Daniel Binkard: May 2020

31 May 2020

Landmarks and Moths in Western Nebraska, May 31, 2020

Yucca near the base of Chimney Rock, May 2020. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Clouds above Courthouse and Jail Rocks, May 2020. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

View toward Chimney Rock from Courthouse and Jail Rocks, May 2020. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Moth at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, May 2020. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Fossil Hills Trail at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, May 2020. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

28 May 2020

Fog in the Nebraska National Forest, May 28, 2020

Fog rolls through the Nebraska National Forest at sunrise, May 2020. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

I woke up early and decided to visit the Black Hills Overlook at sunrise. The drive out proved foggy, and the fog remained through sunrise, drifting in and out as I slowly hiked along the trail, taking as many photos as I could. This is my San Francisco kind of scene, with the radio tower poking up above the fog below it. I worked on a triangle composition, with the foreground tree, middle arch, and background tower. The fog provides creamy pink colors to go with the dark green grass and orange rocks and grass. Quite an interesting morning in a region that doesn't get much fog.

Morning Fog in the Nebraska National Forest, May 28, 2020

Fog rolls through the Nebraska National Forest at sunrise, May 2020. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

16 May 2020

Storms over Fort Robinson State Park, May 16, 2020

Storm clearing over Smiley Canyon, Fort Robinson State Park, May 2020. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Midday at Fort Robinson with a chance of rain. It blew through three times while I was in the area, once at Soldier Creek and twice here at the top of Smiley Canyon. For this round, I kept my back to the wind, getting my backside soaked but keeping the camera mostly dry, and looked for quick shots of the changing scenery. Most of them didn't quite work, but a few were more promising. This is from after most of the rain and shows a bit of the storm's western edge. Each of these storms were small, fast moving cells, and I could see far enough to watch them come and go.

Thunderheads over Smiley Canyon, Fort Robinson State Park, May 2020. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Looking in the opposite direction at other potential showers moving toward my location.

Storm clearing over Smiley Canyon, Fort Robinson State Park, May 2020. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

One more shot of the storm passing over the landscape.

15 May 2020

Playing with Multiple Exposures at Chadron State Park, May 15, 2020

Multiple exposure at Chadron State Park, May 2020. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

I'm taking occasional tries at multi-exposure photos, and mostly producing garbage. I'll have to keep playing with the technique, and see what kind of high-contrast subjects I can find. These are quick ones at the state park. There is at least one crane (I think) in this area, so I played with a 10-frame multiple exposure of it flying overhead. I like the clouds behind the bird. The color photo is a closeup crop of a 10-frame scene shot with a tiny shift between frames. At a distance it's a fuzzy mess, but the repeated details are certainly interesting. I'm getting the sense that there's a lot of intriguing textures that can result from this technique.

07 May 2020

Sunset Series Over Chadron, Nebraska, May 7, 2020

Sunset over Chadron, Nebraska, May 2020. Roundtop is on the center horizon, with Wright Peak to the left. This series shows cloud and lighting changes over the course of the sunset. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)