August 2015

Riverbend Church (First Presbyterian) of Moody County at sunset.

Hard to believe August has come and gone this year.  It was a month chalk full of dramatic skies and interesting weather.  It was also a very busy time at work this year.  I spent a week in North Dakota, but even so, I was still able to cruise the backroads of South Dakota to find colorful and awe-inspiring scenes.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

The flag in the Riverbend Church's cemetery with a backlit rain shaft providing a dramatic background.

My favorite windmill east of Hartford after a summer squall passed over.

A few minutes later the sky looked like a painting.

The top side of a Monarch dining on milkweed near Lake Campbell.

Goldfinch hatchlings I stumbled upon while chasing butterflies.  Look at those eyebrows!

Abandoned in Grant County.

Sunflowers and rainbows near Twin Brooks, SD.

After the storm east of Dell Rapids, SD.

Mirrored sunset in Scotts Slough northwest of Hartford, SD.

A nice Aurora display above Zoar Lutheran of rural Day County, SD.

Sunset over grazing Bison in Moody County, SD.

July 2015

My favorite windmill at sunset.

 July of 2015 saw an incredible amount of dramatic skies in South Dakota.  From storms to sunsets there was a lot to see and take photos of.  I also upgraded camera bodies.  For those of you interested, my primary workhorse cameras are now a Canon 7D Mark II and a Canon 70D.  The three lenses I use most are a Canon 100-400mm, Canon 17-55mm and Canon 10-22mm.  Anyway, here are 12 of my favorites from the month that was July 2015.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for stopping by!

Prairie coneflowers at Lake Vermillion Recreation Area.  I shot a lot more wildflowers in July.  If you'd like to see more check out my e-column at southdakotamagazine.com: http://southdakotamagazine.com/season-of-color

I spent some time working on Sioux Falls photos for a friend's project.  Here is a multiple image panorama of a July sunset over downtown Sioux Falls.

Evening with the Big Sioux River in downtown Sioux Falls.

Skrefsrud Lutheran of rural Lincoln County with dramatic storm clouds to the south.

Storm clouds with a red barn in rural Union County.

Dramatic post-storm clouds over Union Creek church in Union County, SD.

Storm clouds over a soybean field in Union County, SD.

The setting sun painting the retreating storm clouds over a farmstead in rural Union County, SD.

Post-storm clouds at sunset over Lebanon Lutheran of rural Grant County.

A common yellow-throat along the hiking trail at Spirit Mound north of Vermilion, SD.

Martinus church after a rain shower in rural Yankton County, SD