Photo Friday: An Autumn FriendPosted by drfl on October 2nd, 2009

Today brings my first wildlife photograph from my recent excursion to South Dakota. I have found that Pronghorns range anywhere from the very timid to the bold. While traveling out of Custer State Park and into Wind Cave National Park I briefly glimpsed the head of this guy resting on a hill. I quietly crept up slowly taking shoots and careful not to disturb this creature. He stood up, aware of my presence, but apparently not too troubled. I was able to capture this shot and then I quietly left.  He never ran, but sat right back down again. Perhaps, an example of being too acclimated to humans.

Technical Details:
Canon 50d, 300 f/4l + 1.4 tc, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec.
Custer State Park, South Dakota

This photograph can be viewed on my website at: An Autumn Friend – Pronghorn in Custer State Park, South Dakota

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

Small, Cute…. and Deadly!Posted by drfl on September 22nd, 2009

I have recently returned from an adventure west and north to South Dakota and western Nebraska. My very pregnant wife, 2 year old, and I had some fun, saw some stuff, and I was able to do some work as well! Buffalo, pronghorns, big horn sheep, mountain goats were some of the critters we managed to see. In addition, we had a look at some killer prairie dogs – literally. Seems that some of these little guys have the plague. Didn’t realize that one until we saw the signs – “Caution, Prairie Dogs Have Plague! Keep People and Pets in the Vehicle.”

As far as landscapes, we got around to traveling through Badlands National Park, Mt. Rushmore National Monument, Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park, the Black Hills, Chadron State Park, and Toadstool Geologic Park.  Additionally, we happened to stumble upon the only Uranium mine in Nebraska.  Once again, didn’t realize that until we saw the radioactive warning signs. Of course, my wife thought I was trying to kill us, or at least make us all very sick. It’s been a few days now and I can report that so far we have no symptoms and we do not glow in the dark.

I tried some new techniques during the trip and over the next couple of weeks I will be sorting photographs and processing and I may upload an image or two from the trip.

Technical Details:
Canon 50d, 300 f/4l + 1.4tc, f/6.3, 1/640 sec.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Autumnal RustlingPosted by drfl on July 10th, 2009

As promised, my impromtu “Missing the Mountains” series continues with today’s post of some Aspens in Colorado near Pike’s peak.  During my trip last September, the aspens were beginning to burst forth with color and some of the groves were completely changed.   When I stopped and capture this grove, a breeze was gentle rustling the leaves.  In post-processing I added a bit of Orton to simulate this feel on a still photograph.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 70-200 f/4l @ 200mm, f/9, 1/200 sec.
Aspen Grove near Pike’s Peak, Colorado

This photograph can be viewed on my website at: http://www.journeyoflight.com/journey06/photo.asp?pictureid=AutumnalRustling&xmlfile=/journey06/xml/color/colorado.xml&x=9.

Chimney Rock and the Nebraska FrontierPosted by drfl on July 9th, 2009

Today I am going to take a break from my “Missing the Mountains” series which will return tomorrow.  About over a month ago I posted an image to Darwin Wiggett’s Life and Learning Through the Lens monthly contest.  The theme was an alternative view to icons.  I submitted this image of Chimney Rock with the following tidbit:

While the state of Nebraska in the United States has very little that many would consider “icons” it does have Chimney Rock – the pinnacle by which many of the early settlers guided their wagons in their journeys to the west.  No photography book on Nebraska would be complete without an image of this prairie landmark.  Almost all the photographs I have seen have focused on the rock almost solely, with its jagged features dominating the composition.  In my rendition I choose to show it more from a distance, as the early travelers would might have initially seen it – a distant beacon of the next waypoint.

As it turns out, Mark and Leslie Degner, chose my image as this month’s winner!  More details and great submissions can be seen on Darwin’s Blog.  This image has always had some great memories associated with it.  I was really starting to get into digital photographer around this time and I took a great trip through South Dakota and Nebraska with my wife.  It was a wonderful trip and we both agree that this is one of our favorite images so it was pleasing to see that others enjoyed it too!

Technical Details:
Canon 20d, 17-40 f/4l @ 27mm, f/9, 1/50 sec.
Chimney Rock National Historical Site, Nebraska

This photograph can be viewed on my website at: http://www.journeyoflight.com/journey06/photo.asp?pictureid=ChimneyRock&xmlfile=/journey06/xml/color/midwest.xml&x=0.

Pleasing DriftsPosted by drfl on July 8th, 2009

As I continued to review some past photographs in my unofficial “Missing the Mountains” series, I came across this image I had taken last fall at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.  It was a tricky exposure which required me to double-process the image.  Essentially, I first opened the image in Photoshop exposing for the foreground and then I opened it again exposing for the sky.  I copied the second image over the first creating a new layer and then blended the two together.  A basic tutorial on the technique can be found here: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/photo-blend/.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/16, .5 sec.
Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado