Rainy Day at Fort Robinson, October 7, 2018

Rainy weather near Red Cloud Buttes in Fort Robinson State Park, October 2018. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Following some fun fall color shooting up in the Black Hills, the rain caught up with western Nebraska and flattened out the landscape. I wanted to get outside anyway, and drove out to Fort Robinson State Park. It was quickly apparent that this windy mist would just cover my lens in a fine spritz, so I took a handful of shots and called it a day (but not before getting a snack at the Staabs food stand, which is the rule). This is a shot that has plenty of detail in the power lines, and a car hiding in the mist. There's something about the subtle detail that fog allows, and I kick myself whenever we get fog out in western Nebraska and I don't try for some sort of photo. Even if it's a quick grab, it's satisfying to work with fog.

Fall Colors at Pactola Reservoir, October 6, 2018

Fall colors overlooking Pactola Reservoir, October 2018. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

It was a fine fall day to explore the northern Black Hills. The overlook on the west end of Pactola Reservoir was full of color, and the variety of clouds in the sky provided a nice balance against the detail on the ground and water. This is a multi-frame panorama, and just between you and me, I did quite a bit of local adjustment to deal with lens flare circles in the left half of the scene. Sometimes I'm OK with a little flare, but this scene called for a cleaner presentation. I was pleased with the low-lying red bushes in the foreground to go with the rough rocks. The small peninsula down at the bottom adds some curvy interest to that far shoreline. It would be another year before I ventured down to that far shoreline, and it's got plenty of interesting rock shards to play with.

Sunrise over Chadron, October 3, 2018

Sunrise in Chadron, Nebraska, October 2018. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

The agriculture building at Chadron State College is located on a hilltop, making it a good spot for a weather station. I was looking for clouds on this October morning, and thought I'd see how things looked from the hilltop. As I saw the weather station with the grass and clouds, I thought it would make a nice little arrangement. I particularly like the line of light across the grass at the bottom, adding some detail and preventing the foreground from being nothing but silhouette.