07-18-13 Prickly Pear

Anyone driving along the forest service road I used to get to this photo location would have wondered why a man was lying prone near an old, dead tree at 5:45 am this morning. But nobody else was likely to do that. In fact I could lie prone for the whole day and not be seen.

My mission this morning was to photograph rocks and trees in an area I hadn't photographed before. But in my quest for the perfect shot, I discovered a small colony of prickly pear cactus growing by a weathered tree. And so my mission changed.

Fortunately, I had my 100mm macro with me and I was able to get up close and personal with a plant you wouldn't think would thrive in the Black Hills National Forest. What I liked about the subjects in this photo were the rich, monotone textures of the weathered wood and the spiny, crisp edges and lines of the cactus. I also liked the vibrant green of the cactus juxtaposed against the dull, gray tree branch.

Canon 5DIII 1/6s f/18.0 ISO250 100mm

07-17-13 Aspen Stand

This blog has be AWOL much of the summer but I guess I have been, too. As of the 17th of July I think I have been home for a little more than 10 days since the third week of May. I have also had little access to wifi. So that's my excuse.

But given that I am only two days away from the start of the July Black Hills Photo Adventure, I'm thinking I need to post something - especially of the Black Hills

So here's my selection: a grove of aspen trees that has appeared before in this blog. But, as I've said many times, I like to return to places I've photographed before largely because they are magnets to my eye and camera but also because I feel I am a little wiser: I see better, I understand my equipment better and I am better at processing images in my digital dark room.

Ansel Adams never talked about "taking" a photo. He said that he "made photos." I like that and now that I know the art and craft of photography better, I would say the same thing: true photographers make pictures.

07-08-13 Into the Light

My brother in law Scott took my son Brian and me to the Ingersoll Mine, not too far from Keystone, SD. I'm not exactly comfortable prowling around in mine shafts and photographically is not a great location - there's no light to speak of except for beam of a flash light.

But here Scott and Brian precede me out of the mine and I happened to have my camera ready.

07-06-13 Two Bridges (HDR)

I was back along Iron Creek scouting locations for the upcoming Black Hills Photo Adventure when I saw these two trees forming an interesting sort of "bridge" across the creek. Of course, neither was make for transportation but they were made for the photographer.

05-10-13 Flow

Yes, I'm stuck on streams. And, once again, I didn't go looking for this photo, which was buried in my 2008 collection. What fascinates me about this shot is that it is of the same place in the stream as the photo you see below. The camera position is different, but if you compare the two, you'll see the same old rocks. And they haven't changed.

This photo was "adjusted" with Nik Color Efex 4 and OnOne Perfect Effects 4. (I'm in a filtering phase and I need to get over it because years from now these filters won't seem so cool to me.)

By the way, I still have 5 spots left for the July "Black Hills Photo Adventure." You should join me and I'll teach you everything I know (or can teach in two days) about photography similar to the kind you see here. And we will visit all of my secret spots along Iron Creek.

Canon 5D I 5s f/22.0 ISO100 40mm

05-02-13 Early

This is the fifth in a series of HDR Black Hills photos taken in April, 2013. This was actually the first place I stopped the first time I went out hunting. This is not the first time I've taken a photo with weathered grass dominating the foreground, a distant horizon and an intriguing sky. (Lonesome Lake) But when you've found something you like, why not wear it out? (I will say that in the year since I did the Lonesome Lake HDR photo, I've gotten better - or at least I've found a formula I like better. In fact, I can think of a lot of things I can do better now than when I was younger. Except sit-ups.)

(PS: If you look closely, you'll see Mt. Rushmore in this photo.)

Canon 5DIII 1/20s f/18.0 ISO100 16mm

There are still 6 spots left in the July "Black Hills Photo Adventure." How about joining me?

05-01-13 Cathedral

If you were lured to this post because you thought you were going to see a beautiful church, I apologize. But there is something dome-like in these trees that arch over the snow-covered ground and that's what inspired today's title

To be honest, I posted this photo mainly so I could post a link to a short video I made a little bit after I took the picture. So you should watch it.

Where am I? The photo was taken in the "front yard" of our family cabin in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The snow was still falling when I took this and altogether we got between 10 and 12 inches. And it was beautiful. . . The video was filmed with a GoPro Hero 3 stuck to the front of a 4 wheeler. Why is the video black and white? The white balance kept shifting on me. (I'm still learning how to use a GoPro.)

If you go to the YouTube site, you'll be able to watch this is glorious 1080p HD. Look for the gear icon on the bottom right. . .

04-30-13 Lake Lakota HDR

This is the 4th in a series of recent posts that are photos I took to my recent visit to the Black Hills. It is also another surreal looking HDR photo. Generally, I am very conservative about filtering my photos but I guess I am captivating by the alternative reality that HDR brings to the world we see.

And now my mind is wandering to people from the 1960s and 1970s like LSD guru Timothy Leary ("Tune in, turn on drop out") and peyote promoting Carlos Castenada (A Separate Reality, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, etc.). Mushrooms, peyote and LSD were considered "mind altering" drugs. I will admit that I never tried any of them.

Nik HDR Efex Pro 2 is my mind altering drug. It may even be performance enhancing. It has no side effects and its use is legal in all 50 states.

Canon 5DIII 1/10s f/18.0 ISO100 16mm

There are still 6 spots left in the July "Black Hills Photo Adventure." How about joining me?

04-25-13 Whose Woods These Are . . .

Here's another photo from the snowy walk I made with my friend Dennis N. This was taken a little bit before the one from yesterday. And what stopped me in my tracks were Dennis' tracks.

As with almost all of the photos I took on this outing, this is an HDR photo. I think that HDR is one way to preserve detail in snow, which would normally be fairly non-descript in its pure white form.

The title? It's the first line of Frost's famous poem "Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening":

Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village, though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

04-24-13 Ready To Fall (HDR)

When I saw these leaves a couple of days ago on a photo walk in the Norbeck Wildlife Preserves along Iron Creek in the Black Hills, I was intrigued that they had hung on for the whole winter. Most leaves drop in the fall, of course. But these high marks for persistence.

The other intriguing feature is that if you look closely, you can see that tiny buds are starting to form and I'm guessing that is a week or so the old leaves will drop and the new ones will debut. Sadly, I won't be there to witness it, since I live 8 hours away from this scene.

And now for shameless commerce: If you would like to join me this summer is the Black Hills for a Photo Adventures, check this out. But hurry, registration is very limited.

04-23-13 After the Snow

A late spring snow storm hit our part of the Black Hills and left 10" of beautiful snow. And so, a friend and I ventured back to Iron Creek to see what things looked liked. As much as I have photographed this spot, I have never photographed it with this much snow. For me, then, it was a rare opportunity.

Hiking along the creek for a half mile was made difficult by the relatively deep snow but ours were the first footsteps along the trail and there was something satisfying about that.

I took quite a few HDR photos but this is one that I'm keeping. Stylistically, it is similar to yesterday's post and I guess that's what I was after. Is is a good photo? I don't know - I have an emotional (and physical) investment in this one right now and so my judgement is clouded. But even if I hadn't gotten a single good photo yesterday, I would have said that my "photo walk" was worth it. As Harry Chapin said, "It's the goin' not the gettin' there that's good."

In the event that you might be interested in joining me this summer in the beautiful Black Hills for my Black Hills Photo Adventure, check it out here.