Welcome to My Blog
Here you can read about how my thought process works when I compose, shoot and edit my images. I also share the equipment used including camera body, lens, filters and and all my camera settings. Enjoy!
Pretty but Nasty
St John’s Wort is classified as an invasive species in South Dakota, but it sure makes a good foreground subject.
-Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF 24-70mm F/2.8 lens @ 70mm
-F11, 0.5 sec, iso 100
-Focused Stacked
Processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
Just a Cloud
I know it’s just a cloud, and it would be so much more dramatic if it were behind a mountain, or reflected in a calm lake, but darn it, it’s still pretty!
-Spearfish, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF 24-70mm F/2.8 lens @ 45mm
-F3.5, 1/125th sec, iso 100
-Hand held shot off my back deck at sunset.
Processed in Adobe Lightroom
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
Natures Fireworks
Finding wildflowers to shoot in Spearfish Canyon isn’t hard, but finding the right light is. To get this kind of fireworks effect, I need a shaft of light on the blossoms while trying to keep everything else in deep shadow. With a one second shutter speed I hold the camera as still as possible for an instant, then give a quick twist. My success to failure ratio is probably 1/20, but I’m having fun.
-Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF 24-70mm F/2.8 lens @ 35mm
-F11, 1 sec, iso 100
-6 stop ND filter
Processed in Adobe Lightroom
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
Something a Little More Conventional
Taking a break from ICM (intentional camera movement) and getting back to conventional landscape, this is an image shot along Little Spearfish Creek just upstream from Rough Lock Falls in Spearfish Canyon. It caught my eye because of the way the sun was back lighting the the leaves and foliage. I focused on the leaves with a wide aperture to intentionally blur the back ground creek and canyon, and kept the middle ground in deep shadows to make the leaves pop, an artistic choice on my part that may or may not appeal to everyone.
-Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF 24-70mm F/2.8 lens @ 60mm
-F4, 1/60th sec, iso 100
-Two shots focused stacked
Processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
Continuing A Theme
Continuing the ICM theme, I tried several different camera movements and focal lengths before finally getting a shot I liked. This image is the result of quickly moving the camera in a circular motion as I pressed the shutter, giving the blossoms a soft, round look.
-Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF 24-70mm F/2.8 lens @ 50mm
-F22, 0.3 sec, iso 100
-Single image hand held
Processed in Adobe Lightroom
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
ICM - Am I Getting Better?
After admiring several images from real intentional camera movement (ICM) pros, I’m starting to get infatuated with this genre of photography. These methods produce an artistic, abstract image of course, but the challenge is to make an image that isn’t so abstract that the subject matter isn’t recognizable.
This is a singe image ICM shot and hopefully you can recognize it as a path winding through a stand of spruce trees, with a single birch in the background.
-Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF 24-70mm lens @ 55mm
-F8, 1 sec, iso 100
-Single image hand held while panning up
Processed in Adobe Lightroom
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
The Black Hills Not So Black
What makes the Black Hills black are the forests of ponderosa pines that blanket the region, however there are pockets of aspen and birch if you know where to look. These colorful pockets are easy to spot in autumn because of their vibrant yellow leaves, but in early spring, not so much. I like photographing them in this state because of the delicate detail in the branches, but I’ll return in the fall to see which scene I prefer.
-Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF 70-200mm lens @ 88mm
-F8, 1/180 sec, iso 320
-Single image hand held
Processed in Adobe Lightroom
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
A Watery Abstract
You may look at an image like this and think it was a double exposure, but it’s actually some type of aquatic plant just below the surface of a really clear and still pond with the reflection of a steep canyon wall overlaid on top. My kind of abstract art!
-Little Spearfish Creek, Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF 24-70mm lens @ 70mm
-F8, 1/90 sec, iso 1250
-Single image hand held
Processed in Adobe Lightroom
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
Landscape or Architecture?
I was out doing some blue hour, landscape photography one evening when the real estate photographer in me got out. Actually I think this image has a bit of both.
-Spearfish Canyon Lodge, Savoy, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF 24-70mm lens @ 41mm
-F9.5, 0.5 sec, iso 100
-Single image
Processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
Last of the Ice
It was a tiny example, but still evidence that winter isn’t quite ready to let go; even though the calendar says May!
-Somewhere on Iron Creek, Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-RF100mm F2.8 Macro Lens
-F16, 1/8 sec, iso 100
-Focus stacked
Processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
Drama Over Crow Peak
I was west of Mirror Lakes near Spearfish recently scouting the area for possible photographic opportunities, but it was a little challenging because of the weather squalls that kept blowing through with wind and rain. If nothing else, it did provide a dramatic backdrop for Crow Peak.
-Near Spearfish, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF24-70 F2.8 lens @ 70mm
-F11, 1/250 sec, iso 100
Processed in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Silver Effects
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
Couldn’t Resist This One
As far as photo compositions go this is pretty low hanging fruit. Just off the highway and probably photographed a gazillion times, but I had to stop when I saw how the snow from this early spring storm was clinging to the trees and shrubs, providing a frosty frame for the falls.
-Bridal Veil Falls, Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF24-70 F2.8 lens @ 44mm
-F4.5, 1/4 sec, iso 100
Processed in Adobe Lightroom
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
Beaver Pond
I happened to glance out the passenger side window as I was driving by a Dances With Wolves film site and spotted this perfectly placid pond. Upon further inspection I discovered it is the result of a beaver dam, but really caught my eye was the vibrant green moss under and on the surface of the water. It was early spring when this image was made, so I don’t know if it looks like this all the time, but it sure is beautiful while it lasts.
-Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF16-35 F2.8 lens @ 16mm
-F11, 1/8 sec, iso 100
-CPL filter to cut down on the reflection in the water
Processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
Naked Trees
I’ve been experimenting with Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) for a while now with mixed results, but learning as I go. In this image the light bark of the aspen trees add definition that would have otherwise been an undefined and chaotic scene, and the dark shaded side of the canyon wall provides nice contrast. Also the leafless foliage tells the story of a late winter, early spring time of year due to just a hint of green in the lower right of the image.
-Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
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-Canon R5
-EF24-70 F2.8 lens @ 35mm
-F22, 1.0 sec, iso 100
Processed in Adobe Lightroom
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
First Dawn
When I look east at sunrise across the northwestern South Dakota foothills, and there are no signs of human presence or activity, I often wonder if this is what the first dawn was like.
-Spearfish, South Dakota
-Canon R5
-EF24-70 F2.8 lens @ 50mm
-F8, 2 sec, iso 100
Processed and blended in Adobe Lightroom
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
I Got Everything I Asked For (Almost)
-Orion in the southwestern sky; check
-Clear, moonless night; check
-Fresh snow; check
-Landscape and trees flocked with said snow; half check
Everything seemed to be coming together nicely for this image to be just what I imagined it would or could be, but the snow just wasn’t as heavy on the cliffs and trees as I had hoped. Never the less, I’m happy with it and look forward to improving on it in the future.
-Little Spearfish Creek, Black Hills, South Dakota
-Ground, Astro modified Canon 5D Mark II
-Sigma 20mm F1.4 Lens
-f2.8, 30 sec, iso 800
-Sky, Astro modified Canon 5D Mark III
-Sigma 35mm F1.4 Lens
-f2.8, 60 sec, iso 1600
Processed and blended in Adobe Lightroom and, Adobe Photoshop. Further enhancements in RC Astro and Topaz Photo AI for noise reduction.
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
Finally a Taste of Winter
After several weeks of relatively mild winter weather, we finally got a blast of cold and snow, so I headed to a favorite location to check the conditions. The pines could have been a little more flocked with snow, but this wasn’t bad and the fog in the background gives the image depth. And by the way, that is a bald eagle perched on the end of the dead curving pine, but I didn’t have a lens long enough to bring it in closer. This isn’t just one of my favorite spots, the eagles like it too due to the good trout fishing.
-Savoy Pond, Black Hills, South Dakota
Canon R5
-EF 70-200mm f2.8 lens @ 200mm
-f11, 1/125th sec, iso 160
Processed in Adobe Lightroom
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
A Little ICM
I looked out our bedroom window the other morning and saw there was the potential for a colorful sunrise, so I grabbed my camera and decided to do a little icm (intentional camera movement. The sky and horizon turned out pretty good, but I’m not so sure about the foreground. Hand holding the camera caused these squiggly lines, that are the various street lights, porch lights and car lights. It’s kind of bizarre and a little mysterious looking, but my wife really likes the image, so you be the judge.
The next time I try this however, I’m going to use a tripod and get a more fluid motion as I pan the camera, hopefully smoothing out the lines.
-Spearfish, South Dakota
Canon R5
-EF 16-35mm f2.8 lens @ 35mm
-f22, 2 sec, iso 160
-Camera panned from right to left during exposure
Processed in Adobe Lightroom
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
The Color of Winter (This Year)
If you like brown, then this is the season for you. I realize this image would look better with the foliage flocked with snow and cool ice formations in the creek, but this is what we’ve got (so far) this winter.
-Location: Crow Creek, Spearfish, South Dakota
Canon R5
-EF 16-35mm f2.8 lens @ 16mm
-f11, 1/8 sec, iso 100
-Focused stacked
-Case CPL
Processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
Cloudy Ice
I always thought the ice on Mirror Lake would be crystal clear just like the water; not so, at least not on the morning this image was shot. The western end wasn’t frozen at all, so maybe that’s where the clear ice would be???
-Location: Mirror Lake, Spearfish, South Dakota
Canon R5
-EF 24-70mm f2.8 lens @ 32mm
-f8, 1/15 sec, iso 100
-Focused stacked to get the front reads sharp
-Case CPL
Processed in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
If you don’t see this image for sale and would like to a buy a print, please contact me for ordering details. Many thanks!
