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

Sandhills SentinelPosted by admin on January 18th, 2012

The Sandhills of Nebraska is an ecologically sensitive region that has been the subject of heated discussion due to the plans of TransCanda to build the Keystone XL pipeline across the area.

While I am glad that an increased awareness of this area has finally come, it should have come sooner and in a more positive light instead of the crux of a international debate.

The Sandhills is an area that is both beautiful and subtle, undulating hills and prairie as far as the eye can see. This is not the stereotypical Nebraska of corn and agriculture, but it is an area that comprises 1/3rd of the state. I have had the opportunity to photograph it several times and each time I know I will return. I encourage everyone to visit this place at least once if for nothing else, to hear prairie grass speak with every breath of the wind, to watch the clouds slowly traverse the azure sky and to experience the quiet solitude with only your thoughts as company.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200 f/4l @ 200mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec.
Ft. Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska

Photo Friday: Pronghorn PosePosted by drfl on December 30th, 2011

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

Photo Friday: Fiesty PheasantPosted by drfl on December 2nd, 2011

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

Look Up: Sunbeam PoetryPosted by drfl on November 30th, 2011

Often, photographers become so focused on capturing one type of image that we often ignore what else is happening in the environment around us. When I was out on the prairie near Valentine, I was caught up in getting some wide-angle landscape shots when I looked up and saw beautiful clouds floating in front of the sun while sunbeams shot out in all directions. I managed to snap 3 shots before this scene disappeared.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 40mm, f/8, 1/8000 sec.
Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska

Photo Friday: I’ve Dreamed 1,000 DreamsPosted by drfl on November 25th, 2011

On an early November day I went to the Lincoln, Nebraska area to get some late fall shots. Today’s post is an image I captured about 10 minutes prior to sunrise on Branched Oak Lake on a windy and cool day.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/11, 10 sec., 3-stop Hard Singh-Ray ND Grad, 2-stop Hard Singh-Ray ND Grad
Branched Oak Lake, Nebraska