Longhorns {The Romantics of Cattle}

I spent an evening with my friend's longhorns. They didn't seem to mind me wandering about watching them.

It was a perfect late summer evening and a harsh contrast to today's frigid temperatures.

Over the past year it has been my desire to capture the cattle that graze the South Dakota prairies. I find Longhorns to be beautiful with so much character in their varied colors and tones, but what captivates me most is, of course, their horns.

This one is my favorite.

I chose high key black and white in my final process of several of these photographs. I shot many of them low to the ground in order to isolate the horns against the sky.

There's a sort of romanticism associated with the longhorn. A timeless classic of majestic beauty.

Thank you, Chris and Katie, for letting me spend time with your cattle! 

Perspectives of the Sky

It's no secret that I love the sky, and especially out here on the western South Dakota plains, unhindered.

I've been slowly working on a fine art series of photographs. All Black and White with a variety of high key and low key elements. This one has both. I allowed for a bit of grain to saturate the image, enhancing the raw texture of a dramatic sky.

'Texture'   ISO 100, f/22, 8 sec.

I photographed both images last night. My daughter and I went on a walk down one of our trails as the  light faded. I've been playing around with extended exposures after sunset to create long smooth wisps as the clouds move east. The darkened light allows for a longer exposure. You can also see headlight trails for cars on the interstate and my husband and son coming home down the old highway. The tiny town of Okaton starts to light up for the  night as well. 

 'Song in the Wind'     ISO 100, f/18, 119 sec., ND8 filter

Both images are photographed of the same clouds from slightly different locations. Each with completely different goals in mind for their final story. 

Art & the Church {Personal Post}

I wrote the following while sitting in my booth at the First Lady's Prairie Art Showcase in October.
 

I met a fellow artist and her husband, whose conversation I shared inspired me to put words to what I had not been able to before. It is rather personal, but plays a huge role in my work as a photographer and I want to share it with you.

Art & the Church
How do they merge?
In the church, art is acceptable in the form of music and video presentation. Bulletins featuring objects that relate to the pastor's latest sermon series (ie, construction cones to represent the sermon on work), or landscape scenes with a Bible verse randomly chosen. 

Where is the church in the art gallery? Where is the church supporting those who make their living by art? Do we take these people seriously?

There is much in the art world that is very dark. Often art is an expression of that which is within. When art is dark and that flows from an artist who feels very dark inside, what does that mean? Anger, depression, bitterness, rejection. They run rampant within the soul. 

Where is the joy, celebration and light?

Have we become a society that is so focused on the troubles within that we miss the joy without? 

Watching the sun rise as I drive through the Bad River breaks, the darkness giving way to vibrant colors in the sky bouncing off the clouds. The deep shadows in the valleys evaporating as the light climbs higher. The birds sing and soar in the rising sun. 

Each day is a joy and must be celebrated. Each day is a gift. A gift given to us by God, the Almighty, the Creator of all things. 

This summer I have forgotten the celebration. 

I have been so focused on the darkness within, the deep sadness, the stress of my husband's accident, the rejection and lack of support by those I needed to be there.

I have never experienced such deep sadness and despair as I have the past five months. 

My husband and I have slowly taken one day at a time, doing what needs to be done that day, plodding on. I have been more discouraged than he. I have lost my sight. I have been engulfed in the deep shadows of night, crying out for Jesus to rescue me. 

He never promised we wouldn't experience pain, heartache, rejection. 

He did promise He would never leave or forsake His followers. 

For me, there isn't a cute little sweet poem of Jesus carrying me, His footprints the only ones in the sand. 

I see a deep gray valley, with dark gray colorless violent clouds in the sky and Jesus. He is carrying me, very slowly through the valley. The wind is violent. It's cold and He trudges on. The footprint path is long and I can't see ahead to see if there is any light in the sky, giving way to the sun and color again. 

How does this find joy and celebration? How do I, as an artist, look for the beauty without when I feel such darkness within? Where is the church?

As of today, I don't have the answers to any of these.

Though this summer has been filled with inner turmoil, I have tried to seek the beauty. To be out at sunrise to run and soak in the glory the Lord has given for that new day. 

Though I often struggle in the night when thoughts run rampant, when I'm tired and the pain of rejection is easily remembered-the morning comes. And there's joy in the morning. 

My art is part of my relationship with the Triune God. While I'm out there, I feel close to Him as I run or hike, or pull over by the side of the road to capture the image I saw while driving. 

Without art, I don't know where I would be. Perhaps lost in the darkness with no reason to celebrate. 

The church must see this. The church must be instrumental in celebrating the beauty that God has created, beauty visible right now.

Fall on the Prairie

Today is a bleak, gray, cold, snowy, windy (enough adjectives for you?) late fall day. 
Just two weeks ago I drove through the Bad River breaks as the sun came up, waking the prairie in all it's golden beauty. I'm so glad I chose to work on these photos today, they bring light and warmth to what seems dreary.
This is one of the many joys of photography. Though these golden colors are no longer seen outside, they are forever encapsulated for us to return to. 

One morning, also a few weeks ago, I shot this view of my dam to the east of my barn. The morning sun highlighting that backs of the trees brings depth and fullness to it's shape.

Later than evening I focused west, where I can see the Okaton tree from living room window. Each day I enjoyed how the evening sun highlighted and defined it against the prairie.

This fall has been absolutely beautiful for golden colors. It seemed as though the beauty of the season lasted longer for us in western SoDak than most years, much to my delight.

May these photographs bring some joy to your day!  ~Cristen

Theodore Roosevelt National Park {NoDak Badlands}

A few weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our 12th anniversary in Theodore Roosevelt National Park-the NoDak Badlands.

I loved the contrast in Wind Cayon between the white of the formations and the yellow of the trees.

From this view point near Wind Canyon, we could see a small herd of the wild horses on the Little Missouri River.

We parked the car near the location we'd spotted the horses and hiked down to the river. We spent a good hour or so with the them. It was so beautiful! I will have a separate post dedicated just to them in the next few weeks. 

The view from the end of Boicourt Trail was probably my favorite. An expansive panorama of much of the park.

The trail is so fun and part of it just follows the ridge with steep drops on both sides. That's what made it so fun! The arrow in the photo below shows where Marty and I are sitting in the photo above.

We spent all day in the park, taking our time, enjoying the quiet. Near sunset, we were at Scoria Point Overlook. A small rain storm blew through as I was on top of a peak doing some shooting.

This photo (below) is my favorite of the day. I love the lines in the Badlands and the simple clouds above. In order to isolate this section, I ended up hiking a game trail. You can see this peak in the above photo, but it blends in with the rest of the Badlands.

This was my first time in the North Dakota Badlands. I can't really say I like one better than the other because they're both so different. 
I can't wait for the next time I get to travel up north!

Sunset Colors on the Missouri {Yankton}

Back in August, while attending Riverboat Days Summer Arts Festival in Yankton, I spent time on the Missouri River capturing the change in light as the sun set.

While waiting for the right lighting and creating compositions, I noticed this mom and her daughter fishing. It was so sweet.

As the sun swiftly began it's decent, bursts of rays shot out from behind the clouds. 

The colors were amazing!

 

I was near Gavins Point Dam and drove over the dam grade as the light continued to fade. Being landlocked in the western prairies, it's almost hard to believe this is part of South Dakota. Cowboys and Sailboats all in one state.

Badlands {Trekking through the Yellow Mounds}

The last time I was in Rapid City, I dropped down into the Badlands on my way home. I hadn't been through there all summer and was needing the refuge of solitude and rugged landscape. The evening started off cloudy and I wasn't sure what kind of color I would get at sunset.

I parked near one of my favorite spots showcasing the yellow mounds on the west side of the park. 

 Venturing down in the the canyons I followed the dried up creek bed. 

Just as the sun set, it passed through a sliver in the clouds and exploded the area in color. It was amazing!

I stayed out past visible light, wanting to try some long exposure in the clouds.

ISO 200, f/22, 63"

ISO 100, F/22, 91"

I was glad I'd prepared for shooting late and brought my headlamp. The trek back to the car through dark Badlands was interesting. Though I've lived in SoDak for a total of 17 years, I'm still not used to the deep darkness of night.

The adventure was so worth it!

Looming Storm {Baby buffalo}

I'm drawn to the storms, to the colors in the sky, the constant chance of the atmospheric landscape. Though there is danger, there's also beauty and the hand of the Sovereign Triune God behind it all. 

 

Northern Jones County

I was out for a drive the other night as the storm rolled in. No plans other than to explore.

My husband and I found this lone baby buffalo.

I love being in the perfect place at just the right time. 

Baby buffalo

Baby buffalo facing the coming weather.

My Rendition of the 2017 Eclipse

I wasn't even sure I was going to shoot the eclipse. I wanted to capture the landscape and how it changed. I was hoping that though we'd still have about 10% of light, there would be somewhat of a 360 degree sunset like for the areas of totality. I wasn't really sure what to expect for western South Dakota.  It had rained and was cloudy but the sky broke through near peak time and this is was I was able to create.

Due to the limitation of my equipment, this image is a composite of two images. I don't normally do that, but I wanted the sun to appear larger in the sky. Artistic expression is allowed in photography. ;) 
Both images were taken back to back. I used my darkest ND filter to protect my lens and shot in Live View mode to protect my eyes from looking directly through magnified glass.

Savanna {Senior Shoot}

I remember the first time I met this chubby little baby 18 years ago, long before I married her favorite uncle. ;) She has grown into such an amazing young woman. Her mom was always so welcoming to me and now to have her as a sister-in-law for the past 11.5 years just couldn't be better! 

I was so honored when my niece asked me to take her senior photos, even though portraits aren't my specialty.
We couldn't have asked for a better night with amazing light that just sparkled! God is so good, even in the small details.
This was by far the most relaxing photo shoot I've ever done. And Sunny, her horse, was such a dream!

!!!!!!! 

Here's a look at my top 10 favorites from the evening's shoot.

Thank you, Savanna, for trusting me with your photos when portraits aren't my specialty. 
I was so honored to be able to do these for you! 


***Family members-if you would like to order prints, please contact me directly at: cristen@cristenjoyphotography.com. Thank you!