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In February, I visited the Angostura Reservoir. The water was covered in ice, and snow had blown across to create patterns like sand dunes. It was wonderful to see the repeating pattern, and the contrast between the snow and ice. Abstractly, it reminds me of paint strokes.
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Mid-March, and everything turned upside down. I ended up spending a lot of time out in Chadron State Park and the Nebraska National Forest; this is one of many photos that includes Crow Butte. The clouds filtered the sunlight to create a glow in the sky, which went well with the darker shapes on the horizon.
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Late March, and I was taken with this sunset over Chadron. This is three exposures blended to show the full contrast range. The sun is running a little brighter than I'd like, but it fits with the range of warm colors. The intricate shapes in the clouds provide plenty of detail to explore.
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Late April, and another hike around Chadron State Park. I started hiking a long loop that included part of the main road, the campground, the Black Hills Overlook, and sometimes one more trail. From a low elevation, I liked the arrangement of the clouds with the trees and hills.
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Early May, and a sunset view from Chadron toward Roundtop and the badlands around Hudson Meng and Toadstool Park. I ended up with a series showing the changing light on the clouds and landscape, and this shot had a good balance of warm, sunlit areas and cooler shadows.
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During a hike in mid-May, I was on a ridge overlooking the cabins at Chadron State Park, and photographed this scene of a family on a high disc golf tee box. There is plenty to see from these hills, and here Highway 385 stretches north toward Chadron.
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In late May, the fog rolled in. I woke up early and intended to photograph the sunrise at Chadron State Park, not knowing it would be this cloudy. The fog helped to simplify the landscape at the Black Hills Overlook, which is still covered with skeletal trees from the 2012 wildfire. It was fantastic to see trees on the ridges poke through the fog. Layer after layer going off into the distance. I figured I had better keep an eye out for more fog in the mornings before the summer heat set in.
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At the end of May, I ventured south to visit the landmarks around Scottsbluff, including Courthouse and Jail Rocks. Even with harsh midday sun, they look monumental. The clouds cooperated as well, providing some feathery textures to contrast with the harder sandstone buttes.
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Early June brought more fog, and this time I took photos at the Chadron Reservoir, in addition to Chadron State Park. The local wildlife helped with my shoreline composition, and the morning dew helped showcase many spiderwebs in the tall grass.
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In late June, I visited the old Belmont railroad tunnel. The afternoon light provided good tones on the path beyond the arched entrance. It's always eerie walking through the tunnel and listening to your footsteps echoing. Try to resist the urge to test the tunnel's vocal acoustics, no matter how fun it sounds.
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A wide-angle view through an arch at Chadron State Park in early July. I usually don't have a wide enough lens when I hike to this arch, but this summer I took this view as well as some with a fisheye. The starburst from the sun adds a more rigid geometric quality to the organic rock shapes.
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While driving in Fort Robinson, I saw this scene in my rearview mirror, and quickly stopped to take some shots of it. Crow Butte and Little Crow Butte provide a wonderful backdrop to the bison on the ridge, with a little bit of evening shadow to provide some depth.
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After photographing the bison, I ended up at a pullout west of Fort Robinson to watch Comet Neowise. A few other people were out as well, and after getting some photos of the comet by itself, I tried this composition. A long shutter speed meant I had to wait for the people to hold still, and this one worked.
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The next evening, I went to Toadstool Park. The clouds covered the comet, but I was able to revisit a style I'd used in the past: colored light on the hoodoos and stars beyond. There are endless ways to add light to this scene, and I wanted to showcase the texture of the rocks with some side lighting.
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In late July, I was back at Chadron State Park, and noticed this stick insect exploring my tripod leg. The bug was kind enough to hold still for a few shots before crawling off. I like the out-of-focus pattern of the ground. It's all warm tones, and it fits the light brown insect.
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On to late August, and wildfires were hitting throughout the country. Smoke from fires further west gave the skies an eerie look for several weeks. Whether it was sunsets with an overload of orange colors, or hazy views from hilltops, the area certainly looked different.
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Mid-September, and I dared to venture back to the Black Hills. I finally made it to the Devils Bathtub, with the help of galoshes to keep my feet dry. The morning sun added wonderful highlights to the water, rocks, and foliage. My next trip will need to include a tripod.
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That same trip included visits to Roughlock Falls and Spearfish Falls. Here, Spearfish Falls looks grand surrounded by the beginnings of fall colors. I understand that the area went into full fall mode a week later, and another trip is on my list for 2021.
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Back to Fort Robinson at the end of September, this time exploring a new area. I found some nicely contrasting elements at the edge of the trees for a focus-shifted double exposure. The clouds were especially helpful, with wonderful soft shapes against the blue sky and yellow-orange landscape.
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Early October, and a trip to the Black Hills for more fall colors. At Pactola Reservoir, there were beautiful colors to see in the distance and up close. Above, I am drawn to the light leaves emerging from the depths of the shadows. Here, the birch trunk and leaves created a good opportunity for a glowing, focus-shifted double exposure.
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That same day, I took a return route that included Canyon Lake Park here, and Rushmore Lions Nature Park above. Rapid Creek provides a miniature waterfall and reflections of the warm leaves. The trees and people on the Canyon Lake shore provide a grand size contrast.
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The first proper snowfall in Chadron came in the latter half of October, and I took a morning trip to Chadron State Park. This duck spent several minutes bathing and cleaning on the lagoon shore, and I was able to get a shot at the right time to get some wing flapping motion blur.
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Early November brought more warm days and the remaining leaves fell. I liked this arrangement on the lagoon at Chadron State Park. The bottom is just about the right level of darkness to contrast with the brighter leaves.
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During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I photographed this labyrinth that was built by college art students and community volunteers (and I put down a few stones myself) in an old cistern. The fisheye lens shows most of the breadth of the cistern, along with the moon, stars, and glowing antenna.
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Further hikes over Thanksgiving weekend provided opportunities for me to explore a new location: Roberts Tract, between Chadron and Crawford. This is a long-lens view toward Roundtop and the surrounding badlands, showing the expanse of tree lines and agricultural land along the way.
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The next day I returned to Roberts Tract and hiked a different trail. Back at the trailhead, this bit of farming equipment has been left at the site, where it fits in with the windmill and wooden fences. It also provides an excellent foreground object to go with Crow Butte and Little Crow Butte in the distance.
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The next day I visited Deadhorse Road, which I hadn't driven in quite a while. The morning light provided good combinations of highlights and shadows, and the varied terrain provided the rest.
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Early December, and continued warm weather for drives on East and West Ash Creek Roads. The above three photos are all from West Ash, as I continue to photograph Crow Butte from various angles and distances. The sun sets early, and there are plenty of scenes to find in the evening light.
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Christmas at Chadron State Park, and a time to reflect on how you can use your car as a foreground object. This is a focus-shifted double exposure.
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| At the end of December, I took one last 2020 trip to the Black Hills. First, to Canyon Lake Park to see if I could find some cooperative geese. It's easy to eat up 300 frames while photographing the birds as they swim, take off, and land. I was pleased with the arrangement in this scene. Then, to Angostura Reservoir for a focus-shifted double exposure to show a nearby tree and distant shoreline. |
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Overall, 2020 was a good year for hiking. I tried to visit new trails in familiar parks, and hope to revisit those same trails on snowy days in 2021. The year was certainly varied, whether I was looking to the sky, the hills, the trees, or the wildlife.
