Rocks
Hiking Cathedral Spires Trail
On our recent trip to Custer State Park, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, we did a lot of hiking. This was one of the trails we enjoyed – Cathedral Spires Trail. The “needles” rock formations were fun to explore.
The Cathedral Spires Trail is located inside an area of Custer State Park known as the Needles. As you might expect, it can be found on Needles Highway. The trail is approximately 1.5 miles one way.
This photo was taken with my fisheye lens. It provides a very wide view but also gives it that curving inward look. My hiking partner and beautiful wife is pictured on the trail ahead of me.
You can get a larger more detailed version of this image by clicking on the photo.
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A Beautiful Capture
This is a panoramic view of Lakota Lake. This is a small lake in Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
We stumbled upon this calm, out-of-the-way lake while driving though the park. This was one of my wife’s favorite spots at Custer State Park. She is the one on the shore taking photos of the beauty that she sent to her parents. This is a very wide image – a compilation of five individual photos taken.
According to the US Forest Service, “Lakota Lake is located southeast of Keystone, SD, on US Highway 16A (Iron Mountain Road), within the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve. It is a small, non-motorized lake and a popular destination for fishing and kayaking. A hitchrail is provided for horses, along with access to Iron Creek Trail #15. Several picnic tables offer a scenic view of the lake. Lakota Lake Road was upgraded in fall 2021.”
You can get a little better, larger view by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Path of Least Resistance
This is a smaller waterfall at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The main, larger collection of flowing water is to the right of this view. (See my previous post: The Falls at Sioux Falls)
A lot more dramatic water is flowing from the main falls (out of frame, to the right of this view) but I prefer this image. I like the way the water makes it’s path to the river, coursing around and over the rocks in the foreground.
You can view a larger, more detailed view of this waterfall by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Superior Gems
These are some of the beautiful rocks on the shore of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. You’ll notice the effects of sunlight through the ripples as these were photographed in about 6 inches of water.
I took a similar photo many years ago and it was always one of my favorites. I’ve wanted to get back there and get more photos so, on a recent get-a-way to the UP, we made a trip to the beach at Grand Marais, MI.
I spent a long time trying to photograph through the water, in between the waves, to catch a calm enough moment when the waves wouldn’t obscure the beauty but the ripples would cast their magical spell over the rocks.
It was one of the most restful and enjoyable parts of our trip. We spent a good deal of time just sitting on the rocky beach, looking a rocks and enjoying the sunshine. My wife took a photo of me with her smart phone camera – catching me in action.
To really enjoy the gorgeous colors and detail of this shot, you should click on the photo. When you do, it will open up a larger version in a different browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me (pops@popsdigital.com) for digital purchase and licensing options. I think this would make an awesome and challenging puzzle; one of the purchase options you’ll find on my sales page.
Alternate Reality
The over saturated effect in this image of the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse gives it an other-worldly feel. Kewaunee is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
This is a stylistic experiment for me. Every now and then, I try something totally out of my normal box. I like this image…but I’m not sure I’d like a lot of it.
If you’d like to view a larger, better version, click on the photo and a full screen image will open in a new browser tab.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Heavy Lifting Morels
These are morel mushrooms. I photographed them just as I found them. As you can see, they were growing in a rocky area. It seems, as they grew, they picked up a couple of stones between them. They remind me of a pair of hands with mittens reaching up from the rocks.
Morels are edible and highly prized by their culinary fans. My wife is a true fan…as in fanatic. Her passion lies as much (or more) in finding them than eating them. It’s hard to keep her out of the woods this time of year.
To view a larger version of this image, click on the photo.
Superior Rock Collection
On a summer trip to the shore of Lake Superior, a few years ago, we had the opportunity to wade through the clear, icy cold waters.
This is a collection of colorful rocks in the shallow water near the Wisconsin shore of Lake Superior.
I used this as my desktop wallpaper for a long time and always thought it would be a challenging image for a large puzzle.
To see more of the detail, click on the image and a larger version will open in a new browser tab.
Red Sky at Morning
This scene reminded me of the the old adage “Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. ”
I don’t recall the weather turning bad on the day this photo was taken, but then I wasn’t sailing either. We did have overcast skies with a little drizzle.
I did a little research on the common saying and found this interesting comment on Wikipedia…
The rhyme is a rule of thumb for weather forecasting, dating back over 2,000 years, based on the reddish glow of the morning or evening sky, caused by haze or clouds related to storms in the region. Due to the rotation of the Earth, from west to east, storm systems tend to travel eastward across a local region of the globe. A reddish sunrise, caused by particles suspended in the air, often foreshadows an approaching storm, which will be arriving from the west, within the day. Conversely, a reddish sunset often indicates that a storm system is on the east side (opposite the sunset), travelling away from the viewer. A similar movement is noted all around the world, in both the northern and southern hemisphere. There are occasions where a storm system might rain itself out before reaching the observer (who had seen the morning red sky). However, for ships at sea, the wind and rough seas, from an approaching storm system, could still be a problem, even without rainfall.
To get a better view, click on the photo and a larger version will pop up.