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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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"

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

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

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"

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

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

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

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

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

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!