Scott Bean Photography

This blog has moved, again

2010-05-06T00:06:00.002-05:00

I've moved my blog to: www.scottbeanphoto.com/blog.

Please update any links and rss feeds. Thanks!

Mitchell Heritage Prairie

2010-03-21T18:14:00.005-05:00

At the end of last summer I learned about the Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie over near Wamego, Kansas. I made it over once last September to do some photography. The wildflowers were incredible, it was a very beautiful spot.
Several days ago I had the chance to go back while the prairie was being burned and do some more photography. That was a great experience! It was interesting to watch how the burn was done. I can't wait for the flowers to come back this year and I'm planning on being a more frequent visitor this year. Photos from my trip over last September and from this year's burn can be viewed at the links below:

Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie - Sept. 2009 Photos
Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie - Spring burn

If you get a chance, I would recommend a visit!

Some Infrared Photos

2010-03-21T10:39:00.004-05:00

Well since spring has apparently decided not to show up yet, I'm catching up on photos from last spring and summer. I've put together a few infrared photos from Konza, Marlatt Park, and Old K18 in this post. You can click on the link below to view them:

Kansas Infrared Photos

I'm using a new gallery for my photos, the first one should load full page. You can scroll through them using the arrows or numbers on the bottom of the page.

The first image (and the one shown above) is a shot of my favorite tree on Konza Prairie. I don't what it is about this tree, but it has a very majestic, peaceful feeling to it. I've photographed it many times and never felt like my photos were capturing the spirit of the tree. I think this infrared shot comes close though. The infrared really makes the tree standout and shows it's structure well. As soon as the weather cooperates I'm going to head to Konza and spend some more time with this tree.

Washington County

2010-03-20T20:22:00.004-05:00

I was up at Washington County, Kansas this week doing some photography with my Dad. A cold front was coming in with snow forecast for the following day. We drove into some new territory and I didn't think we where going to find much to photograph, the clouds where interesting and the sunset was starting to show some nice color. I was starting to get a little frustrated that I couldn't find a place to stop and shoot. However, we found an old barn and homestead that provided some good subjects. You can click on the link below to view a few of my shots.

Washington County, Kansas

Catching up on photos

2010-03-14T12:41:00.004-05:00

Despite vows to do otherwise, I've fallen behind on processing images. I made some progress catching up this weekend and I've posted some a my favorites of the photos I went through. You can view them by clicking the link below:

Photos from last spring and summer

I've also changed the format of the image gallery, let me know what you think of it.

Enjoy!

Wildcat Park

2010-03-10T17:36:00.005-06:00

Last weekend I was at Wildcat Park with my photography class. This is a really nice little park. There are several lines of black walnut trees that were planted in a clearing which makes for interesting lines and shadows in the evening. I took this first photo facing down one of the rows of walnut trees.

After photographing some geese in the stream that runs along the edge of the park everyone started back towards the parking lot and some nice color started showing up with the sunset.

Near the parking lot the trail crosses a small stream which was reflecting the colors of the sunset.

Marlatt Park

2010-03-07T21:28:00.008-06:00

I was out at Marlatt Park last weekend with one of my photography classes and we lucked into a great shooting situation. The light was pretty good with a decent sunset, but the best part of the evening occurred as the last group of students and I were leaving.

As we turned to go back up the trail we were greeted with this view of the nearly full moon rising above the horizon.
The moon is a lot brighter than many people think and it is often hard to get the moon properly exposed and still have enough light to retain detail in the foreground. However, between 1-3 days before the actual full moon is almost always a perfect time to balance the exposure between moon and ground as the moon rises and the sun sets. This happened to be the day before the 100% full moon. We were also in a perfect position on the side of a hill so as the moon rose higher in the sky, we were able to back down the hill and keep the moon close the horizon. This made for some great shooting.

I think this last shot is my favorite from the evening:

Enjoy!

This blog has moved

2010-03-07T21:06:00.001-06:00

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Flint Hills Digital Photography Workshop April 24th, Alma, Kansas

2010-02-08T21:45:00.003-06:00

I am very excited to announce that the "Flint Hills Digital Photography Workshop" is now accepting registrations. This workshop will take place in historic Alma, KS on April 24th. The workshop is geared towards anyone wanting to get more out of their camera and their photography. The workshop is being lead by myself and Wayne Rhodus of Rhodus Photography.

More information and registration instructions are online at the link below:

Flint Hills Digital Photography Workshop.

Hope to see you there!

Idlewild Falls

2010-01-31T11:34:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago I went back to the waterfalls at Lake Idlewild just outside of Waterville, Kansas to see if there was much water running and if there was any ice on the waterfalls. It turned out that there was moderate water flowing and still some ice frozen over the waterfalls.

Getting around the waterfalls was a bit tricky with all the snow covered rocks, but the climb over the rocks was worth it. There are 2 major waterfalls here, I first went down to the lower level falls and then worked my way back up the falls right below the lake. This was my third trip to photograph these waterfalls and I'm sure I will be back many more times. Click on the link below to view my photographs:

Photographs of Idlewild Falls outside of Waterville, Kansas.

Carnahan Creek in the fog

2010-01-16T23:01:00.002-06:00

We have been having a lot of foggy days lately, but today was by far the foggiest. I don't think I've ever seen fog like we had today. I headed to the Carnahan Creek area on Tuttle Creek Lake to get some photos. Visibility was only about 30-40' down around the lake. Click on the link below to view my photos from this morning:

Carnahan Creek Park foggy morning photos.

Alcove Springs

2010-01-10T21:15:00.004-06:00

My Dad and I braved the cold Saturday to head up to Alcove Springs between Blue Rapids and Marysville in search of a frozen waterfall. A couple of years ago we had gone up there during a really cold spell and the ice formations were amazing. This year though no such luck. It looked like the waterfalls had frozen over, but either the ice had naturally broken or someone had helped nature along. In any case, I was able to get some pictures of the setting sun and the shadows falling across the snow. Best thing about this evening was the silence, there was virtually no sound...I could have spent a lot of time there, except for the cold! Click on the link below to view my photos from this trip:

Alcove Springs, Winter Photographs

Last of 2009

2010-01-05T14:44:00.004-06:00

I was out at Stockdale Park on Tuttle Creek Lake to catch the last sunset of 2009. Turned out it was a good one (aren't they all?). I set up on a boat ramp to shoot the sun as it was dipping down below the far hills. It was really quiet that evening and I could hear the ice on the lake making all sorts of eerie noises.

After shooting the sunset, I drove farther down the cove where it opened out onto the lake to wait for the moon rise. This happened to be a "blue moon" which despite the name isn't blue. A blue moon occurs when you get 2 full moons in one month, which on average occurs every 2.5 years. The next time a blue moon will occur on Dec 31st will be 2028. Maybe if I'm still around I'll come back to this spot and try to photograph it again!

The moon photo shown in this post is from a sequence of shots showing the moon rising above the hills. These were taken over a 4 min span.

I also got to see a couple of foxes crossing the frozen lake and one of them came right up to my vehicle. One the way that evening I saw several deer and some quail. I'll take that over Times Square any day!

More photos from this evening are at the link below:

Last Sunset and Blue Moon, 2009, Stockdale Park, Kansas.

Winter at Pillsbury Crossing

2010-01-02T15:53:00.003-06:00

With all the snow lately, Pillsbury Crossing has a lot of water flowing right now. I came home with some really cold feet after shooting these, but it was worth it. Click on the link below to view the photos:

Winter Photographs of Pillsbury Crossing, Kansas.

Happy New Year!

Finally, some snow photographs

2009-12-30T22:33:00.004-06:00

We have had lots of snow lately around here including a nice little blizzard on Christmas that I'm sure messed up a lot of travel plans. Everyone wishing for a white Christmas got their wish this year!

I've been wanting to get out and get some photos of the snow, but it seems like if it hasn't been snowing we have had pretty poor light for photography. I did manage to get out this past week and get some shots around Tuttle Creek and along Marlatt Ave, just outside of Manhattan. A few photos from this outing are available at the link below:

Winter photographs from around Manhattan, KS.

Enjoy!

Little Blue River

2009-12-06T19:15:00.003-06:00

I had a chance this weekend to sneak out to catch the sunset over the Little Blue River just outside of Waterville, Kansas. Ice was starting form in pretty big sheets and it was interesting to watch (and hear!) it break up and flow down river. I think I'm ready for some winter photography now! You can view a few of my photographs from this trip by clicking the link below:

Sunset, Little Blue River, Kansas.

Pillsbury Crossing in Shutterbug Magazine

2009-11-10T18:46:00.003-06:00

I found out today that I got another photo in Shutterbug Magazine...always good to open the mail to good news instead of bills :)

I took this shot at Pillsbury Crossing, after returning there again and again to photograph over a period of years. I was looking for something different than the standard wide angle shot of the falls so I put my telephoto lens on and started isolating smaller pieces of the waterfalls...it really opened up a new way of looking at Pillsbury Crossing. If I hadn't been going back again and again, I probably wouldn't have thought of trying this. Another benefit of shooting close to home, you can revisit a place over time and try different views and compositions. You are probably never going to fully capture the sense of a place with just one visit. Yes some places you only get to visit once, but don't overlook returning to places close to home. You might be surprised what you see!

Halloween Moonrise

2009-11-03T12:31:00.005-06:00

With the almost full moon rising on Halloween night I thought it would make a great photo for the holiday. I've always enjoyed photographing the moonrise (see my previous post about how I got hooked on the moonrise here). Normally, 1-2 days before the actual full moon the light is right so that you can expose both the foreground and the moon with one shot...this can be tricky to do without blowing out (over exposing) the moon unless the light is just right.

On this particular evening I was trying to think of what scene would be interesting to photograph with the moon included. I happened to remember these trees in the water at Stockdale Park on Tuttle Creek Lake. A friend had recently told me about the software program, The Photographers Ephemeris which will tell you the location of sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset, which I used to determine that the moon would rise behind these trees (I recommend checking out this software). It was also a clear evening as well...perfect for getting some good shots of the moon.

The light was fantastic when I first arrived at Stockdale and I was able to shoot the moon and the trees in the foreground still lit by the setting sun. As the sun went down, the sky picked up more color...it was a fantastic show of color. I couldn't have asked for a better Halloween treat!

I was very pleased with the photographs for a number of reasons, but for me, this was one of the first times I was able to "pre-visualize" the scene I wanted to photograph and then go out and make it happen. Sometimes trying to pre-visualize a scene gets in my way of finding a shot, but in this case it worked out well. You can view my photos from the evening by clicking the link below:

Halloween Moonrise, Stockdale Park, Tuttle Creek Lake, Kansas

Judd Patterson's Canon Photography in the Parks

2009-11-02T08:16:00.002-06:00

Canon Photography in the Parks
Originally uploaded by Judd Patterson

When you get a chance, stop by the Canon Photography in the Parks photo contest and check out the finalists and vote for your favorite. One of the photos was taken by Judd Patterson. Judd is a Kansas native and an amazing photographer so be sure you check his photo out!

You should also stop by his webpage and check out the rest of his work, I guarantee it will be worth your time!

http://www.juddpatterson.com/

Catching up - Photos from "out west"

2009-10-27T15:06:00.008-05:00

I'm catching up on photos from this spring and summer (finally!). Early this past spring my Dad and I made a spur of the moment trip out to Gove County, Kansas to photograph Castle Rock and Monument Rocks. This is a very unique part of Kansas that many people aren't aware of. The limestone rock formations in this part of Kansas used to be the bottom of a large inland sea...which was around not long ago, only about 80 million years! I was born in Scott City, Kansas and it was good to get back to this part of the state. My family used to go out to similar limestone rock formations and find sharks teeth and other fossils. It is really amazing to hold something in your hand that is that old...helps keep everything in perspective.

My Dad and I arrived at Castle Rock just about the perfect time to shoot the sunset. I didn't remember much of the area and the thing that really surprised me were the wildflowers. The area was covered with them. It was hard to start photographing because I couldn't decide what to shoot first!

After the sun was down, we drove into Scott City and crashed for the night, got up early the next morning to catch the sunrise at Monument Rocks. We had a beautiful morning and after shooting the sunrise we headed back to Castle Rock to photograph the last of the morning light before driving on home.

We had a great trip...spent lots of time driving, but it was worth it. I can't wait to get back to that part of Kansas when I have time to stay for awhile and do some exploring.

You can view some of my photos from this trip by clicking on the links below:

Photographs of Monument Rocks, Gove County, Kansas.

Photographs of Castle Rock, Gove County, Kansas.

Black and White Photographs of Castle Rock and Monument Rocks.

If you get the chance to visit this part of Kansas, take it!

Out and about this weekend

2009-10-25T14:49:00.009-05:00

Fall colors have probably been at the peak around Manhattan this past week. I managed to get up early Saturday morning before sunrise and headed out to the Carnahan Creek area on Tuttle Creek Lake to see if I could get some shots before all the leaves were off the trees.

As I drove out across the dam at Tuttle Creek Lake I could see fog coming off the lake so I went first down to the boat ramp at Carnahan to try some shots off the fog coming off the water. The fog wasn't as thick as I would have hoped for but it was a beautiful morning. Quiet, only a slight breeze and all the plants were covered in a light frost.The sun wasn't high enough to be shining into the cove when I first started shooting which left with a nice cool blue color to work with. I was able to frame the fog on the lake with some interesting rocks in the foreground.

As the sun came up and started lighting up the trees on the opposite shore I drove around to the over end of Carnahan to get some front lit shots of the trees. Front light (where the sun is shining on the front of your subject. which means the sun is behind you) is great for showing off colors. The colors were excellent. After I was finished in this area, I drove up to Wildflower Road, which is an excellent place to get photos of the Flint Hills, here again I was able to photograph the fall colors front lit by the sun and had some great colors to work with .

On my way home, the skies clouded over and diffused the harsh light as the sun continued to rise so I stopped below the Tuttle Creek dam and took a few more photos of fallen leaves.

My favorite shot of the morning came from Carnahan though. While shooting the sun lighting up the far shoreline I noticed that behind me a single cloud was reflected in the stream feeding into Tuttle Creek Lake. I really liked the shape of the cloud and the symmetry produced by its reflection in the water (this is the second photo shown above). Photos from this outing can be viewed here: Fall Photographs on Tuttle Creek Lake, Kansas.

Chase County Road Trip

2009-10-18T15:14:00.005-05:00

Took a road trip yesterday down to Chase County with a couple of friends and fellow photographers (Bill and Adam) to photograph an old mill in Cedar Point, KS. We were hoping that the trees near the mill would be in their fall colors, but we where about a week early. On the way down we stopped at Cottonwood Falls to photograph at the Cottonwood River Bridge and then headed on to the Chase County State Fishing Lake to check out the waterfalls. There wasn't much water flowing, but some (more than the last time I was there). The trees above the falls had some nice fall color on them, which made for some good photographs.

After leaving the lake and waterfalls we drove down to Cedar Point (well actually we drove past it first!) and caught the last of the light at the mill. It was a beautiful day and a great trip.

My photos from this road trip can be viewed here.

Kansas! Its Hidden Gems"

2009-10-09T09:42:00.004-05:00

People always think Kansas is just one big, flat wheat field and do not realize the diverse landscapes there is in the state. Photographer Angela Classen has put together a book featuring some of her favorite places in Kansas to visit and photograph. Details on the book can be found here, check it out when you get a chance! There are some great photos in this book and it if you are one of these people that think all of Kansas is flat and empty it might just enlighten you a bit!

Bogg's Landing, Sunset and Sunrise

2009-10-08T17:34:00.004-05:00

I recently had the pleasure of shooting photos together with a couple of friends and fellow photographers from Nature Photographers, Wayne Rhodus and Angela Classen. Both of Wayne and Angela are amazing photographers and you should check their websites out when you have a chance.

We decided to shoot the sunrise on Saturday at Bogg's Landing on the Kansas River just outside of St. George, KS. None of us had been there before so I went over on Thursday evening to do some scouting and photograph the sunset. It turned out to be an amazing evening with fantastic color in the sky. The sunrise on Saturday was good, but the sky wasn't quite as spectacular as the Thursday evening. The pre-dawn light was great though...a good lesson for me (I don't like to get up early in the morning!). It was a fun outing and great to shoot with some fellow Kansas photographers. My photos from these 2 trips to Bogg's Landing can be viewed below.

My Sunset Photos
My Sunrise Photos

Fall color is coming - Wildcat Park

2009-09-28T21:36:00.004-05:00

Ahhh Fall, my favorite time of year. Fall colors are on their way, I can't wait! Here are a few photos from this past weekend taken at Wildcat Park just outside of Manhattan, KS.

Saturday morning sunrise

2009-09-19T16:52:00.002-05:00

After hearing from friends about how beautiful the sunrises have been the last few days, I decided to try and get up early Saturday morning to do some photography. I'm not a morning person and I got up later than I would have liked (and missed the really spectacular color) but still managed to catch the end of great sunrise. After shooting the sunrise, I headed down to Tuttle Creek lake to try and get some shots of the fog rising over the outlet area.

A few photos from this morning's trip can be viewed here.

Enjoy!

Marlatt Ave Sunset

2009-08-29T22:15:00.003-05:00

We had a pretty nice sunset tonight. I've been hoping for a chance to get out and photograph some sunflowers, so tonight I took Tucker for a walk at Marlatt Park and then shot the sunset as we were leaving on Marlatt Ave. I used to walk Buddy at Marlatt Park a lot and take pictures...it was strange to not have him there tonight. Tucker did great though, I think he is going to be a great hiking and photography partner. A few of my shots from tonight are online here.

Hope you enjoy!

Close to home

2009-08-18T21:57:00.002-05:00

A lot of times people think they need to go to faraway locations to get good nature photographs. Yeah it is fun to go someplace new, but you don't need to in order to find nature to photograph. Shooting close to home has several advantages. If you are familiar with your home turf you know where to go when the conditions are just right, you don't have to spend time scouting. You also know what there is to photograph when...what flowers are blooming, what wildlife you are likely to find, etc. A couple of places close to home to get started...local parks and your backyard. Both of these locations can provide great photo ops. Give yourself an assignment, photograph one park throughout the year and your backyard. I think you will be surprised at what you come up with. I've got 2 sets of photos included with this post, the first taken in my backyard earlier this summer and the second shot at Marlatt Park, one of my favorite spots and only about 10 min from my house.

Enjoy!

In the Sun

2009-08-18T17:32:00.001-05:00

Sometimes you are just in the right place at the right time... This photo was taken on Marlatt Ave just outside of Manhattan, KS.

Walsburg Kansas

2009-08-18T16:02:00.003-05:00

Another update with some photos taken near Walsburg, Kansas in Riley County. I had never heard of Walsburg before stumbling on it while driving some back roads this spring. I didn't think I was going to find anything to photograph with the beautiful sunset until I found this tree. Here are a few of the photos.

Enjoy!

Spring Photos

2009-08-18T15:54:00.002-05:00

Here are some color and IR pictures I shot this past spring at Pott County State Fishing Lake and Willow Lake (below the dam at Tuttle Creek Lake).

Enjoy!

Sunrise this morning

2009-07-13T17:44:00.001-05:00

I got up early this morning to try and beat the heat and get some photos of sunrise. I had a bit of color in the sky before the clouds (and rain) moved in. Here are a few photos from this morning.

Show coming up

2009-07-12T21:39:00.001-05:00

I'm way behind on updating my blog recently, I've been shooting too much and processing too little! I did get some great news this summer though, my work is going to be on display at the Lee Dam Center for Fine Arts in Marysville KS this summer. The opening night is July 31st and I think the show will run for 6 weeks. If you are in the area, stop in and check it out and let me know what you think.

Marshall County Waterfalls

2009-06-03T21:11:00.004-05:00

Earlier this spring I was up in Marshall County to photograph the waterfalls at Alcove Springs and Lake Idlewild after some heavy rains. It was well worth the trip. A few pics from this trip can be viewed here.

Enjoy!

Horse Thief Canyon

2009-04-26T11:39:00.002-05:00

I had to get out of the office and enjoy the great weather we had last week so I headed down to Kanopolis Lake to do some hiking at the Horse Thief Canyon area. Kanopolis was the first state park created in Kansas and has 31.5 miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. Hiking Horse Thief Canyon and Red Rock Canyon will give you some unique Kansas landscapes to go through.

Here are a few of my pictures from this hike.

Peace.

Drive to Cottonwood Falls, part 2

2009-04-18T21:44:00.004-05:00

In my previous post I put some photos from the drive down from Manhattan to the Chase County State Fishing Lake and back to Council Grove lake, where I got to see a really beautiful sunset. I did get to photograph some fires on my way down to Chase county, which was the purpose of my trip, but they were early in the evening, I was really hoping to catch some nighttime fires as well...and the drive from Council Grove to Manhattan did not disappoint. Here are some photos of some of the fires I found on this part of the drive into Manhattan.

If you are wondering why the prairie is burned off in the spring, read this article. The spring time burning is necessary to maintain the grasslands found in the Flint Hills...without the burning trees would eventually take over the prairie. Many people are not aware that the prairies were being burnt long before Europeans settled the Midwest... and even without human intervention the prairies often burned when ignited by lightning strikes.

If you haven't ever seen the Flint Hills being burned off in the spring, mark it down on your calendar and plan to visit...just use common sense and stay out of the ranchers way and stay safe...and enjoy the smell of the smoke, it just isn't spring without it.

Drive to Cottonwood Falls, part 2

2009-04-18T21:44:00.000-05:00

Drive down to Cottonwood Falls

2009-04-18T20:28:00.004-05:00

I've always wanted to drive down into the heart of the Flint Hills during the spring burning season, so early this month I decided to head down to the Chase County State Fishing Lake to photograph the waterfalls there and hopefully catch some nice fires on the way down and back. I hit the jackpot! I got to photograph some fires on the way down, the waterfalls were really pretty, I had some nice light at the state fishing lake there and I had a beautiful sunset to shoot at Council Grove Lake on my way back to Manhattan. It doesn't get much better than that for a drive through the Flint Hills....always a treat. Here a few photos from this part of my trip, I'll post the rest later. Hope you enjoy!

Spring fires along Old K-18 and K177

2009-04-11T23:05:00.003-05:00

I have been out looking for prairie fires a couple of times lately. These pics were some I took along Old K-18 road (one of my favorite drives) and along K-177. The last one was shot across Tuttle Creek Lake. I love the smell of the fires in the spring!

Fort Larned in Infrared (IR)

2009-04-11T21:18:00.003-05:00

When I was out in the Great Bend area last month I stopped at the Fort Larned historic site to photograph the fort in Infrared. I had intended to convert all the photos to black and white IR, but I really liked how some of the shots looked in color IR. I really liked how the blue in some of the uniforms came through in the IR. You can view the photos here.

Enjoy!

Washington County State Fishing Lake

2009-04-11T20:49:00.004-05:00

Here are some shots taken at the Washington County State Fishing Lake in northeast Kansas (does anybody but me think the name "...County State Fishing Lake" sounds funny?). Looked like we just missed a fire, but a few spots were still smoking which made for some nice shots. The picture shown at the left is a 3 shot HDR (high dynamic range). I decided to do an HDR of this scene to be able to record both the detail in the trees and the wonderful color of the sky. The dynamic range of the scene was too great for a single shot to work (unless you used split neutral density filters). Shooting an HDR (or using filters) is often the only way you can capture the dynamic range that the human eye can see.

HDR's are not difficult to do. You need to bracket your exposures when you shoot, I normally will bracket 3-5 shots in 1 stop intervals depending on the scene. There are a number of software programs that will combine the shots into 1. I use primarily Photomatix or Enfuse directly from Lightroom. There are plenty of options out there though. You also need to watch out for movement between your shots, either you moving or your subject moving. You will get the best results using a tripod, though you can make handheld HDR shots work. Wind can really cause problems as well.

Photography For a Cause

2009-04-11T20:21:00.002-05:00

If you are looking for some great photos and a chance to help out the Manhattan Red Cross and the Boys and Girls Club of Manhattan head over to LaBrisa Photography and check out the Photography for a Cause Galleries...all profit from any sales from these galleries will be donated by the photographer to the 2 groups mentioned above. A win-win for everyone, great photos and helping out local groups! Kudos to LaBrisa Photography for doing this!

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge

2009-03-20T23:29:00.004-05:00

A few of my photos from sunrise taken at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in central Kansas are online here. This is another major wetlands in Kansas not far from Cheyenne Bottoms.

The photo shown above (you can click on it for a larger view) is a 5 shot panorama that was stitched together using Autopano Pro. When shooting a pano it is a good idea to make sure you have your camera in manual exposure mode...unless you are sure the light is even other the entire scene. If the light isn't even and you are in an automatic or semi-automatic exposure mode (like aperture priority) your exposure will change as you move through the scene, resulting in bands or stripes in your pano. To avoid that, put your camera on manual exposure and set your exposure on the most important part of the scene. It is also a good idea to put your camera in manual focus. If you haven't ever shot a pano before, give it a try...it is a lot of fun!

Enjoy.

Trip to Cheyenne Bottoms

2009-03-19T20:28:00.005-05:00

Here are a few photos from a recent trip to Cheyenne Bottoms. If you haven't been there before, this is a unique place and worth a trip to see, especially during the peak times for the bird migrations through the area.

This was a beautiful evening and I was hoping to catch a nice sunset across some of the open water at Cheyenne Bottoms. The picture shown at the left was one of my favorite from the evening. I really liked how the water was reflecting the colors of the sky and the little "islands" in the water. I placed the horizon down low in the picture to emphasize the sky and included a strip of shoreline in the foreground to add some depth to the photo. I set my camera at f11 to hold sharpness in both the foreground and in the little islands and my exposure was based off a spot meter reading from the sky in the center of the scene. I didn't make any adjustments to the meter reading, the scene I was reading light from was close to neutral toned (maybe slightly above), and I wanted the scene dark so I was able to just shoot at my initial meter reading.

Hope you enjoy!

Pillsbury Crossing

2009-03-16T16:09:00.002-05:00

If you follow my photography at all you'll know that I like to shoot at Pillsbury Crossing a lot. I love the sound of running water, it is so peaceful, I think that is what draws me back to Pillsbury. There is usually enough water running to drawn out the rest of the world, which is a good thing sometimes. If you haven't ever visited Pillsbury Crossing you should if you get a chance. Late winter is probably the least of my favorite times to go, but even now it is pretty. Hope you enjoy and find some peace in these shots.

Twin Mound Road and Olsburg Marsh area

2009-03-16T15:12:00.004-05:00

Here are a few shots from this past February I took on Twin Mound Road near the Carnahan Creek Area and around the Olsburg Marsh. Twin Mound Road turned out to be a great place to get some nice shots of the Flint Hills.

Enjoy!

Olsburg Marsh

2009-03-06T23:05:00.003-06:00

Here are a few photos from tonight's sunset taken around the Olsburg Marsh area at Tuttle Creek Lake.

Enjoy.

Website Reviewed

2009-03-01T09:54:00.003-06:00

My website was reviewed in the February issue of Shutterbug Magazine. The review can be read here.

NPN outing

2009-03-01T09:11:00.003-06:00

A few people from the central states forum on the Nature Photographers Net got together to shoot the Flint Hills recently. It was a bitter cold morning, but great to meet everyone.

Here are a few photos I took that morning.

Peace.

Amazing Sunset

2009-03-01T09:07:00.004-06:00

Here are a few photos from a recent sunset that was absolutely amazing. These were taken just outside Manhattan, KS at the outlet area (the "tubes") of Tuttle Creek Lake.

Enjoy!

13th Road

2009-02-14T13:27:00.004-06:00

A few photos taken along "13th Road" outside of Waterville, KS.

Rare morning photos

2009-02-08T13:56:00.004-06:00

These are a few rare sunrise photos of the Flint Hills just outside of Manhattan, KS. I don't normally do mornings very well, but I'm going to have to start, it was absolutely beautiful out this morning.

Enjoy!

Chase County State Fishing Lake

2009-02-08T08:46:00.005-06:00

These are some pictures from a trip earlier in January to the Chase County State Fishing Lake (except for the first 2, they were taken outside of Council Grove Lake). I've been to this lake a few times before looking for the waterfalls, but this is the first time I found them (I never went far enough across the dam to find the trail leading to them). I will be back to visit this place again many times I'm sure, the waterfalls where really beautiful. This is another really beautiful spot in the Flint Hills and there are lots of things to see in this area (the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, Chase County Courthouse, Council Grove, etc).

Enjoy!

Photos on Display at the Lawrence Public Library

2009-02-02T14:49:00.002-06:00

These 4 photos are on display at the Lawrence Public Library until Feb. 28th. There are 8 photographers showing photos of the Flint Hills this month, some great work is on display! If you get a chance to stop by and check them out let me know what you think.

Lyon County State Fishing Lake

2009-02-01T13:35:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago I spent a couple of days photographing around Emporia. These are a few of the pics I took at and near the Lyon County State Fishing Lake. It was bitter cold and windy, so if the photos look cold...it was! But it was a beautiful place. I had been there once before and will be back.

Enjoy!

Pottawattamie County State Fishing Lake

2009-02-01T13:11:00.002-06:00

Here a few sunset photos from Pottawattamie County State Fishing Lake outside of Manhattan, KS.

Enjoy

Perigee moon rise

2009-01-12T07:15:00.003-06:00

These are some pics of the recent full moon which as a "perigee" moon (more about that here). It was a beautiful evening, but a lot colder than I thought it would be!

I went out to Deep Creek Road and Old K18 for these shots. That is a really beautiful drive to see the Flint Hills. The first few shots are from Old K18, if you want to see some great views of the Flint Hills, take Old K18 to Alma and then drive the Skyline Creek Scenic Drive to Alta Vista and then K177 back into Manhattan. Make sure to go early in the morning or in the evening when the light is just right to catch the shadows falling across the hills.

Doesn't get much better than that!

Misty Flint Hills Morning

2009-01-10T13:17:00.004-06:00

Here a few shots from a recent foggy, misty morning. I went out to Deep Creek Road to try and get some shots of the fog, but it was gone by the time I got there. The clouds were moving really fast that morning though and it was nice to see how the sun would break though and light up different parts of the hills. Deep Creek Road some really nice views of the Flint Hills.

Enjoy!

Lake Idlewild Outlet Area

2008-12-31T16:22:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite things to photograph is running water, especially waterfalls. As you might expect, there are not all that many opportunities in Kansas for this, but we do have more than one might think. Of course these are not the 90-100' type waterfalls, but still pretty and peaceful to listen to. This set of photos was taken at the outlet area of a small lake, Lake Idlewild, near Waterville, KS.

Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Christmas Sunset

2008-12-27T10:46:00.001-06:00

Sunset on Christmas Day was fantastic! Didn't really get a good shot of it, but here are a few photos I took that evening.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Peace.

Cats, cats, and more cats

2008-12-27T09:46:00.012-06:00

Just a few pics of cats, some are cats we are fostering, a few are photos of our own cats. The foster cats will need homes soon, please check out the Riley County Humane Society and Pet Finder pages for me information on the following cats:

Cougar
Ranger
Nala
Bella
Lily

Solstice Sunset....almost

2008-12-27T09:40:00.001-06:00

I went out recently to get a picture of the sunset on the winter solstice, I thought that would be kinda cool. Fortunately there was a good sunset that evening, the only problem was that I went out a day early! A few pics from that evening can be viewed here.

Enjoy!

Winter is here

2008-12-27T08:45:00.005-06:00

Winter weather has finally arrived. I was out at Tuttle Creek Lake during our first real snow storm. The snow was beautiful and my wife noticed the snow flakes and I was able to get a few macro shots of them. We also saw several Bald Eagles at the river ponds. Here are the photos from this outing.

Happy Holidays!

Horsethief Canyon, Kanopolis Lake

2008-11-27T09:00:00.003-06:00

I went hiking at Kanopolis Lake on Tuesday afternoon at the Horse thief canyon hiking trails with a friend of mine. This is my favorite place to hike in Kansas. We couldn't have asked for a better day to be out there. Here are some of my photos from this hike.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Kittens

2008-11-18T18:29:00.007-06:00

Here are some photos of some kittens we are fostering for the Riley County Humane Society (RCHS). They are going to need a home soon.

Sadly their mother (Marble - pictured below) passed away today.

Marble was a great cat. She was abandoned while pregnant, had her kittens and while nursing the 3 of them, she adopted 3 others and nursed and raised them as well. What a mother! Rest in Peace Marble.

Please visit the RCHS website when you have time and consider making a donation or adopting a new family member!

Thanks!

Pillsbury Crossing

2008-11-17T20:18:00.001-06:00

Here a few pictures from Pillsbury Crossing taken on 11-15. Despite being chilly and windy, it turned out to be a nice evening with some beautiful light.

Enjoy!

Road Trip in IR

2008-11-11T11:35:00.003-06:00

Here are a few photos of my recent trip to northeast Kansas in infrared (IR).

Enjoy!

And Thanks to all the Veterans out there!

Bison hunting in Marshall County, KS

2008-11-10T15:47:00.003-06:00

I was back visiting my parents this past weekend and went to take some pics with my Dad. The weather was crappy, the wind was blowing like crazy so we decided rather than fight the wind trying to get some landscape photos we would go bison "hunting" and photograph a small bison heard just outside of Waterville. We also stopped and "shot" some cows and horses and even a barn! Here are the pics.

Enjoy!

Road Trip to Atchison

2008-11-10T15:29:00.003-06:00

Last week my wife and I took a quick overnight trip up to Atchison to explore northeast Kansas. A lot of trees in the area had already dropped their leaves so we missed a lot of the fall color, but it was still a good trip. Here are some of the photos.

If you haven't visited Atchison it is an interesting town, lots of history there.

Infrared Photos from this fall

2008-11-08T09:33:00.003-06:00

Here are some recent infrared (IR) photos from this fall. These were taken in various places around Kansas, Wildcat Park, Konza, Pillsbury Crossing, Elk City Falls, and Cross Timbers State Park.

Hope you enjoy!

Wildcat Park

2008-11-07T20:44:00.002-06:00

I was back to Wildcat Park recently. I had just 'discovered' this park a few weeks ago (despite living in Manhattan since '88!). I had hoped to find more color in the trees, but it was still a nice visit. A few snaps can be viewed here.

Enjoy!

Marshall County Fall Colors

2008-11-07T18:15:00.002-06:00

October 24th was a busy day for photography! After shooting around Tuttle Creek lake that morning (see my previous post) I went to Waterville and took some photos with Dad out around the Alcove Springs area. We were hoping some water would be flowing over Alcove Springs, but no luck there. However the trees were really beautiful and we had great light. The photos can be viewed here.

Enjoy!

Morning Fall photo trip to Tuttle Creek Lake

2008-11-07T17:51:00.003-06:00

Here are a few photos I took on a rare morning photo outing for me. I went out to the River Ponds area and then to the Carnahan Creek area on Tuttle Creek Lake. The colors were fantastic on this morning.

The River Ponds park has really been expanded recently, I found a really nice campground on the 'backside' of the River Ponds that must be relatively new. I will be visiting there again.

Enjoy!

Pillsbury Crossing

2008-10-26T18:28:00.003-05:00

I've always wanted to photograph Pillsbury Crossing with some fall color, but never have managed to get what I've wanted. I knew I would need a morning shot to get some light on the trees above the falls. On the 18th we had some really heavy fog in the morning so I thought I would go out and take some fog pictures around Pillsbury and then when the fog burned off shoot the waterfalls. When I got out to Pillsbury though the fog was gone, so I shot the trees around the waterfalls and my timing was great, there was one nicely colored tree in the perfect location and a nice blue sky to go with it. When I got back into town that morning though, Manhattan was still in heavy fog, so I headed out to Marlatt Ave and was able to get some fog pictures. Maybe mornings are not so bad after all...
The Photos can be viewed here.

Enjoy!

Road Trip Day 2

2008-10-26T17:49:00.010-05:00

...the road trip continued with an overnight stay in El Dorado, KS where I got to photograph a small waterfall on the edge of town, through Eureka, KS where I got to photograph another small waterfall (photos from El Dorado and Eureka can be viewed here) then to Elk Falls, an absolutely beautiful place where I took several photos (click here to view).

After leaving Elk Falls, we drove to Sedan, KS then to Cross Timbers State Park (another beautiful place I want to return to and stay awhile) and through Emporia, Council Grove (and supper at the Hays House!) and back home.

Some Infrared (IR) photos from Elk Falls and Cross Timbers State Park can be viewed here.

Enjoy!

Road Trip Day 1

2008-10-26T17:29:00.008-05:00

My wife (who graciously put up with me stopping frequently and taking pictures) and I went for a short overnight road trip early this month. The first place we stopped at was Lindsborg, KS which is a neat little town. Our next stop was Coronado Heights Park, which was built in 1932 by the Works Progress Administration. This was the first time I had been to Coronado Heights and I took several photos, which can be viewed here. It was an interesting place, I'm sure I will be back. From Coronado Heights, we drove over to the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge to take some more photos, which you can view here. Enjoy, more on Day 2 to follow...

Wildcat Park

2008-10-04T12:48:00.002-05:00

A few photos from a Wildcat Park, an area just outside of Manhattan, KS that I just discovered. How could I have not been here before! It is a very beautiful area. Photos can be viewed here. I'm sure I will be going back here this fall.

Marlatt Ave

2008-10-04T12:30:00.004-05:00

We had a double rainbow show up on the 23rd of September. I tried to get out of town quick enough to get a shot of it over some open prairie, but by the time I got my gear and got far enough out of town it was gone. I had to 'settle' for this sunset (taken along Marlatt Ave) instead.

Enjoy!

Old K-18 Road

2008-09-27T10:20:00.003-05:00

I was out recently on Old K-18 road to try and get some morning fog pictures. I didn't get up quite in time for the fog (imagine that!) but it was a beautiful morning.

Photos can be viewed here.

Enjoy!

Carnahan Creek Area

2008-09-27T10:14:00.002-05:00

Earlier this month I was out around the Carnahan Creek area checking on the fall colors. Some of my photos from this trip are here.

Enjoy!

Sunflowers, sunflowers, and more sunflowers

2008-09-17T14:20:00.003-05:00

I really wanted to get out and photograph some sunflower fields this summer and thanks to KonzaDocent and this photo on flickr, I headed over to Washington County, KS. Wow! My Dad and I found 2 huge, beautiful fields of commercial sunflowers. We also lucked into a beautiful full moon rising over the fields. It was a great evening to be out.

Some of my photos from this evening can be viewed here.

Enjoy!

Avy

2008-09-17T14:07:00.002-05:00

Earlier this month I photographed a friends yellow lab, Avy, playing at a nearby state fishing lake. She was a great subject!

Some of the photos are here.

Marshall County 8-23-08

2008-08-27T22:45:00.004-05:00

It is getting closer to fall! The sorghum (milo) fields are heading out and starting to turn their fall colors. These are some pictures, both color and IR, of a recent drive through Marshall County where my Dad and I caught an amazing sunset.

Enjoy!

Carnahan Creek

2008-08-27T12:11:00.002-05:00

I went out to Carnahan Creek recently and ended up shooting some pics there and also on some country roads nearby. The evening was beautiful with a fantastic sunset. After I was down shooting I just sat down on a hillside and enjoyed the peace and quiet for awhile, something I hadn't done in a long time when out photographing. It was nice...that is until I woke up the next day covered with chigger bites from sitting in the grass!

Photos can be viewed here. Enjoy!

Pepper Hill road and thereabouts

2008-08-26T21:38:00.003-05:00

Awhile back I went wandering around the back roads south of Manhattan, I started on old K18 and ended up around Pepper Hill Road, where I had been earlier this summer. Beautiful area. My photos from this trip are here.

Enjoy!

Finally Frogs

2008-08-26T21:14:00.003-05:00

Finally, we have frogs! When we moved into our current house 3 years ago, we put in a pond and stream and were sure that frogs would move in right away. Well we seemed to have done something to offend the frogs because none moved in the first summer or second summer. But finally this year 3 frogs have decided to call our pond home! Of course how could I pass up this photographic opportunity... Click here to see our frogs.

Recent IR photos

2008-08-23T11:04:00.003-05:00

Here are some recent IR photos, these were taken in Clay County, Marlatt Park, and at the Stockdale Park on Tuttle Creek Lake.

Enjoy!

Website makeover

2008-08-22T21:50:00.000-05:00

For a long time now I've had a redo of my website at the top of my to-do list. Finally after procrastinating for too long I've gotten the makeover finished. Please take a look when you get a chance and let me know what you think of the new look...

Thanks!

Foggy Morning on Deep Creek Road

2008-07-27T13:52:00.004-05:00

Well summer is here finally and the heat has driven me to desperate measures...getting up early to photograph at sunrise. I'm not a morning person! Anyway, this past Saturday was beautiful with really heavy fog. I was a little late getting out, but still got some photos of the fog out on Deep Creek Road and then headed to Pillsbury Crossing. My photos can be viewed here.

I also had my IR modified camera with me and shot several photos in IR. I've posted these as well, they can be viewed here. Most of these I've converted to black and white, but I've also left a few with the slight red tint they have coming straight out of the camera. A few I've also exchanged the red and blue channels of the images which lets you put a blue sky back in the photo. I really love this effect.

Enjoy

First light with new IR camera

2008-07-27T09:48:00.003-05:00

I recently sent off a Digital Rebel to Lifepixel.com to be modified for infrared (IR) only photography and I've been anxiously awaiting its return....it finally arrived this past Friday! I took it out in the backyard for my first test shots with it. You can view them here.

I'm hooked!! I love the look of IR photos. If you are curious, you can learn more about IR photography at the Lifepixel website or at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_photography. IR photography is not the same thing as thermal imaging, which many people confuse it with. IR photography is simply recording IR light as opposed to visible light, not heat as is done with thermal imaging. A great subject for IR photography is any green plant. The chlorophyll in plants strongly reflects IR light. Kansas is an IR shooters paradise in the spring and summer, we have lots of green and lots of sunshine!

Peace.

Konza Prairie tour

2008-07-15T18:08:00.004-05:00

This past weekend I was on a tour of Konza Prairie with the other members of the Flint Hills Photography Club. It was an excellent, excellent tour. Our 'guides' were extremely friendly and knowledgeable and very patient with us while we took pictures. The Konza Prairie is roughly 8000 acres in size and is an active research site operated by Kansas State University. Hiking trails are open to the public and tours can be arranged for groups. I worked on the Konza for awhile when I was an undergraduate and it was really great to be able to go back on this tour.

Some of my photos from the trip are online here.

Enjoy!

Alcove Springs...again

2008-07-14T21:04:00.002-05:00

Well with all the recent rain we have had, I figured that the waterfalls at Alcove Springs might be pretty to photograph this summer. So my Dad and I head out there July 5th....only to find the falls completely dry, not even a drop of water going over the drop off. Oh well, guess I will try again this winter during some snow melt. We did find a nice little open area of prairie above the falls that had some really nice wildflowers in it to photograph and also some cooperative cattle on the drive back into Waterville. A few of the photos can be viewed here.

Enjoy.

Backyard photo ops

2008-07-14T20:51:00.002-05:00

You never know where you will find something to photograph. These photos were all taken in my back yard.

Enjoy!

Fostering Kittens

2008-07-14T20:44:00.003-05:00

My wife and I have been working with the Riley County Humane Society and fostering a stray and her 5 kittens so naturally I've been out taking pictures of them (way too many pictures of them!). You can view some of the photos here.

Anybody need a cat?

Washington County Wheat fields

2008-07-14T20:16:00.002-05:00

I was recently up in Washington County shooting some wheat fields before they were harvested. Some of the photos from the trip can be found here.

In the last photo of this group you note that the sky is pastel colored. This is the "belt of Venus", which is a pinkish glow in the sky near sunset or sunrise.

Enjoy!

Native Rock Scenic Byway

2008-06-27T20:03:00.003-05:00

After seeing this photo of Echo Cliff Park on Flickr and finding out where it was shot (thanks earlycj5!) I did some research and found out that the scenic byway "Native Rock Scenic Byway" actually ended up in Dover, right were Echo Cliff Park is. So I rounded up my Dad and we took a road trip down this scenic byway. Another beautiful place for a drive. More info on the Scenic Byway can be found here: http://www.ksbyways.org/Pages/Native/native1.html.

Kansas has a lot of interesting places like this to offer when you take the time to look. We found plenty to photograph, especially the first half of the drive from Alma to around Lake Wabaunse. Some of my photos from the drive can be viewed here.

Drive through the Flint Hills

2008-06-27T19:59:00.003-05:00

I went for a drive south of Manhattan to try and photograph some wildflowers. I ended up on a road named "Pepper Hill", not really sure how I got there, but I lucked out, the wildflowers were amazing and the light was fantastic. Photos from this outing are here.

Enjoy!

Hiking at Konza Prairie

2008-06-27T19:42:00.003-05:00

I haven't been out to Konza Prairie much recently so I decided it was time to check on the wildflowers there this summer. There weren't as many flowers blooming as I had hoped, but still it was a beautiful evening and as always a peaceful place to hike and photograph. Deer were easily photographed as usual and an awesome thunderhead built up right before sunset. You can view the photos here.

Enjoy!

Swede Creek road

2008-06-27T19:36:00.005-05:00

I was back on Swede Creek road recently taking some photographs with my Dad. We saw 2 coyotes, a rooster pheasant, a bobwhite quail, several deer (and smelled at least one skunk). What a trip!

Another beautiful place for a drive when you get a chance. A few photographs from this trip can be scene here.

Enjoy!

Congrats to Rachel and Dylan!

2008-06-27T19:33:00.002-05:00