Snowfall Along Needles Highway, October 12, 2014

Grace Coolidge Creek in Custer State Park, October 2014. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Snowfall along the Needles Highway in Custer State Park, October 2014. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Snowfall along the Needles Highway in Custer State Park, October 2014. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Snowfall along the Needles Highway in Custer State Park, October 2014. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Normally, I wouldn't put four photos up, but these serve to illustrate the varied weather that can be found in Custer State Park as fall in the mountains gets cold. A day that started with light drizzle turned to snow, which adds a fun layer of texture to the mountain scenes. It's another kind of day that I need to repeat, especially as a means of capturing the aspen and birch trees of the area. But is it an aspen or a birch?

Clouds over Box Butte Reservoir, October 11, 2014

Road along the dam at Box Butte Reservoir, October 2014. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Box Butte Reservoir and the state recreation area it's part of is a fun place to visit, particularly during the warm months. Writing this, I'm thinking I should head out there this afternoon, since it's fall, and the trees along the water take a great set of colors. This mid-day shot featuring the dam road, dam posts, and (ahem) damn fluffy clouds, is straightforward, but with a few details I enjoy. The repeated receding line of the road is repeated in the shadows from the clouds crossing the sky. There is a hint of fall colors to liven up what is an almost monochromatic warm-cold foreground and sky. This scene is really about the geometry of the lines and cloud shapes.

Trees along the trail, Nebraska National Forest, September 14, 2014

Burned trees along the Black Hills Overlook trail in the Nebraska National Forest, September 2014. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

The 2012 wildfire that swept through the region around Chadron State Park and the Nebraska National Forest continued to show its effects two years later. There are few trees left on the Black Hills Overlook ridge line, but a few stragglers remain standing, blackened and leafless. I included the trail to add to the sense of depth created by the trees leading into the distance.

Thistle, Nebraska National Forest, September 14, 2014

Thistle at the Black Hills Overlook in the Nebraska National Forest, September 2014. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

The road from Chadron State Park to the Black Hills Overlook in the Nebraska National Forest includes grass, sunflowers, pine trees, and some thornier plants. The harsh afternoon sunlight provided a strong outline for the thistle prickles. I used a long lens to keep a tight composition on the plant itself, and tried to find a good balance for the plane of focus. This is a fun composition to explore, and I like the delicate character of the soft background compared to the sharp foreground.

Smiley Canyon, Fort Robinson, September 13, 2014

Sunset on a fallen tree at Smiley Canyon in Fort Robinson State Park, September 2014. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

There are a number of rocky outcroppings at the high end of Smiley Canyon in Fort Robinson State Park. With the variety of yucca, small flowers, grass, fallen trees, and live trees to work with against the rocks, I find plenty of opportunities to play with near-middle-far compositions.

On this September evening in 2014, I continued to see what I could do with the rough patterns of rock and weathered wood, plus the dots of color from the flowers. The sunset gave everything a warm glow to match the flowers, and I ended up with a top-down view of the tree with the flower next to it. There is a bit of depth at the top, showing the ground somewhere below the small cliff created by this particular outcropping. I pushed the saturation and contrast up to showcase the range of tones in the scene.

Sunlit Discs, August 1, 2014

Sunlight reflected off compact discs, August 2014. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

I noticed sunlight reflecting off some discs onto a blank section of wall. The prismatic effect and amorphous shapes are intriguing, and I like them surrounded by the unlit section of wall, which frames the scene.

Bridge Supports, Cherry County, June 22, 2014

Multiple exposure of bridge supports at the Niobrara River in Cherry County, Nebraska, June 2014. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

This rail bridge over the Niobrara River has been converted to a long walking trail and has many fun views, whether toward the water, the vegetation, the occasional wildlife, and the bridge structure itself. This composite is made of three handheld frames, each focused at a different point. I wanted to maintain deeper focus without resorting to a tiny diaphragm opening (which might not have covered things anyway). In stacking the frames, I decided not to crop the result and keep the ragged edges. Then I turned up the contrast.