Moth at Fort Robinson State Park, July 14, 2019

Moth at Fort Robinson State Park, July 2019. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

I am always drawn to a cooperative butterfly or moth, and sometimes I have a lens that can focus close enough to show the critter. In addition to the great wing coloration, I like the detail of the grass, a combination of points and curves to mirror the antennae and wings of the moth.

Evening at Fort Robinson State Park, July 8, 2019

Ridge lines at Smiley Canyon in Fort Robinson State Park, July 2019. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

I have been drawn to the hills around Smiley Canyon at Fort Robinson. When the sun gets low they show up as a lovely set of lines. This is a simple composition anchored by the single tree in the foreground. I like the on-off pattern of tree to hills to trees to … more hills! Capped by another set of lines in the clouds. It’s nothing but lines all the way down. Here’s something else I want to see more—the tiny line of trees on the distant horizon. I need to set up an Andreas Feininger New York skyline from 20 miles away kind of long lens. A 500mm with a double extender on a small sensor. In the end it will be a blurry heat haze mess that’s just a line of tree silhouettes, but it’ll be MY blurry hazy mess.

Crow Butte from Nebraska National Forest, June 27, 2019

Evening in the Nebraska National Forest, looking toward Crow Butte, June 2019. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

I’ve been exploring the relationship between near and far landmarks from ridges in the Nebraska National Forest. This shot with a long lens shows Crow Butte and the skyline beyond. The landscape takes on a variety of characters even in the course of one evening as the sun sets and the light changes. I set up this composition to show extreme foreground and background objects. The bright grass helps lighten up the middle ground, and feels like a good balance for tonal contrast.

Unfocused Circles, Black Hills National Forest, June 21, 2019

Grass, out of focus, at Keith Cascade Springs in the Black Hills National Forest, June 2019. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Sometimes when I’m out shooting, I’ll play with out-of-focus shapes. This usually happens when I chance to see through the lens when it’s seriously out of focus and the subject I see through it has enough contrast to warrant further exploration. Probably something I need to play with on every shoot, so I get a better idea when to try it. Anyway, this arrangement of f/2.8 circles and cat’s eye ovals has an interesting zig-zag feeling. I kept the brightest shape in the center, flanked by the rest. A bit of order in the chaos.

Sunrise, Nebraska National Forest, June 16, 2019

Sunrise over the Nebraska National Forest, June 2019. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

After a fun morning shoot, I visited the Nebraska National Forest again the next day, this time a bit earlier. The sun comes up early this time of year, so you have to account for a pre-5 a.m. wake up call. These lovely pink, purple, and blue colors are worth it. I’m not entirely pleased with the foreground. There are some pleasant trees and ridges, but I need a little extra to give the composition more depth.

Morning Light, Nebraska National Forest, June 15, 2019

Morning light on ridges in the Nebraska National Forest, June 2019. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

There are a variety of ridge lines in this part of the Nebraska National Forest that are dotted with trees. I was out early to get the sun lighting the ridge edges. This composition plops a tree in the front middle to establish dominance, then works backward to show all sorts of linear elements, and finishes with some lower-contrast silhouettes in the distance.

Cloud Patterns over Chadron, June 14, 2019

Clouds over Chadron, Nebraska, June 2019. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

One of those evenings with a wide range of tonality and some subtle shapes to go with it. I pushed the contrast and color up for this, to emphasize the warm and cold colors.