THE WINKING MOUNTAIN

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

There are moments when the light unfolds in front of the lens where I clearly know that the final photo will be a black & white version. Not necessarily because the lack of colors, but indeed because of its graphic impact. This is true in particular if the landscape of so called badlands is your subject. Look at the mountain, hit by the bright light. Can you see how it talks, one eye open and the other one winking at us? OK, I admit I didn’t see that detail when I took the picture, but I saw seven different plains between foreground and sky, each of them in a different light, and that got me all excited to make the click.

THE FERAL HORSES

Feral horses, South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

While driving on the Scenic Loop Drive in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park many visitors try to see the feral horses that live in the park. Sometimes you can watch quite a few of them and sometimes you may not be lucky at all. We spent a little time with parts of the herd again this year. Feral horses are fun to watch and there is a good chance you get carried away and make way too many clicks (oh, is there such a thing like too many clicks…? 😉).

Of course you make your safety shots that will serve as a memory, but you want to make that picture that sets it apart from the rest. I’m talking about the photo that includes a nice gesture, a background that tells the story about location, and maybe a soft light, which is not always guaranteed. The horses often stood very close together and that’s nice, but I tried to find a position with the camera where I could separate individual animals, or like in this photo a foal with its mother.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,    @600 mm, 1/1600 s, f/6.3, ISO400

EVERYTHING CAN WAIT

Sky after sunset, Little Missouri National Grassland, North Dakota

I promised you a few big skies we watched during our trip through the badlands of the Dakotas and Montana. Back in camp, after spending another day in and around the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, it was time to relax, but with a sky like this everything else can wait…

I exposed strictly for the vibrant sky, knowing I can pull back the shadows in the foreground a little bit in post process if I wanted to. Finally I decided for the silhouette, making the sky the only thing the eye wants to go in this image.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4,  @70 mm, 1/400s, f/5.6, ISO200

NATURE CLICKS #468 - MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD

Mountain Bluebird, Little Missouri National Grassland, North Dakota

In many locations we camped or visited during our trip there was a good chance to watch some Mountain Bluebirds. Quite often they forage from a perch, like a fence, twig, or rock. They drop down to the ground to catch insects but they also hover above their prey before they make a catch. Beside insects the bluebird takes also fruits and berries.

They like to keep their distance and many photos of Mountain Bluebirds I made during previous years had to be cropped. This female was perched on a young eastern cedar in our campground, just outside of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota. The light was soft and the background far away, ideal for such an image.

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/160 s, f/6.3, ISO250

THE CASTLES

We discovered this little gem in the northwest corner of South Dakota already five years ago and had it on our list of places we wanted to revisit since. 

Castles National Landmark is located in the Slim Buttes land unit in South Dakota. The Castles are a massive sandstone remnant which originated as a volcanic ash deposit and resemble a medieval castle. (source: USDA - Forest Service)

This time we camped at this location and that gave us the chance to photograph these interesting rock formations during day light and of course during a wonderful sunset. As a bonus the moon was up already and made it worth to be included in some of the photos.

PRAIRIE DOGS, HIGHLY SOCIAL

Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Prairie Dogs don’t know anything about today’s need for social distancing, and who want’s to blame them?. In fact, they are a highly social animal, fun to watch, and a great subject for any wildlife photographer. I like to point this out, because it is an animal ideal to work with for any camera owner, who likes to go into wildlife photography.

Since I was the first time in the Badlands about fifteen years ago we have seen a great increase in numbers of the Black-tailed Prairie Dogs. During our 2020 trip through South and North Dakota, and as well eastern Montana, we have seen quite a few prairie dog towns and most of them seem to be good locations for observation and photography. However, the easiest place on the planet for photographing prairie dogs is right at Sage Creek Campground in Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Sit in your camping chair next to your tent, maybe have an adult beverage nearby, but most importantly have the camera on eye level with the critters. Their dens are below your tent and the entrance mounds are all around your location.

At a place like that I shoot a lot of pictures, but the ones that make it to public have to tell the story about location and the typical behavior of the animal. At least one of the prairie dogs is always on the watch for predators (here the one on the left) and when they come out of the den, it doesn’t take too long before they feed or interact with each other. I always like to have the feature in my photos that gives a particular animal its name. Hence the three black-tipped tails in this photo…

WITH A SMILE

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

We stood many times before in front of this almost alpine looking part of Badlands National Park in South Dakota. It is usually difficult to come back with a decent photo of this view at late morning during the summer. The pale slopes and a certain haziness in the air made it most of the time not a prime spot that reveals its beauty easily.

At this day near the end of August an overcast softened the harsh impact of the sun and a few gaps between the clouds created a good chance for some spotlight on the mountain slopes. Suddenly the play of light and shadows made the depth of up to ten levels between the hills in the foreground and the sky visible. It lasted only a few seconds. I went back to the car with a smile on my face…

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4, B+W F-PRO Kaesemann High Transmission Circular Polarizer MRC filter,   @135 mm, 1/320 s, f/8, ISO100

STOP FOR THE PRONGHORN

Pronghorn, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

After eleven hours on the road you just want to get to the campsite, pitch your tent, and open a beer. As we entered Badlands National Park, South Dakota on the first day of the trip, this beautiful Pronghorn male stood next to the gravel road. We have been in this place many times before over the years and it felt like someone welcomed us back. You know you have arrived “Out West” when you see the first Pronghorn at close range. You gotta stop for the picture, the beer had to wait…

GRASSLANDS, BADLANDS, AND BIG SKY

Sky after sunset just outside of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

Hi, we are back from a trip to the Grasslands and Badlands that stretch from South Dakota  into North Dakota and eastern Montana. Our tent was pitched most of the time in remote locations with no or very few people around, making social distancing easy. We watched lots of wildlife, small and big, and enjoyed some “Big Sky”. As time allows I will post some photos that hopefully tell stories about all this during the next few weeks and I’m glad if you find the time again to stop in here in my blog to read about nature and photography.

IN ANTICIPATION

Little Missouri River, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, 2015

In anticipation of our upcoming vacation later this week we are stacking camping gear, food, and photo equipment already. Yes, we will return to “Big Sky Country” again. Part of my preparation is to look at older images from previous trips. What did I learn from mistakes in the past, what do I want to photograph at locations where we have been before, and what new challenges can be mastered? Lots of questions going through my head. We know, some great landscapes wait for us again and there is no trip that includes South and North Dakota or Montana without really good wildlife watching.

This photo is from our trip in 2015 to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, a place we certainly like to visit again. I usually take a break from posting here in the blog but I hope you check in again and stay tuned.

ATTENTION TO THE HIGHLIGHTS

Creek, Bankston County Park, Iowa

Same location as in yesterday’s blog post. I looked for beauty at the river valley and tried to work towards a fine art print. The photo is underexposed by one f-stop to hide more of the clutter in the river bed. When the picture is framed in the viewfinder it is important to watch the highlights in the water in order to anticipate the results. This of course has to be done before the 10-stop ND filter is attached to the lens because it is so dark, you can’t see much through it in an environment that is not very bright. With flowing water no two images are alike. This requires some patience to obtain the desired outcome. At the same time it is interesting and has a learning curve, but is also a relaxing and calming process.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4, Breakthrough X4 ND filter (10-stop), GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head, VELLO wired remote switch,  @200 mm, 13 s, f/11, ISO100

AT THE BOTTOM OF THE VALLEY

Little cascade, Bankston County Park, Eastern Iowa

I still try to reveal the possibilities of the new Breakthrough X4 10-stop ND filter. Our dog Cooper and us always love to visit Bankston County Park, with its cold creek running through the valley on a bed of ancient limestone rocks. Little cascades are an ideal subject for long time exposures and if the light coming through the dense canopy of the trees hits the right spots, you may find the photo that was on your mind.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm / f4, Breakthrough X4 ND filter (10-stop), GITZO tripod GT2931 Basalt, KIRK BH-3 ball head, VELLO wired remote switch,  @200 mm, 26 s, f/11, ISO200

WATCHING THE AIR SPACE ABOVE

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

This young hummingbird didn’t pay much attention to my presence. His attention was occupied by more than a dozen other “hummers”, who all fight for the dominance at the bird feeders that hang from our roof. I love the gesture of their little heads, tilted slightly to the side for having an eye on the air space above.

ENDLESS APPETITE

Great Egret, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa

Here is another one from my last photo shoot with the Great Egrets in the Green Island Wetlands. No, this is not the same fish as in the last picture. The appetite of the egrets seems to be endless. This particular egret caught and ate four of them, all about the same size, within less than 20 minutes. This is great for us, who want to take storytelling pictures of these beautiful birds. Sure, the beautiful pose they make sometimes while standing motionless in the water is worth a click if the light supports it, but the catching or handling of their prey tells sometimes a more powerful story about their life and biology.