Final Round in Photography Contest

Today I received word from Photographer's Forum magazine's photography contest, I entered this past spring, that I have made it into the final round! 

Over 10,000 photographs were submitted from all over the world and the top 16% of the best photographs were selected. Photographer's Forum chooses first through fourth place and 100 honorable mentions. I should know by mid-August. All finalists are printed in their Best of Photography 2015 coffee table book. 

I'd entered a few years ago and had made it into the finalist round, so I'll be a published photographer twice now! 

Finalist Photograph - Sylvan Lake, Custer, SD

Wheat Fields

The wheat harvest is well under way by now. 

Before this field was combined I spent about an hour with it at sunset. 

It was a perfect evening as the clouds rolled through capturing the sun's last color.

 

Flax Fields

I had to get out and shoot some more fields of flax before the flowers all fall off. The field by my house is just about done blooming so I went to a few others in the area.

It's windy today and I tried to use that to my advantage. In the following two shots I used my Neutral Density filter (really dark filter) so that I could keep the shutter open longer and create some blur amongst the flax to show the motion of the wind. I like the abstract appeal that the finished image gives.

The haze coming from the fires in Alberta give the South Dakota landscape a soft texture.

I love seeing these rolling hills of blue.

The Flax

First off, Happy Independence Day America!  

Secondly, the flax are in full bloom again.

This time there's a field within walking distance from my house. This dam is on my property and the neighboring flax field is beyond it. 

Last year I shot some closer images of the field.(You can see last years flax here and here.)
I wanted to try something different this year since I had the dam to work with, instead of what I did last year.

The previous year, I also had some incredible blue skies to work with. This year it's a bit hazy, possibly due to the fires in Canada.

Since the flowers only bloom late morning during the harsh sun, I used my neutral density filter and several stops down to get some longer exposures. It's a little breezy today and I love the softness the clover creates due to the longer exposure.

Storm Clouds

Friday night before going to bed I was watching the storm roll in. My western window frames some amazing views of the prairie. The lightning was constantly flashing behind the clouds. Though tired, I just couldn't pass up the chance to see what I could capture. Here are my favorite ones:

As this cloud loomed over the tiny town of Okaton the winds picked up in great force. The tips of the trees around my house were touching the ground. The destruction left by the storm in our county is very sad, but we are grateful that no lives have been lost.

Bringing the Cows In

Those who know me are aware of the fact that I did not grow up on a cattle ranch. I have had to learn the ways since my mid-twenties. 

For those who aren't familiar with the ranching lifestyle, the following picture is the cowboys and cowgirls rounding-up a small portion of our cattle for our spring branding.  This is probably my favorite part of ranching.

The view stretches a good 10 miles to the south or so. Maybe more.

If you've never been to the South Dakota prairies, come join us. We'll take you on an adventure you'll never forget.

Harney Peak

I recently had a client contact me about a photo of the fire tower at the top of Harney Peak.

This is probably my favorite hike in the South Dakota Black Hills (sadly, I haven't had the chance to hike very many so my favorite may change in the future).

Harney Peak stands 7,242 feet above sea level and is the highest point between the Pyrenees in Europe and the Rockies.  

When I shot this view of the tower it was around noon and I hadn't indented to use it to sell. However, adding a B&W filter to the image creates some sweet contrast! I've discovered that mid-day white light shooting can be very beneficial for B&W photography.