little outside of my norm of shooting, much like “Almost Harvest”. Due to high winds across the prairie at Ft. Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, these tumbleweeds had piled up against a long fence. I liked the contrasts and patterns and decided to spend a little time, probably almost 2 hours, working various compositions. Although I captured a few I liked, this was the one that resonated with me the most.
Every Time I go to central or western Nebraska, I have to shoot the Milky Way. Toadstool Geologic Park lends itself well to this type of photography, so naturally, I had to take advantage of the opportunity.
This photograph made the list, well, because pheasants are darn hard to shoot and I feel like it came out pretty well!
This image made the list because I wanted a unique perspective on Snake River Falls in Nebraska. I found this high vantage point after searching and hiking for a bit. Additionally, because of new developments, Snake River Falls is endanger of no longer being publicly accessible, so this could potentially be the last image I capture of it.
Forty mile per hour winds, pelting sand, lousy light, everything seemed to be against me for this image. Then, only 10 minutes prior to sunset, clouds rolled in and the sun’s light shot out from behind with a beautiful intensity. It’s good to be patient.
Fog, trees, contrasts, shadows and patterns, I like the simplicity of this image.
After walking about a mile in waist deep snow before sunrise, the sun finally crested the horizon and bathed snow covered Rocky Mountain National Park and Long’s Peak in warm light.
Lastly, after a spring snowstorm came through Rocky Mountain, I ventured to Moraine Park and waited for sunrise. The light was good and by using my Tilt/Shift I was able to shift for greater detail. That’s when a plan really comes together – good plan, great weather conditions and cooperative gear!
Following up with my last pheasant wildlife photograph from December 2nd (been a bit busy), I am posting an image taken this past fall at Smith Falls State Park in North Central Nebraska. I very quietly crept up on a family of deer grazing in the fields, catching an image when I could. I did not want to disturb them, but unfortunately, my presence caused them to move, albeit not very far as they must have felt somewhat safe. Deciding not to disturb further, I only captured about a half dozen images, of which, this was the strongest.
Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 300 f/4L + 1.4tc, f/6.3, 1/640 sec.
Smith Falls State Park, Nebraska
While pheasants are beautiful birds, they are quite shy, especially in the fall. While I was visiting Ft. Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge in North Central Nebraska, I came across 4 pheasants – 2 males and 2 females that I watched duck in and out of the tall prairie grass for about 2 hours. Even the slightest move on my part sent them scurrying back. I managed to get about 2 shots, with this one being the best.
Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 300 f/4l + 1.4x tc, f/5.6, 1/250 sec.
Ft. Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska
I’ve recently returned from two trips that included Western South Dakota and Nebraska that netted a few photographs that I am currently processing. It was nice to actually get out and make new images as opposed to marketing, calling, emailing, etc. Over the next few weeks I will be busy processing these images and putting them up on the blog along with some techniques and stories so stay tuned! Today’s image comes from Keha Paha county in Nebraska which is in the north central section of the state. I was travelling down the highway quickly trying to get to my next photo destination when I saw these two horses standing together in a field of prairie grass. Stopping immediately, I quickly grabbed my camera which was on the seat next to me and got off about 4 photos before the one on the left lost interest and left. It’s always good to be prepared!
Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 300 f/4l, f/6.3, 1/4000 sec.
Keha Paha County, Nebraska
While I’m always adding new work to my website, sometimes its hard to find the recent images. Usually, I just place new items into the galleries in areas that I think make sense and when I do thumbnail reviews they usually make sense – to me. A common feature of many photography websites is a new work gallery, so I have added it. To view my most recent photos be sure to check it out – Go to the Photography Galleries link and click on the “Recently Added Photos” section. You might even spot a new image or two (such as this Steller’s Jay Photo)!
Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 300 f/4l + 1.4tc, f/5.6, 1/320 sec.
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado