Pasqueflower Portraits

First pasqueflower of 2014

Every spring, I like to hunt pasqueflowers.  I think it is the combination of the little buggers being hard to find as well as being the first flower to bloom that drives me.  By mid-March, I'm ready for winter to be done and anything that shouts "Spring" attracts me and my camera.  Plus this little beauty is South Dakota's state flower and endeared to many of my fellow Dakotans.  Whether you call it a crocus, a mayflower or a pasque, here is my collection of photos from this year as well as my favorites going back to the spring of 2011.  Click on a image for a larger file to view and enjoy some South Dakota goodness!

New blooms on the edge of Lake Vermillion Recreation Area

I think they look pretty good in black and white too.

Pasques in evening light - Hanson County

I found this guy in the Coteau Des Prairie Hills of southern Roberts county.  It was actually growing in a mowed ditch which allowed me to get up close for great backlight detail.

Taken in the last light of day in 2013.

Taken in 2012.  I was experimenting with shooting "wide open."  Which means I had opened up the aperture as wide as possible to blur the background.

My favorite from 2012.

From 2011.

This is my fav from 2011.  It actually made National Geographic's YourShot Daily Dozen, which was fun.

Best of April 2014

Sharp-tailed grouse displaying on a lek on the Fort Pierre National Grasslands

Here are twelve of my favorite photos from April, 2014.  I've noticed that the blogger software is brightening these photos more than it should on this post as well as last month's.  I'm not finding any preferences to shut that off, so I guess I'll have to live with it.  Anyway, thanks for checking in.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and enjoy!

The South Dakota State Capitol building reflected in the relatively calm Missouri River.

Holy Name Chapel with the Milky Way found southeast of Ft Pierre on the northern edge of Lower Brule Reservation.

Snow Trillium in bloom at Newton Hills State Park.

Belleview Lutheran near Howard, SD at sunrise.

The full moon with the clock of Sioux Falls' Old Courthouse Museum Tower.

A blood moon caused by a full lunar eclipse later into the night.  The spires of St. Joseph's Cathedral in Sioux Falls provides the framing.

Calvary Church in rural Clark county on a warm, blue sky Easter Weekend.

A brief display of northern lights on Easter Sunday night above Isabel Lake in Dewey County.

The Korb Windmill southeast of Isabel, SD with the fading Aurora.

My favorite pasqueflower photo of the season.  Since I shot a lot of our state flower, I have decided to compile the best of those as well as a few favorites from the past few years in a supplemental post coming soon.  

This mallard drake seemed to be smiling at me when I shot his portrait at Prairie Trail city park in southern Sioux Falls.