South Dakota
Sweet Burro Babe
This sweet little burro, with its long ears and docile demeanor, was relaxing in a partially shaded part of Custer State Park in South Dakota. It’s mother and others from the clan were close by – just outside the photo’s frame.
The burros at Custer State Park are a favorite attraction. They are generally friendly and happy to be petted and fed carrots and apples by park visitors. Last summer they had a number of burro births. This is one from the 2025 crop.
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Relaxed Demeanor
A friendly burro was happy to greet visitors to Custer State Park in South Dakota. This is one of a dozen or more – in a variety of colors and sizes – that strolled by to say, “Hi!”
When we visit Custer State Park, we have to spend time with the burrows. They roam free through the park and are quite docile and happy to help you dispose of any excess apples and carrots.
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Two-tailed Swallowtail Butterfly
A vibrant, yellow, Two-tailed Swallowtail butterfly works to draw the nectar from a purple thistle, showing off its striking yellow and black wings accented by blue dots on the tail.
I captured this image while photographing a herd of bison on the prairie at Custer State Park in South Dakota. While focused on the buffalo, this flash of color caught my eye and I immediately changed focus. So, in the middle of my strip of large, brown beasts is a few frames of this delicate beauty.
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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 ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Going for Gold
While hiking a trait to a waterfall in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota, I spotted a patch of yellow wildflowers. The flowers were humming with busy bees. As I focused in on the bees, I noticed the orange area of their abdomen. While processing this image I did a quick internet search and learned these are orange-banded bumblebees. I don’t think I’ve seen this variety (Bombus ternarius) before. If you zoom in, you can see the legs of the bee covered with pollen from the flowers. You can learn more about this variety of bee at Bees Wiki.
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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 ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Powerful Presence
A solitary bison bull stands majestically in a sunlit meadow at Custer State Park in South Dakota. He is one of the sizable heard of bison that reside in the park.
Although he looks alone, there are many other bison nearby. I just happened to zoom in on this one by himself.
You can get a more detailed look at this big guy 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 ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Mount Rushmore in Gritty Granite
The towering granite presidential faces of Mount Rushmore are an imposing presence. Surrounded by trees, the mountain captures the serenity and grandeur of the landscape. The ruggedness of the stone, enhances the monument’s timeless appeal.
This photo is from our second trip to South Dakota and Mount Rushmore. Surprisingly, on the first trip, I took a number of photos of the monument but only posted two – one of the faces lit up at night and one of monument as viewed through the Doane Robinson Tunnel in Custer State Park.
On this evening, there was quite a but of haze in the air and in my effort to clean up and sharpen the image it made the rough texture and various cracks and veins running through the granite more pronounced. It’s almost distracting, but I kinda like it. Full disclosure: The sky was actually a bland, solid gray. I thought these guys deserved a better background so I digitally replaced the sky with a soft sunset.
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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 ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Sunrise Stare
This regal horse paused from his early morning graze to stare at the rising sun.
It was about 6:30 on a Monday morning. We were packing up to leave the lodge we stayed at the previous weekend in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I noticed some horses in a nearby pasture so I grabbed my camera and decided to try and capture a few images in the early morning light before we hit the road. This is one of the images from that brief morning attempt. I don’t know the horse’s name. (He didn’t say.)
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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 ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Roots of Modern Dance
A fallen tree with it’s gnarled, weathered, roots exposed makes an interesting but strange natural sculpture that contrasts with the peaceful, green forest setting.
This was found in Custer State Park in South Dakota. It’s one of those things that just caught my eye.
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A Peak at the Badlands
The Badlands are full of majestic rock formations that rise prominently from the vast, grassy plain below. This area of South Dakota has a very diverse landscape with rugged peaks and open grasslands that stretch as far as the eye can see.
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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 ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.
Where the Deer and the Antelope Lay
A pronghorn antelope buck was resting in a patch of prairie in South Dakota’s Custer State Park. He wasn’t alone. A hundred or so yards away his harem of does (6 or 7) were grazing in the prairie. Apparently, that’s the way it works in pronghorn culture.
You can view a larger, more detailed version of this image – where you can count the flies on the buck – 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 ([email protected]) for digital purchase and licensing options.