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!