One Foggy Evening

My favorite photos from a spur-of-the-moment drive a few nights ago as the temperature dropped 20 degrees in a few minutes.

Fall in South Dakota

I spent last weekend in South Dakota, and boy was it pretty! Here's a glimpse into what I saw while covering the miles.

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. I'm linking up at Fresh From the Farm's Fun Photo Friday. Check out her great blog!

Scenes of Fall

 It is finally cooling off around here. The trees are chaning, wildlife moving, and cattle work is picking up. Here are a few images from the last week, taken everywhere from central South Dakota to eastern Wyoming.

Harvesting Crops

In case you're a new follower (welcome!), or haven't read much about where I'm from, it's a semi-arid region of the west, which means arid most years. Consequently, we are stictly a ranching operation, and I have never farmed anything in my life.

Last week I got the chance to see a little wheat and barley harvsesting firsthand, and made sure to snap a few photos. There would be more, but the wind came up and they stopped because the plants were so short the wind was blowing more of the grain onto the ground than the combines were picking up.

What I do know about farming is that it and ranching are very dependant on one another, and it's looking like a rough year for much of the country that does farm, which will impact feed prices on the cattle side. The crops in western South Dakota are short and dry, with bushels per acre expected to be low compared to average. To a rancher this means grain prices will likely be high a a results of a supply shortage this fall, and it will cost us more to feed our livestock.

Here's what I saw:



I was also informed that green is king when it comes to equipment.  I'm trusting this is true as the person who educated me has black cattle - a true indication they know their stuff, lol.

Professional Photography: Family photos

 Among my recent photography work was photographing a local couple and their two boys. They surprised mom with a giftcard for Mother's Day, which I thought was a great idea!
We had a fun time despite the hot day, and I was thrilled that they were game for some of the more fun posing ideas I had in mind. It melted my heart when the youngest boy jumped out of the pickup first thing asking if he got to, "say cheese?!" Wonderful family! Mom also likes western/aged/brown tinged photos, which meant I got to have fun editing.
Here are a few images from the shoot. To check out the entire album, you can go to the Double H Facebook page.



Fire in the West

Please keep the west in your prayers as we deal with numerous fires that are causing loss of land, homes and lives. These photos were taken today in Weston County, Wyoming, and is burning the land of people I know personally. It is also headed in the general direction of my uncle's ranch. Countless people are in this same situation, and the weather isn't looking to give us any favors in the near future.

Photo fun

My computer has returned! It is 106 degrees outside. Editing pictures has sounded like a pretty dang good job all day : )Here are a few from the past few weeks for you to enjoy.

Among my recent photography jobs was a campaign shoot for a Wyoming House representative. We did several classic headshots, some more casual shots, and I was able to get in a few more artistic shots, like this one, for him to potentially use in his ad campaigns.

I personally feel that baby pigs should be a cuddly animal if they're going to look like this : )

My grandma's poppy flowers.

We had some early mornings and late nights getting all our cattle sorted and shipped earlier this month, and were very grateful for the cool weather that accompanied our efforts!

P.S. I am linking up with Farmchicks Farm Photo Friday!

The Cement Slab

(Photo by Double H's Momma)

This cement slab is located on my Uncle's place, and has been a serious learning curve for us since he purchased the land it's located on. To reach his corrals on this place, you either cross this slab or trail 2-3 miles around. Naturally a little extra time at the slab is easier than the several hours involved in going around. 

You also have to hit that gate with the high posts to get in or out of the little area containing the slab. It's a challenge for sure on some days. When gathering, it's through a gate and around a corner, then you funnel everything down across the creek, then up a hill and through another gate on the other side, which is thick with greasewood. It's been known to cause some sort of excitement on most trips across. We've trailed over it on days like the one above, and on days where water was running over the slab. We've had wrecks where cows and calves went back, and days where we spent several hours mothering after crossing this slab.

When my cousin saw this photo, he remarked that it looked like one big wreck to him. Sure makes a nice picture though : )

New Camera!

 Over a week ago I went to Casper to have my camera cleaned. The night before I went, my camera died a sad, ERROR 99 death. So, in addition to being cleaned, it was sent in for repairs, and has been sorely missed. I am still anxiously awaiting the call that it is ready to be picked up, hopefully before all the brandings and shipping days of this spring are over. What a time of year for the camera to hiccup.
While at the camera store, I got to perusing all the wonderful dream items they have in stock. My plan was to purchase a camera after this year's wedding season to keep for nice, professional photography jobs. This way the old 40D could be solely used as a ranch camera, without worry for keeping it in good working order for professional jobs.
Long story short, a couple hours later I walked out with a new Canon 60D with a 135mm lens attached, a gallery quality photo printer (it was a great deal if you purchased it with a camera), and all the necessary goodies to make the camera ready to go. I am now set for this year's set of weddings too, and a couple other professional jobs coming up in the next couple months.
It has been very hard not to try it out during our brandings, gatherings, etc... but I have managed to hold off, and am maintaining a strict, "no corral" rule with it. I did finally get a chance to test it out on my uncle's place a few days ago when we finished in the early evening. What better way to test the image quality of a new camera than with some macro shots taken in the evening light? Here are a few from the 100 I took during my first outing with my new camera : )   Hope you like them!

Sepia Tones

 For some reason my editing has veered heavily into the land of sepia tones over the last couple weeks. This could be due to the fact that although it is spring, the ground really isn't much greener than it is in these photos and I think the effects look nicer than the dry, grim reality.
Here are a few samples for you on your Monday.
P.S. I have no idea why my text is surrounded by white in my last post....that was not intentional.

 

Feeding cows in the snow

Today it is snowing and the wind is blessedly absent at my house. I took these photos while feeding this morning. Always love photographing black cattle in the snow, especially when it's coming straight down! Hope you enjoy.

 Guarder of the hay bale