When the sun sets with clouds in the sky, the colors it leaves in its wake are often more spectacular than the sunset itself. Often I find that after the sun has sunk below the horizon the magic in the sky really starts to happen. I was in the Badlands for an evening of shooting. These colors that emerged post…
A long exposure was used to allow time for the clouds to show their movement as they passed by the still, rugged landscape, ever observing the changes of the sky. Pure poetry!
A crisp morning during the Black Hills Stock Show, back in February, as the rough stock awaited their rodeo appearance. To create backlighting in a photograph, one needs to face the sun. I also moved my position to a higher vantage point by sitting on top of the corral panels. Using the morning light streaming over the building and the…
This is the view from my favorite hill on the ranch, Glorious Splendor. The storm rolled by the Great Plains near Okaton, South Dakota, at sunset, releasing what meteorologists call virga, a streak of precipitation that evaporates before reaching the ground. Red tones highlight the late winter grasses as the colors in the sky explode from the setting sun reflected…
In order to see the Milky Way, one needs to be far from light pollution to allow the camera a long exposure time to fully capture the colors. Here is the Milky Way reflecting off the water of a stock dam out on the South Dakota prairie. In this photograph, I used the Sunny White Balance to allow the blue tones…
I wanted something different that highlighted the regal stature of this ram. Shifting my position so most of his body was hidden behind this section of rock, I used the land to create a more mysterious frame so the viewer focuses on his head. I like the minimal appeal this image brings. …
Cone-flowers are such joyful prairie blooms-vibrant colors that stand out among the grasses, paying tribute to their Maker. The evening started with dark clouds and scattered rain but gave way to lovely blue skies, characteristic of a peaceful summer’s day.
Seven months before, this landscape was destroyed by an accidental fire. The Yucca was crisp with no sign of life on the surface. What was unseen, the depths of the roots, had not cut of the supply of life.
:I planned an early morning shoot. The barn faces the south and I was hoping for some splendid clouds behind it to the west and north. I've found that when the sun is about down in the evening or just as it peaks over the horizon in the morning, the clouds in the opposite direction give a most spectacular show.…
I was given the opportunity to soar over Badlands National Park in late summer. It was incredible to view the landscape from the air with the windows open and my camera hanging out. This is my favorite image from the evening. The white tips of thin sediment were like nothing I've ever seen in the Badlands, almost like lace draped…
I'm ever fascinated by the snow drifts throughout western South Dakota. The lines and shapes rise and fall as though they are the tide coming to shore from the ocean.
Traditionally, photography creates a still image. Wanting to give the prairie a feel of motion I used my camera more like a painters brush, creating sweeping like texture for this photograph. I call this print "Rolling Prairie," which depicts the colors of the moving landscape as it continuously rolls and blends together.
This is the outhouse my husband and his family used until he was 8 in the early 70's. The house has since been moved and now has indoor plumbing but the ol’outhouse continues its observance of the prairie. I was with a group of pheasant hunters hiking around the area looking for birds and the sky added a dramatic backdrop (I love…
Taken in September as we gathered one of the herds in prep for preconditioning. I was laying on the old railroad tracks that border the pasture just west of Okaton, trying to keep low so the cows wouldn't spook and turn the other way.
Scarlet Globemallow wildflowers bloom in the summer for a duration of the season, they dot South Dakota's prairie pastures. When gathering our cows, or checking fences I find them in abundance.
Always fascinated by the sculpting of the snow carved out by the wind, Cristen continues to add photographs of this temporary landscape to her portfolio. "Sculpted & Scattered" appears to be just that, delicately carved and haphazardly placed in the snow as the deep light of dusk allowed for definition of lines both sharp and smooth.
Free. Graceful. This beautiful fine art print features Cristen's black mare, Shadow, as she ran free one lovely fall afternoon through the pastures of Cristen's ranch.
After an evening of exploring, I headed for a favorite spot along the shores of Sylvan Lake. I adore these reeds, adding texture to the glossy lake on a calm evening. The quiet deepened as the sky sang the last song of the day. Sylvan Lake is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
My daughter and I walked down one of our pasture trails as the light faded with the intentions of creating long exposure photographs. The light was perfect after sunset to for long smooth wisps as the clouds moved east. The darkening night sky allows for the longer exposures that are needed to accent the dramatic clouds. Headlight trails from cars on the interstate and…
When I describe South Dakota to those who have never been here, this photograph is what I attempt. My words do not compare with the beauty and vastness of this open prairie. The rolling hills in shadow of evening. The massive sky. The grand orchestra of cloud formations. In the words of my husband, “This is God’s County.” …
The Dry Creek Fire has left many scars upon my heart. The physical and emotional stress of the aftermath has weighted heavily upon me. A month or so after the fire, I ventured along a favorite road north of the White River searching for the yucca. The sky that evening was magnificent and touched my heart with hope as I…
Spearfish Falls is one of my iconic spots in South Dakota's Black Hills, especially in the fall. The day I captured this, the lighting was just perfect as it highlighted the trees above the waterfall.
