Dakota Impressions Photography

Wild about Montana

2011-07-06T08:46:00.000-07:00

We spent the 4th of July weekend in the Bear Paw Mountains of west central Montana. The weather was outstanding and a beautiful morning beckoned me out to shoot the many varieties of wild flowers around our campground. These are just a couple of my favorites from that morning.

Yellow!

2011-06-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

A beautiful summer day and a trip to find wild flowers. I did find a few including an elusive Ladies Slipper (in fact this is a first for me in this area). The two photos may me also realize that I had a yellow theme going. The two shots were also a chance to practice with my 60mm macro lens.

A Goldenrod Crab spider hangs out on a wild iris.

A yellow lady slipper along side the trail to Spearfish Falls.

May clouds aged

2011-05-19T14:46:00.001-07:00

May clouds aged, originally uploaded by Sue Gannaway.

Storm clouds started rolling into Spearfish Yesterday. Here is a shot of Spearfish Canyon from Rosehill Cemetery. Again playing with some texture and aging effect on this particular photo.

Via Flickr:
Today's rain was predicated by rolling fog and clouds yesterday morning. Several shots overlooking the Black Hills from Spearfish.

Glorious Spring!

2011-05-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

A great combination, a beautiful spring morning and blooming daffodils in one of our Spearfish Parks!
Here are a couple from this morning. You can find more at my flickr feed.

Butter cream daffodils shine in the sunrise

Bloom on black for drama!

Wyoming

2011-04-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made a side trip to Devils Tower through Hewlet. As the storm clouds gathered I captured a couple of shots from around the area.


A Wyoming homestead under the gathering clouds.

Devils Tower from the north side of Hewlet, Wy

Spring?

2011-04-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

We are starting to see some warmer temps between rain and wind here in Spearfish. Today I traveled north of town to shoot a patch of purple crocus. As you will see the one oddball was a

yellow colored one on the edge of the small patch. The garden also had a couple of cute little features that I incorporated into the photos. Just a fun afternoon in the sun!

Snow and fog Bismarck, North Dakota

2011-02-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

Last week I spent a couple of days in Bismarck, North Dakota. While we were there the weather changed from sun to fog overnight. Even though the weather was a bit colder than I am now used to, I decided to venture out and shoot some of the fog and ice at the Missouri River and the state Capitol complex. Below are a couple of those shots and more are posted at flickr.com

Playing around

2011-02-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

Finally getting around to working on some photos I took a couple of weeks ago on a quick trip to Pierre. The weather was cooperative along Hwy 34 between Sturgis and Pierre except for the wind. This group of photos are part of my learning curve with Photoshop, textures and blending modes. My goal this winter is to get as comfortable as I can with Photoshop and experiment along the way. Hope you think these are a fun result.

Abondoned ranch house with a grunge texture over layed and a hard light blending mode.


The old schoolhouse near the Cheyenne River. Sun was getting pretty low. Over layed with a blue texture.

A group of horses in a pasture dig for grass. A black and white, tinted layer with a vintage texture over layed.

Arizona dreaming

2011-01-31T15:29:00.000-08:00

With the cold moving in today I finished up some of my photos from our trip a week ago to Arizona. Missing the 70+ weather already! One of the fun moments there was while visiting friends in Green Valley. Their backyard opens on the edge of a deep desert ravine and so the wild life comes right up into the backyard. Of course I love birds and so got an opportunity to fire off some shots of several different types from what we see here in South Dakota.

Playing with photoshop

2011-01-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

One of my goals this year is to get better with processing of my images in Photoshop. So today with the snow coming down and too cold a weather to venture out, I played with two images from a recent stop. The images were taken last week while returning from Pierre to Spearfish. Because I had to make a stop in Rapid City, I took the cut off on Highway 34 through the little town of Cottonwood. Not much remains, but its been a few years since I have been by there and the dwindling afternoon light drew me to try and capture a couple of the buildings left in town. These included the church and the elevators. Because the original images didn't seem as dramatic as I would like, I thought these would be fun to play with. Here are the results.

Here are the elevators with a light brown paper texture. I also used the orton processing technique to slightly blur the image and give it more pop.


Here is a texturized version of the church as well as using a crosshatch brush	.

Christmas wishes!

2010-12-21T15:58:00.000-08:00

This will probably be my last post before Christmas. This is just to thank everyone that follows my little wanderings and wish you all a wonderful and safe and beautiful Christmas season! Today's photo's were taken this morning at my church here in Spearfish. Everything is ready for the services this week.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

Going Home, part 2

2010-12-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

I finally finished up the best photos from my couple of hours at the old farm in North Dakota. I have included the link to the flicker set that you can see them all. For my interested family and friends, let me know if you want any print copies or a soft cover booklet that will contain all of the pictures. Here is the link to see them at flickr, The farm.

Here is one of my favorites of the old grain bins. As a girl, these were my secret hideaway because it was far enough from the house no one could find me except the cats. Sitting in the shade with a book or just picking flowers around them was one of my escapes (and when you have a family of 8 kids you want all the peace and quiet you can find).

Winter in the Canyon

2010-12-09T16:31:00.000-08:00

With our snow fast leaving us in Spearfish, I headed into the hills and Spearfish Canyon to enjoy our warmer day today. One of my favorite spots is the small dam just south east of Savoy. Today's calm weather added to the serenity of the location. The downside is that the days turn dark a little earlier in the depth of the canyon.

The water is so calm a ripple shows up on the open water

A close up below the dam face

Wild horses

2010-12-07T15:37:00.000-08:00

I am trying to get caught up on images from the summer and fall. Here are a couple of the wild horses from T. Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, taken in August during our family reunion. While they don't appear to "wild", they are one of the several small bands of wild horses that run in the park.
The green grass is nice reminder of warmer days (hard to image how green it still was in August in the Badlands too).

It's Christmas!

2010-12-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite times of the year and we have snow! Tonight the DC Historic Fish Hatchery kicked off the season with luminaries, holiday lights and an open house. Here are a couple of the shots I took to help you get in the Christmas mood too!

The managers residence

Looking toward the museum

November storm

2010-11-29T16:10:00.000-08:00

Today marked our first "real" winter storm just in time to usher November out. Reports of 8-24 inches in the Spearfish area and lots of wind kept me inside today. But as the wind died and the sun poked out around 3:30 I couldn't resist and bundled up to take a couple of shots from outside my doorway and front garage area. These shots may seem redundant but the beauty of living on this hillside and the changing seasons is a wonderful draw for me. Wish I could get rid of a few of the high line wires and buildings that block my view of Lookout Mt. but can't have everything.

As I ventured around the front of the garage, a lone doe was making her way down from the hill into the little opening on the side of the town house. These first two are of her.

She catch's me taking her photo


The click startled her and she was a little more wary

The remaining two shots are of Lookout and the twilight sun at 4:15.

Lookout Mt from my driveway

Setting sun from my front walk

Catching up

2010-11-17T20:33:00.000-08:00

With our snow coming today, I thought it would be a good day to catch up some editing. So from a September jaunt to Bear Butte, here are a couple of my favorites from that afternoon. In each of these I did some fun editing techniques. The first, an old tractor and hay bales I used the Orton technique to soften the edges and bring out more color. The shoot of Bear Butte itself was a little dull so I added some canvas texture to give it a painterly look.

November

2010-11-11T14:10:00.000-08:00


A bed of leaves in Spearfish Canyon and some final color with a touch of texture.

On black with a bit of a paintbrush technique

Fall is here and the leaves are almost gone in the Spearfish area. Before the winter comes in full I thought I would play with the leaves that are left. Here are a couple of interpretations from the last week.

I would love your feedback as always.

A natural shot of a dry leaf on black

Going Home

2010-11-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

Early in September, I took a road trip to North Dakota, my home state. One of the destinations was my original farm home near Northgate. This was my first visit to the old farm in nearly 10 years. Today I wanted to share just a couple of the images I captured in that visit.

Above is a look at the house and the old "smokehouse" that was one of the first buildings on the farmstead.

From the west side driveway, looking into the yard and north to the Saskatchewan, Canada border. The yard looked quite different as many of the trees have been lost over the years, including a huge evergreen that would have hidden the house in this view.

The old pump is still there. My best memory is the taste of the water from this well. It was the best tasting water I have ever had. I helped carry a lot of pails of water to the house from this pump.

Still standing as sentry's over the prairie and just a mile east of the farm is the two elevators at Northgate. The village is almost gone and the elevators are slowly crumbling.

October in Spearfish Canyon

2010-10-26T18:57:00.001-07:00

Spf Canyon Fall 1 orton-4416, originally uploaded by Sue Gannaway.

A brisk October day adds drama to Spearfish Canyon. The sun managed to break through for a few minutes and lighted the Canyon walls. I processed this with a technique called orton to soften and brighten the colors.

Late Fall

2010-10-18T14:58:00.000-07:00

We have been experiencing such a long and warm fall. That's fun for a photographer and golfer. Yesterday was spent doing both. I'ts wonderful when you have the golf course to yourself and can take time to snap some fun photos. Here are a couple including one of a turkey gobbler overlooking his brood from the tee box. These are all from Elkhorn Ridge Golf Club east of Spearfish.

Looking toward the #3 hole across the gully

An orton version of the 4th green at Elkhorn Ridge Golf Club

Waiting for his harem

Water

2010-10-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

Early morning at the Fish Hook dam

This small dam is located inside Game Lodge campground

It has been a busy couple of weeks and I am still just getting organized from our trip to Custer State Park. It has become a fall tradition for Scott and I to spend a few days toward the end of September camping in the Park. It's a great time to visit Custer State Park because of the fall colors as well as being much less crowded. The weather was beautiful, clear and warm the entire time we visited. And I was amazed at the water for so late in the year! So I captured a couple of small water falls (actually small dams) as well as Sylvan Lake.

Fall colors at Sylvan Lake

Gift products for Christmas

2010-10-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

I have been working on some new things for my product lines and would love any feedback. These are a couple of poster prints I am selling from images here in the Black Hills. All posters are available in two sizes for now, 8 1/2 x 11 or 12 x 14. They don't show the white border, but all are centered on a white glossy poster print and come packaged with a backing board ready to frame. I will have these uploaded later today to my website at dakotaimpressionsphoto.com along with some others I have done.

Sunrise and stars

2010-10-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

Two different times of day (or night) is my subject today. Last week I spent several days camping in Custer State Park with my husband. One of my wishes was to attempt shooting star trails with a lake background. So Friday night my sweet husband accompanied me to Sylvan Lake and patiently waited for an hour and a half (well past his usual bedtime) while I played with several different attempts. It was the perfect night, the sky was clear as a bell and the stars were bright! I couldn't think of a more fun way to spend some time "under the stars" than snuggled with my husband waiting for the time to pass.

Sylvan Lake rocks "painted" with flashlight

I couldn't pass up a chance to share a gorgeous sunrise this morning over Bear Butte. This was taken from a ridge line between Whitewood and Spearfish.

Sunrise over Bear Butte this morning

Black Hills Shoot Out

2010-09-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I spent time as an ambassador to the Black Hills Shoot Out sponsored jointly by the South Dakota Department of Tourism and Black Hills State University. A shout out to the organizers including Chad Coppes for putting together a great first time event. I had fun directing our out of state visitors to the beauty of the Black Hills including Devils Tower, Spearfish Canyon and Badlands National Park. The weather made for some interesting shooting including a dreary non-sunrise at Badlands on Sunday. But the drama of fog gave me some interesting images of Devils Tower! A scare Saturday night when I thought I had lost nearly 400 images as I accidentally formatted my card, and then a save thanks to Steve Babbit who directed me to Photo Rescue. Now begins the process of downloading and processing nearly 900 images shot over the last two weeks.

Here in the meantime is some of my favorites from Saturday at the Shoot Out.

From a couple of miles out Devils Tower looms in the fog

Spirit cloth hangs from a tree limb at the base of Devils Tower


The brink of Roughlock Falls

Sunrise and sunset

2010-09-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

Back at home and catching up! I spent all of last week on a road trip to my home state of North Dakota. I covered a large section of the state and of course caught a couple of sunrise and sunset shots. I ended my journey by returning through Pierre, SD. I will be sharing some of that journey over the next few days and weeks. I have a lot of editing to do and with the weather still nice here in Spearfish, have plans to get a few more days of the Fall colors before resting for a while.

A foggy Red River near Grand Forks, ND just at sunrise


A North Dakota sunset at a wind farm near Cando

Sully County, South Dakota near Pierre

Fall is in the air

2010-09-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

My last post for a week as I prepare to head out to North Dakota. A beautiful morning beckoned me to check out the color change in Spearfish Canyon today. Already a touch of golds is starting. From my perspective this morning we may be in for an earlier peak of color this year. Some of the leaves are already falling with little change. I hope that by the time I return it won't be too late for the colors this year. These couple of shots are along the banks of the creek near kissing rock where I found these well colored leaves hugging the shoreline.

Along the creek side a batch of color.

A closer look with the creek in the background

The final image is using the Orton effect to blur the leaves and create more color.

Leaves and water in Orton

Beautiful Lawrence County

2010-09-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

Sitting on the edge of the Black Hills I think Lawrence County is one of the prettiest areas in South Dakota. A combination of prairie meeting the hills makes a nice mix of countryside to photograph. Here are a couple of shots from last week as I followed the Miles City-Deadwood wagon train into Spearfish. The green summer grass is taking on a warm yellow tone as Fall closes in. And of course the beautiful blue skies of a South Dakota late summer day make the colors pop. This first shot is enhanced with a technique to soften and slightly blur the scene, called the Orton effect, I love what it does to the colors.


Sunflowers and hayfield (orton)

Fence line and hills

Wagon Train

2010-09-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

I spent a couple of days this week following the Miles City to Deadwood trail ride and wagon train as it go closer to Spearfish. Wednesday afternoon I caught up with the group as they made their way to evening camp south of the Belle Fourche River in Wyoming. Friday they pushed into Spearfish along the Red Water road to the High Plains Western Heritage Center. Here are a couple of those shots, I will have more posted later this weekend at my flickr account.


Gene Johnson of Spearfish and his mules


End of a long day!

Wagons west of Spearfish Friday

End of the day in Spearfish at HPWHC

Bear Butte Summer Storm

2010-08-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Sunday's drive home from Pierre started in the heat of a central South Dakota afternoon and ended in a cool afternoon thunderstorm over the Black Hills. Because of car problems we didn't dare stop the car, but when the outline of the Black Hills appeared on the horizon with a line of thunderstorms, I couldn't resist trying to capture it. So while sitting in the back seat I fired off a burst of shots and hoped for the best. The beauty of the sunlight streaming through the breaks of the clouds highlighted the western landscape. And since our car's air conditioner wasn't functioning, the cool summer shower that greeted us at home was an extra blessing!


Approaching the Black Hills from Hwy 34.

I also decided to convert these to black and white to enhance the feeling of the darkening skies and streaming sunbeams.

Rain showers sweep over the eastern slope of the Black Hills

Rural Churches

2010-08-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

Harding County, near Cave Hills

Maybe because I grew up in a small town church, I am drawn to prairie and rural churches. Sadly many are now shuttered and quiet. This weekend I managed to catch a couple of new ones in Harding County and last night I returned for an evening shoot of the Dane Church in rural Lawrence County.


St. Agnes Catholic Church, Cox, SD in Harding County

The Dane Church near St. Onge at evening

Sunflowers

2010-08-17T07:57:00.001-07:00

Sunflowers-Orton_1509, originally uploaded by Sue Gannaway.

I love this time of year when the fields ripen and the sunflowers show their bright "sunny" faces! On our return trip Sunday from North Dakota, we passed this beautiful sunflower field north of Bowman. The play of the clouds, shadows, and contrasting colors of the fields begged me to stop. I played around in post production creating an Orton effect (or slightly blurring and lighting the scene in several layers) to give it a softer feel. The only downside was the 25 mph North Dakota wind, which made keeping the sunflowers sharp a little tougher, but using several high speed bursts I managed to "freeze" the front ones long enough.

Sunsets and Clouds

2010-08-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

A summer sunset and storm clouds painted the skies over Spearfish last night. Today's posting are a couple of those photographs taken from outside my front door. I am so blessed to live in one of the most beautiful cities in South Dakota (and perhaps the world)! I hope you agree.


Sunset over Spearfish, August 9, 2010


North over Spearfish, storm clouds are painted by the evening light

The setting sun colors Look Out Mountain

Night skies

2010-08-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

Over Bridal Veil Falls. f3.5, 100 ISO, 20 min.

Last night a clear, starry night and a new remote shutter release prompted me to try shooting star trails. I have been fascinated by this technique for some time, but have not had all of the equipment to attempt it. Since the evening was so clear and not very cold, I decided it was a good time to try it. The only drawback in my timing is that the Sturgis Rally is in the Hills, so even at 11:30 at night, Spearfish Canyon's peace and quite was still broken by a fairly steady stream of motorcycle traffic. I wasn't sure either how the headlights would affect my exposures. Over all though, I was fairly pleased with the results and look forward to doing more of this against different backgrounds.

Looking NW at midnight. f3.5, 100 ISO, 23 min.

Morning walk

2010-07-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

On one of my last mornings here in Pierre, the weather was just right at 6:30. My daughters home is just above Hilger's Gulch. A small marsh runs through the Gulch and I had fun with some closeups of floral and fauna.


Marsh flowers


Dragon fly on cattail

Cattail and flowers

Full Moon over Pierre

2010-07-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

It was a busy weekend with the new grand daughter being born early Friday morning. Baby pictures have occupied most of my photography this weekend. But I could not resist these couple of shots of the full moon rising over the State Capital in Pierre Saturday. Luckly my daughter only lives a couple of blocks from the Capitol building. The first was the scene as we got out of our car at her house. It shows the moon rising over the elevator building on the east edge of Pierre. The second shot I quick ran to the capitol complex and caught the moon over the top of the capitol building as well as the color of the setting sun in the western windows.

New Grand Baby

2010-07-23T16:12:00.001-07:00

Jul232010_1134, originally uploaded by Sue Gannaway.

My post today is all about my new grand daugher. Josie Rose Bowman made her way into the world this morning at 4:43 a.m. She is beautiful! Pictured above is my daughter Deb with Josie and son-in-law Corey Bowman. Baby Josie weighed in at 10 lbs 5 oz! So a little rough for Mom, but all are doing well!

You will find more photos of Josie at flickr.com/photos/dakotaimpressions

Twilight Capitol

2010-07-21T08:27:00.001-07:00

twilight Capitol_1070, originally uploaded by Sue Gannaway.

A short post today. I posted this on flickr and have received a few comments on it already. The lighting was just perfect with a cloud cover and light rain to reflect the lights in front of the capitol building. This year marks the centennial of the SD State Capitol building. Thankfully it was restored and is now preserved for future generations to enjoy its classic beauty.

Storm Clouds over Pierre

2010-07-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

Last night a brief thunderstorm rolled through Pierre. Watching from my daughter's house I watched the clouds retreat just as the sun was setting. From these shots the storm actually looked worse than it was. Note the sunlight caught in the windows of the Kneip Building above.

As the sky cleared, the moon came out over the dome of the state capitol building. This is what it looked like with the storm clouds moving off to the east.

2010-07-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

It's July in central South Dakota. The day's are long, its hot and the landscape is changing from the greens of spring to the golden colors of later summer. Above is a grain field located near Lake Oahe. The blue, gold and green makes a pleasant contrast. Below is a wild flower that was attracting a number of yellow butterflies just to the north of this field.

Because of the cooler, wetter spring, the western and central part of the state are covered with swarms of grasshoppers. The final image was a late afternoon thistle with one of the many "hoppers" at rest on the top.

More from Pierre

2010-07-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

The upside of waiting here in Pierre for grandbaby is having time to take a few photos and getting caught up on editing from the last month or so. So my plan is to post a few at a time but current and older. Here are three I took at the South Dakota Capitol grounds this week of the WW II memorial. Trying to find different ways to shoot these iconic figures is a challenge. Here are some of my attempts:

Looking through the cutout and over the fountain to try and pick up the faces as well as part of the eagle statue.

The faces draw me to these figures. I love the simple beauty of this memorial! And it always touches me when I visit especially now that my Father, a WWII vet himself is gone.

Central South Dakota

2010-07-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

I am currently spending a few days in Pierre and the winter wheat harvest is underway. Here are a couple of shots on one of the cooler days this week.

Another stop on our afternoon out was at Spring Creek Resort and Lighthouse Point on Lake Oahe. Sunflowers on the bank became my focal point for these two images.

Summer Wildflowers

2010-07-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

Seems like a long time since my last post. Life has a way of throwing a few kinks your way and interfering with your fun! But I have found time to snap off some shots of more wild flowers. Today I focused on two not so pretty plants. A thistle and a cactus. While not pretty or impressive or even desired plants, the flowers make for pretty photos. The thistle was taken in early evening as the sun was setting and I experimented with the light from the setting sun a bet. Love your feedback.

Wildflowers

2010-06-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

With all of our rain the Hills are green and we are seeing a fantastic array of wildflowers this spring. Getting too them with the weather has been interesting, but the added effect of raindrops on the petals really give photos of them pop. Here are a couple of shots from the past couple of days.

To the right is a wild rose covered in raindrops.

Below are another rose with just the bud and a photo of a stalk of Beard Tongue.

June Sunrise_9906

2010-06-09T20:03:00.001-07:00

June Sunrise_9906, originally uploaded by Sue Gannaway.

A June sunrise, this morning up at 4:30. A calm morning with a little bit of cloud cover painted the sky east of Spearfish.

Black Hills morning

2010-06-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places in Custer State Park is the Blue Bell Campground area. Our family has stayed there many times in the last 20 years and we returned this weekend for Memorial Day. There are several lookouts near the campground adjacent to Mt. Coolidge. Saturday morning I was awake at 5:30 and decided to check out several of the overlooks. What was supposed to be a cloudy, dreary day actually started out with a stunningly beautiful morning.

Here the lifting clouds are colored by the rising sun:

Looking off to the north side of the park after the clouds had cleared:

At Twilight

2010-05-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

The sky was so beautiful last evening just after sunset. So as an experiment with my new 7D, I set up my tripod, set the ISO to 800 and set an 8 sec. exposure. I was pretty pleased with the results. I hope you agree. (This was taken from my front door looking west/northwest over Spearfish, I have made this shot a number of times since moving over here in February. I have the best views of incoming weather and sunsets from my front window!)

Spearfish Spring

2010-05-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

Here are two shots of spring in Spearfish. The first is from the DC Booth Fish Hatchery located adjacent to the Spearfish City Park and Campground. The second is one of the barn at the Miller Ranch as you enter Spearfish from Exit 14. Both shot on a beautiful spring morning this week.

New Camera and lens

2010-05-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

Got a chance to run out this morning and try my new camera and macro lens. I was pleasantly surprised how nice it was at 6:00 this morning. An early morning rain was over and left some wonderful close up shots to try my lens on.

There will be a learning curve with both and I am looking forward to having fun doing just that over the next couple of weeks. Happy Spring everyone!

Spring Blossoms

2010-05-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

Finally, a gorgeous morning with no wind (at least for the first couple of hours)! Anyway, been watching the trees flower around me and couldn't resist a couple of shots this morning.

Notice the bee on the second shot. The tree was literally humming when I stopped to take my photo.

When will spring ever come!

2010-05-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

It seems like winter weather has a hold on the Black Hills. Today I am waiting for more snow and wind and rain. Not good photography weather! Much of my time the last two weeks was in the car traveling to North Dakota to see my father in law and to Minnesota with my daughter. So the extent of photos have been limited to shooting through the windshield my car!

One neat thing about the weather we have been experiencing is the mix of sun, clouds and rain showers. I love the sky when such events occur! So thought I would share a couple of the most dramatic shots I took last week "through my windshield".

Shot number one is along Hwy 85 south of Buffalo, South Dakota. Endless sky, endless road!

Here a band of showers north of Belle Fourche. The grass at least is starting to green.

Finally this shot returning from Minnesota along Interstate 90 at sunset. Again a stormy sky and rain showers near Vivian, South Dakota.

Deadwood Library

2010-04-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

Something different yesterday. An assignment to take photos of the Deadwood library. Recently repainted this historic building is a beauty!

Badlands morning

2010-04-20T14:57:00.001-07:00

badlands_8211, originally uploaded by Sue Gannaway.

Another photo from my trip to the Badlands National Park South Unit last Tuesday. This photo is just south of the little town of Scenic. Taken not long after sunrise, you can see the deep shadows in the rugged butte. The peaceful morning was only broken by the sounds of dozens of meadowlarks surrounding me. What a great morning!

More from the Badlands

2010-04-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent most of the morning in the South Unit of Badlands National Park in
South Dakota. Here are a couple of more images that I got finished today. As I was shooting a park ranger stopped by and mentioned she was looking for Mt. Sheep. I didn't realize there was any in the South Unit, but this the second photo is taken of the ridge area they are usually found. This is about 2 miles west of the visitors center on BIA 2. Unfortunately for me, I didn't spot any of the Mt. Sheep on this trip. For more photos from the day go here.

April morning in the Badlands

2010-04-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

It is really starting to feel like Spring has arrived! An early morning drive from Rapid City to the Badlands confirmed it for me. I arrived just as the sun was rising over a marsh just south of the little town of Senic.

A couple of miles down the road, with the sun on the rise dozens of meadowlarks filled the air with their song. One of them willingly sat long enough for his portrait all while singing his heart out!

This is a great time to visit the Badlands and of course early mornings are an added experience for the peace and quiet. There are few visitors yet and very soon the grass will be greener and flowers will be out. Tomorrow, more pictures from my morning jaunt through the South Unit of Badlands National Park.

April in Spearfish Canyon

2010-04-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those almost perfect spring days. A light breeze and beautiful blue spring sky. I took a drive up Spearfish Canyon to see how the snow was melting. A quick stop at Bridal Vale Falls in full sun is my first shot here. This is the best time to get a good view of the entire falls before the leaves come on.

While it seems like there is a lot of snow still left, the smaller flow of the falls and Spearfish Creek seem to indicate a dryer spring in the canyon than I anticipated. The lower creek nearer Spearfish is almost entirely dry yet, and even above the intake, you can see it is not nearly as full as I expected.

The photo below is one of the creek itself looking north down the canyon. This is about 8 miles up the canyon from Spearfish. I added a small border to make it stand out a little.

Once more, I have posted more photos from yesterday on flickr. Hope you enjoy and happy Spring!

Spring time in the South Dakota Capitol

2010-04-08T14:51:00.001-07:00

I am posting a couple of the photos I took over the weekend in Pierre at the state capitol grounds. When we lived in Pierre, this was a favorite place for the kids especially feeding the geese at Capitol Lake. While its still early, the grass was greening up, there was a light breeze in the air and a few geese were still on the lake. The shot of the memorial fountain was taken from the peninsula on the lake. I added an Orton effect to soften the colors. The second are some of the geese floating along on the lake.

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Easter Weekend

2010-04-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday we left for Pierre to enjoy Easter weekend with our daughter. We also had some free time during the day so I took the opportunity to shoot a few photos. These are just a few of what I took. Saturday evening a spring storm was brewing and as we drove from my brothers place north of Pierre to pick up the kids, I snapped this through the windshield.

Here is another shot of the same storm as

it rolled in over Lake Oahe just north of

Pierre. Other than a few sprinkles, luckily

nothing more came of it. This photo was

taken as the sun set over the water and

the storm clouds were at their peak.

Saturday afternoon was pleasant and a walk around the state Capitol grounds was enjoyable.
While there was not a lot of color yet, the grass is starting to green.

I have posted more photos at flickr.com from my day in Pierre. Click here to go to those.

April Snow brings May Flowers?

2010-04-02T12:40:00.001-07:00

It looks like our snow may be over for now, and its so wet that it's falling off the trees already. Here are a couple of photos just outside my door this morning.

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North Dakota Badlands

2010-04-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

Since it looks like I will be stuck inside for a couple of days, I pulled out some older photos to edit. I had almost forgotten these from a trip to Medora, North Dakota two years ago. But as I start planning my summer shooting schedule, a return trip to the Badlands is on the list. So just for fun here are a couple of those from fall of 2008. Above is a mare and foal from the wild horse herd.

This shot was made as the full moon rose over Medora as we arrived for the Musical.

Spring Morning at DC Booth

2010-03-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

A surprise this morning! The sun was out and we had some blue sky and light clouds. A perfect combination! So I headed out to the park and ended up at the DC Booth Historic Fish Hatchery here in Spearfish.

Thought I would share a few of the photos from my spring morning walk. Even though the trees are still bare, a few signs of spring were there including the Wood Ducks.

The cleaning crews were out and sprucing things up. The bottom shot is from the overlook above the main tank looking to the east.

The DC Booth is a fun place if you haven't been. And the spring is a good time to come because its still quiet especially early in the morning.

Random shot

2010-03-26T14:47:00.001-07:00

This time of year is kind of difficult to find something a little different outdoors. But a short walk by Spearfish Creek near the new Rotary Park yesterday yielded this look at the fence and a spreading tree. I just can't wait for some color soon!

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Turkey Trot

2010-03-23T10:18:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours in eastern Wyoming hoping to catch some of the first thunderstorms of the season. I caught a couple of good cloud shots but I also came upon a large flock of wild turkeys. The toms were busy courting, but they were still wary enough that getting too close wasn't an option. But I got one shot off from a distance of this display and his hen! More photos from yesterday will be posted on flickr.

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North Dakota

2010-03-22T09:43:00.001-07:00

We made a quick trip up Hwy 85 to North Dakota Saturday. I captured a couple of images through the windshield near Bowman, ND. Not great art, but I was amazed at the snow left there yet and the wild and stark beauty of this country!

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Photo of the Day

2010-03-18T10:32:00.001-07:00

With the weather improving I am going to try and shoot something everyday. I will then post what is my favorite picture from that photo shoot. Last night I ran up the hill above my house which happens to be Rosehill Cemetery to try and get some sunset shots. The sunset turned out whimper than I hoped, but I thought this one (which was my last attempt) caught the best color of the clouds.

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Foggy days

2010-03-17T10:38:00.001-07:00

Our stretch of fog has made some interesting photos like this from a week ago on a county road north of Whitewood. I added some toning to give it more depth.

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March 12 Photo Trek

2010-03-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Spent a beautiful March afternoon yesterday exploring new ground for upcoming shoots. The day was pretty bright, so getting good photos in the middle of the day was more difficult.

This shot is from the south side of Castle Butte, just off Hwy 79. I have wanted to shoot this area before with winter conditions. I never knew though that there was this old school house there. In the second shot, I framed the butte through the broken windows for a different impression of the scene.

For more photos from yesterday go to my flickr page

Dreaming of Summer

2010-03-11T10:06:00.001-08:00

Continuing to pick through some of last summer photos. Here is one from our August trip to Yellowstone. Can't wait to go back!

Thinking Spring!

2010-03-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

All the new snow is making me wish for spring. So here are a couple of images I have been working on this morning. These are from last spring. The one of the old GMC is a technique called "orton" using a couple of layers to blur and soften the original image. The other is a prairie flower, nothing special but just for the sake of spring!

I 7451 - Three horses

2010-03-09T12:51:00.001-08:00

I 7451, originally uploaded by Sue Gannaway.

Monday morning I headed out to Bear Butte to catch some early morning fog at the mountain. These three horses kept their eye on me for quite a while. Notice the fog in the valley. The sun was just peaking over the edge of Bear Butte when I took this.

I'm up and running!

2010-03-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

Phase two of my business website was to create this blog. I hope to use this for my daily or weekly photo treks, tips and ideas I have found useful and for general fun too! I look forward to your comments and best wishes.

Two important links are my photo pages at flickr and my business website. Please share and keep in touch with me here.