USD campus, Vermillion

Funny how separating yourself from a place with some time and distance, too-familiar things can take on a whole new look.

I spent my freshman year of college at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, attempting to hone some photography skills but not really having any idea what I was doing. Like a lot of people I thought, "There's not much around here close to me that is interesting to take pictures of." Stopping at the USD campus now reveals a quite different perspective.

Experience tells me that just about any subject looks great with late afternoon sun on it and that's exactly the case with Old Main, East Hall and the Shakespeare Garden in the middle of campus.





Returning after dark allows for some creative compositions with long exposures. Old Main looks very stately under a starry sky.


These photos just barely scrape the surface of what you could shoot at USD or any other university campus in South Dakota. It's just a matter of looking with a little more thought involved than I was applying way back when.

www.dakotagraph.com

Capitol city wildlife

When photographing wildlife in central South Dakota, it's best to search out the areas where critters like to spend their time. Deep wooded areas along water sources are good bets.

Take for instance the tiny creek that leads out of Capitol Lake in mid-town Pierre and runs directly by the offices of the South Dakota Department of Tourism and State Development. A herd of eight whitetail deer have been spending the last few snowy days lying along the creek, and within inches of the building's windows.




Across Capitol Avenue, the Governor's Residence was hosting a convention of Canada geese this morning.


While this worked for me today, I'm also thinking that those heavily wooded areas outside of town and along the Missouri River would be an even better bet for good photos.

Windmills of a new type

Photographers for years have enjoyed shooting old-fashioned windmills against prairie skies and sunsets. Now with the booming wind energy business on the South Dakota plains, a modern version of the that tried-and-true photo formula is available.

Literally hundreds of wind generator towers are popping up, especially in the east central region of the state. They make great photos subjects in almost any weather like this stormy sunset near Ree Heights.


..or some sunny summer days south of Highmore....



...or a crisp frosty winter day east of Brookings.



There are many more angles to play with for these things. For one, the shadows they cast are very interesting. Highway 14 from Pierre to the Minnesota border will take you past many of them.

www.dakotagraph.com

Mystic Miner skiing

Shooting winter action sports is always fun, especially for those of who wish we had media passes for the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Mystic Miner Resort in the Black Hills is having a good snow year and there were plenty of people testing their skill against the mountain last week. Some gracefully gliding through the fresh powder...


And some not so gracefully....


Snowboarders seem always willing to show off their best tricks, whether there's a camera around or not. When one is present, they pull out all the stops like this. It takes barely any coaxing at all for them to start showing off.




That's right - the weather was so nice on Friday that Kody here only needed a short-sleeved T-shirt!

Shooting skiing and snowboarding takes fast shutter speeds to freeze the action and a willingness to park yourself in a snowbank and wait for the right action to come by. Remember that all that white snow is going to fool your meter into thinking the scene needs to be darker than it does. Setting the exposure about 1 stop over what the meter tells you will work in a lot of cases, but a little testing will confirm what matches the conditions you are shooting in.

Check out Mystic Miner Resort's website for more info.

www.dakotagraph.com

Highway 34 eagle

For some, the 175-mile stretch of South Dakota Highway 34 from Fort Pierre to Sturgis might represent a great emptiness. For the observant photographer, it's a treasure trove of prairie scenery and wildlife.

Yesterday afternoon's trip east on 34 yielded this magnificent bald eagle who rose from his haystack perch and circled off into the early evening sun.



So that elusive flying eagle shot that I've been trying to get along the Missouri River instead happened on the wide-open winter prairie. You just never know. Keep your eyes open and your camera ready!

www.dakotagraph.com

Even more South Dakota photo workshops

Well-known Spearfish photographer Les Voorhis will be part of the Black Hills Photo Shootout in September and also offers workshops and one-on-one photo classes through Outdoor Photo Workshops.

This year's scheduled South Dakota offerings from Outdoor Photo Workshops include a Birds of Prey Workshop in September, an American Cowboy experience in October, and a prairie chicken opportunity with photojournalist Dick Kettlewell. Other workshops are offered across the country as well, so it's well worth checking out the Outdoor Photo Workshops website. The workshops are tailored to a variety of skill levels.

For advanced shooters, Michigan-based photographer Rod Planck is offering a five-day workshop in Badlands National Park and the surrounding grasslands in September. Check it out at RodPlanck.com.

No Rushmore fireworks this year

You may have already heard this, but Independence Day fireworks at Mount Rushmore will not happen this year. The fire danger in the Black Elk Wilderness Area that adjoins the Rushmore grounds has reached a critical point where it would be irresponsible to shoot explosives into the air anywhere near acres of beetle-killed trees.

The pine beetle problem has expanded greatly in the last few years and the crisis isn't going away. Many people are worried that a devastating forest fire will happen within the next few years anyway, so I can understand why Mount Rushmore officials don't want to be the ones to cause it. Combine that with the traffic flow problems that the fireworks celebration causes and an evacuation in case of a fire would be a logistical nightmare.

I have been asked to sit in on a conference call with people working on possible alternate celebrations for the Fourth of July at Rushmore. The feeling is that something special still needs to happen around Independence Day at the Shrine of Democracy, so it will be interesting to see what we come up with.