November 2018

St. Helena Chapel and Cemetery in northeastern NE in the early evening

It was a cold and wintry November here in the northern Great Plains.  I was able to break away during the daylight to find some photos however.  Primarily on weekends and over the long Thanksgiving break.  Here are my favorite twelve of the month for you.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

Ice art found at the Sioux Falls Outdoor Campus

November sunset with new building

German iron wrought cross with hoarfrost south of Lowry, SD

Buck easily clearing a frosted fence north of Lowry, SD

Hoarfrost scene along US Highway 12 near the turnoff to Java, SD

Lake Oahe sunset - from Mobridge, SD

Badlands Bighorn ram

Custer State Park buck in light snowfall

Snow with a buck in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota

A nice 4X5 white-tail buck in Custer State Park

Snowfall abstract at the Custer State Park State Game Lodge area

October 2018

October rain at sunset in southwestern Minnehaha County, SD

The month of October brought a lot of variety in terms of weather.  Sunny days, early snow, a bit of rain and the usual winds of Autumn all made an appearance. The odd patterns made for a less than colorful foliage season, however, there were still opportunities to find beauty around the countryside and in town. Here are twelve of my favorite images from the month that was.  Feel free to click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

A small early evening rainbow over a red barn in southwestern Minnehaha County, SD

Autumn leaves on fresh snow in Terrace Park - Sioux Falls, SD

Fresh snow on an Autumn leaf in Terrace Park - Sioux Falls, SD

An Autumn arch of color reflected in the still waters at Lake Herman State Park near Madison, SD

Harvest haze south of Bridgewater, SD

On golden pond at Covell Lake - Sioux Falls, SD

A fiery colored leaf at Terrace Park - Sioux Falls, SD

Autumn leaf detail at Terrace Park - Sioux Falls, SD

Autumn leaf detail at Terrace Park - Sioux Falls, SD

Autumn leaf detail at Terrace Park - Sioux Falls, SD

Buffalo Slough Sunset near Chester, SD

September 2018

Sunset road in southeastern South Dakota

September is a transition month in South Dakota. This offers plenty of photo ops if one is willing to get out the door and look for them.  From migrating birds to the beginning of fall color as well as the colorful sunsets and sunrises, the palette is often full of drama and beauty.  This September was no different.  Here are twelve of my favorites for you. Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

Ruby-throated hummingbird sipping from a blooming Jewelweed

Baby snapping turtle at Lake Herman State Park near Madison, SD

Sumac at Sica Hollow State Park

Fall color and an abandoned house behind some of the season's last goldenrod in bloom in Roberts County, SD

An autumn scene in Harding County, SD

The season's first snowfall at Spearfish Canyon

The road west from the Slim Buttes in Harding County

Fall in the Slim Buttes Castle Rock area

Autumn in Custer State Park

A mountain bluebird posing for me at Custer State Park

Zooming in all the way with my Canon 100-400mm telephoto and a 1.4 extender

August 2018

Sunset road near Crooks, SD

August was unusually rainy here in Southeastern South Dakota.  This made for an abundance of late summer wildflowers, butterflies and amphibians.  All made for interesting photography subjects as you'll see in this selection of my favorite photos from the month.  Click on image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

Still beautiful even though tattered and torn

My five year old niece and her prince charming found in the family yard

Butterfly's eye view on a hillside full of prairie blazing star at Lake Herman State Park near Madison, SD

Monarch macro

Upright prairie coneflower or "mexican hat" flower

Late summer color at Lake Herman State Park

Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio in between games of a baseball vacation in Cincy and Pittsburgh

Monarch wing macro

Sachem Skipper macro

Red-tipped dragonfly wings

Face-off at the Maximillian Sunflower

July 2018

Wild wood lily in bloom in rural Deuel County, SD

When looking back at all the photo opportunities I was presented in July, it makes me wonder how it feels like the month was just here and gone.  I guess when you are out enjoying the scenery the days go down faster than the setting sun. I was able to get in a trip to the Coteau Hills in the northeast early in the month, then a West River odyssey in the middle of the month.  The latter half of the month was quite busy at work here in Sioux Falls, so I only got out on weekends and late evenings, but even so, there were wonders to be found, both in the sky and on the ground.  Here are 12 of my favorite photos from July 2018. Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

A nighthawk lifting off in Sica Hollow State Park

Firefly activity over about 20 minutes of time at Newton Hills State Park

Twin whitetail fawns amongst the wildflowers at Custer State Park

Young burrowing owls waiting to be fed at Badlands National Park

Sion Hanson on a landmark of his family's land in rural Perkins County

Sion

Calvary Lutheran with the Milky Way in Clark County

A classic SoDak sunset above Renner, SD

A distant thunderhead beyond Hartford, SD

Evening light on a Monarch at rest - Dells of the Big Sioux

A full double rainbow after a brief rain shower south of Epiphany, SD