September's Best

A white tailed buck fleeing from yours truly in Corson County early on the morning of September 1st.

Welcome to a collection of twelve of my favorite photos from September, 2013.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

Just a few miles east of Leola, SD in McPherson County.

Fog over the Big Sioux River Valley from Arrowhead Park on the east side of Sioux Falls, SD.

A roosting Monarch in the early evening light at Spirit Mound in Union County.

Sumac leaves blushing with autumn color in Good Earth State Park southeast of Sioux Falls, SD.

A mountain bluebird in Custer State Park.

An early autumn sunset over Belle Fourche Reservoir in Butte County.

Fly fishing on Little Spearfish Creek.

Lower Roughlock Falls surrounded by fall's color.

Late morning light on Spearfish Canyon in late September.

A fast moving rain storm left this full rainbow over the Castle formations of Harding County's Slim Buttes.

The last day of September in the Slim Buttes.

August's Best

Rain clouds collided with the sunset over Flandreau, SD's baseball diamond.  My nephews played in SD Teener championship weekend in mid-August.

Welcome to a collection of twelve of my favorite photos from August of 2013.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for dropping in! 

I found these prairie blazing stars near Dell Rapids.

This sunset with a rural water tower and country church silhouetted was taken south of Hartford and north of Wall Lake.

Crop dusting over a sunflower field in Aurora County.

I found this beautiful owl in LaCreek Wildlife Refuge in Bennett County.

Both male and female red-tailed and yellow headed blackbirds were flocking near the edge of the Nebraska Sand Hills in Bennett county.  I assume it was to feed on the sunflowers which were abundant this year.

Bennett County sunset.

South Dakota's sand hills on an early, hazy summer morning.

A gumbo evening primrose in bloom with an unidentified caterpillar feeding in the background.

Horse in a pasture of sunflowers on the edge of the sand hills.

Headlights, the Badlands and the Milky Way in late August.

A late summer storm provided quite a show above Badlands National Park.

July's Best

A rainbow at a country church in Yankton county in early July

Here is a collection of some of my favorite images from July of 2013.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for stopping by. 

Wooly verbena at the Jasper Pool in Gitchie Manitou State Preserve on the border of SD and IA.

Raindrops on a wood lily in the Perry Nature Area on the east side of Sioux Falls, SD.

The day's last light on the Old Courthouse Museum in downtown Sioux Falls.

Another shot of the Old Courthouse clock tower in black and white.

An abandoned building on the edge of the Slim Buttes in Harding County.

Ten petal blazing star in bloom along the Grand River breaks in Corson County.

The Milky Way provides the only light to this scene of an unused elevator in the ghost town of Sitka, SD.

A juvenile red-tailed hawk learning to fly in rural Minnehaha county.

Post sunset color above Benton Lutheran Church near Crooks, SD.

The Milky Way above an abandoned school house in Butte County.

Yellow coneflowers in the southern Cave Hills of Harding County.

June's Best

The Milky Way over a country church south of Canova, SD.

June was a whirlwind of great photo opportunities for me.  Two great displays of northern lights, one at the beginning of the month and one to close it out, plus a trip to Montana, Wyoming and many points in between filled my month up full.  Wouldn't want it any other way.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and enjoy a small slice of God's creativity!

Aurora Borealis and a prairie windmill about 10 miles west of Colton, SD.

A little wider shot of the same aurora as above with what I think was the International Space Station streaking across the night sky.

Here is a shot of I-90 near Sturgis, SD from Avalanche Road.  I'm in the midst of doing a photo column series on SD landmarks for southdakotamagazine.com.  This photo is from my post on the hogback and racetrack surrounding the Black Hills.  Here is a link for more: http://southdakotamagazine.com/hogback-racetrack

Lupine flowers in bloom above the shores of Jackson Lake with Wyoming's mighty Tetons on the horizon.

The last light of the day colors the clouds above the Grand Tetons.

Springtime in the Rocky Mountains is a great time to see and photograph wildflowers.  This is a scarlet gilia fairy trumpet.

Blue Camas filled this meadow as the evening light shone through the aspen grove.

My last morning in the mountains I got up early to get the first light of the day hitting Mount Moran with the Snake River in the foreground.  If you'd like to see more photos from the trip please check this link out:
http://cbegeman.smugmug.com/Photography/Rocky-Mountain-Spring-2013/30149550_FWVwBd#!i=2592497148&k=hRNFP6R

My most recent column at southdakotamagazine.com featured the narrows of the Big Bend area on the Missouri River system in central South Dakota.  I visited three times in late May and June to capture quite a variety of wildflowers.  My last trip was dedicated to all the blooming yucca on the hillsides.  

A macro shot of a yucca moth inside a flower.  For more pics from this column check out this link:
http://southdakotamagazine.com/bends-narrows-missouri-river

As a wonderful finale, I was able to witness a Kp7 geomagnetic storm on the night of June 28th-29th.  This photo was taken just east of Hartford, SD just a bit after midnight.  

May's Best

An early May sunset just east of Hartford, SD 

May was a great month of shooting photos in South Dakota.  A late spring finally sprung and brought with it great opportunities.  From colorful cloud sunsets to spring's first flowers as well as the arrival of warm weather birds, it was a fun filled month with the camera.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for stopping by!

Another evening just a few days later brought these colorful clouds to the same windmill and small outbuilding as above

A lone pasque flower at sunset in Hanson County.

A group of three pasques just unfurling for the spring

An unused barn at sunset in northwest Minnehaha County

Same barn as above but a little later in the evening as the post sunset color turned pink and purple

A spring storm over the Spirit Mound in Union County

A couple enjoys the SD sunset from atop the Spirit Mound, I spent a few evening there for a column I did for southdakotamagazine.com.  Here is a link: http://southdakotamagazine.com/spirit-mound-begeman

A full rainbow after the sun had set at Badlands National Park.  Some of the most amazing light I have ever seen.

My first time seeing and shooting a Western Tanager at Fort Meade Recreation area outside of Sturgis, SD

A burrowing owl on the edge of a prairie dog town near the four corners bridge in west central SD

One of my favorite SD scenes is this old barn with Bear Butte in the background.  This was taken a day before the black hills were deluged by 5 plus inches of rain.

A little bonus shot for you.  I played around to get a faux black and white infrared version of the shot above and really liked how it turned out.  I don't know which version I like better.  What do you think?