December 2015

An early December sunset above the reeds of the Missouri River

I was only able to get out and about with my camera a handful of times this month.  The holiday season and work were particularly busy this time around.  The times I did get out, however, provided frost and wildlife as well as other great winter scenes here in South Dakota.  Here are 12 of my favorites of the month.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

Frost on tall prairie grass in Brookings County

Cold and twisted with frost

Old barn west of Lake Thompson

Horse and frost near Forestburg, SD

Winter sunset at North Preston Church

Down the road less traveled

Grouse in the winter sunshine

The Mule brothers at Foster Bay in Stanley County

Flurries advancing over Cherry Creek

Moreau River Breaks on Christmas Day

Faint Northern Lights on New Year's Eve

November 2015

An early November sunset at Family Park in Sioux Falls, SD

November was a busy one and I didn't get as much time out looking for photos as I would normally like.  I was able to find beauty in and around Sioux Falls though.  From the last remnants of Autumn to the first heavy snowfall at the Outdoor Campus, the month turned out to be fairly photogenic after all!  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for stopping by!

Sunset over the Oahe Reservoir at Swan Creek Recreation Area

Northern lights above a fallen outbuilding and prairie windmill in Minnehaha County.

A mid-November Clay County sunset

Some last remnants of Autumn at Covel Lake in Sioux Falls

Some last remnants of Autumn at Covel Lake in Sioux Falls

Mallards at sunset on Covel Lake

White on red at the Sioux Falls Outdoor Campus

Blizzard birds at the Sioux Falls Outdoor Campus

Northern Cardinal in the snowstorm

House Finch enduring the cold

Thanksgiving sunset over the Oahe Chapel near Pierre, SD

October 2015

Low hanging fog at dawn over Badlands National Park.

On the first day of October, I watched the sun come up over Badlands National Park.  Not a bad start to the month!  I was also able to spend a little time in the northeastern portion of South Dakota chasing sunrises and fall colors.  Here are twelve of my favorites photos of the month.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

The first sunlight on the land.  The dots on the ridge are bighorn sheep.

A bighorn ram on the edge of the Sage Creek Wilderness of Badlands National Park.

Savo Lutheran of rural Frederick, SD just before dawn.

Fall colors at Sica Hollow State Park in Roberts County, SD.

The road through Sica Hollow.

A stream bed at Sica Hollow.

October sunset in western Minnehaha County.

Sunset over the fishing pier at Lake Alvin Recreation Area, east of Harrisburg, SD

Later the clouds turned into what looked like a dragon chasing the sunset.

Late light after a rainy day at Dewey Gevik Outdoor Conservation Learning Area near Wall Lake (south of Hartford, SD).

Halloween sunset over a rural cemetery in southeastern ND.

September 2015

One of the last thunderstorms of the summer provided a unique sunset opportunity in rural Union County early in September.

 Here are twelve favorites from September 2015.  From Monarchs to hummingbirds and eagles, the month was colorful and busy.  I was able to take some time off late in the month to explore some west river backroads as well as the northeastern portion of South Dakota.  All in all, it was a good photography month with many images to sort through afterwards.  Click on the photos for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

I spent an early September Saturday evening being swarmed by gnats and mosquitos attempting to capture hummingbirds in flight at the feeders at Good Earth State Park.  This is one of the cleanest shots.

There were also plenty of other insects interested in the sugar water and one of my favorite shots was this mid-air stand-off with a hummer and what I think is a wasp of some sort.

The Monarch migration was in full swing by Labor Day.  Here is a favorite shot from Lake Herman State Park.  For more photos and the story behind it, check out my e-column at southdakotamagazine.com: http://southdakotamagazine.com/farewell-monarchs

The first colors of fall at Big Coulee Creek in southern Roberts County, SD

A scene from the northern edge of the Coteau Des Prairie in Marshall County, SD

Autumn in the northern Black Hills of Lawrence County, SD

Just south of the Short Pine Hills in Harding County, SD

A young Golden Eagle taking flight in Harding County, SD

Taken in Harding County, SD

A dewey morning at Custer State Park, SD

American Bison with autumn colors at Custer State Park, SD

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.