Tag Archives: Badlands National Park

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Leave a reply

“The Badlands”
Wall, South Dakota

I’ve been laid up for the last couple of weeks and have not been able to get out and do any photographing. As such, I have been catching up on various photography topics. Jason O’Dell just put out a webcast on the Badlands that caught my eye. Jason, thanks for the stimulus. I was there for just a few hours as I drove across country from Philadelphia to Washighton. The day wasn’t the best for photography, but I was able to come up with a few that had potential. My visit was more of a scouting trip, hopefully for a return visit when I can spend the time to explore. I look back to my short visit. I look forward to when I will return.

Related Images:

Badlands: Yellow Hills

Leave a reply

160619_Badlands Yellow HillsFuji X-T1, XF 18-135mm @ 105mm, f/11, 1/340 sec, ISO 400

Along the northwest section of the park drive, yellow hills and green valleys provided a change in color contrast of the landscape.  This post concludes my quick trip through the badlands.  Some day I hope to go back and explore the area at a more leisurely pace.

Related Images:

Badlands Sunrise

Leave a reply

160614_Badlands SunriseFuji X-T1, XF10-24mm @24mm. f/22. 1/13 sec, ISO 1600

The sky was very dark and covered with clouds. The landscape was very dark and covered with shadows.  Then for a few seconds the sun popped out in a small gap in the clouds.  The landscape opened up its arms for me to enjoy.  The three hour drive starting at 3:00 AM to catch the sunrise was worth it!

Related Images:

Badlands National Park

Leave a reply

160604_Badlands 2Fuji X-T1, EF 18-135mm @ 31mm, f/16, 1/110 sec, ISO 800

I walked down into the basin of the Badlands and looked up to see the towering, eroded hills behind me.  I processed this image to separate the foreground from the background by adding a touch of NIK’s Color EFEX Pro graduated fog to the background.  I should have shot this image at a wider aperture to produce a natural effect.  Lesson Learned:  Take my time, work the image from different settings and exposures to create the effects that bring out specific elements of the subject.

Related Images:

Badlands National Park – Burns Basin

Leave a reply

160602_Badlands 1Fuji X-T1, EF18-135mm @ 18mm, f/11, 1/175 sec, ISO 400

During a 2,880 mile, 4 day drive from Philadelphia to Washington State, I made one stop to photograph the Badlands National Park.  The Badlands has been on my photography “bucket list” for years.  I got up early at 3:00 AM and drove 200 miles to catch the sunrise at the park.  I spent only 5 hours driving and taking short walks to capture the typical sights.  It was more of a quick scouting expedition rather than a planned photo shoot.  I will be back!

The light was rather poor, even at sunrise.  But that did not alter my enjoyment of the park.  I anticipated that I would end up processing the images in B&W, so I focused my shooting on trying to capture tonal contrasts.  During the next few days I will post additional Badlands National Park photos.

Related Images: