Wednesday was a very frustrating day… I forgot how challenging nature photography can be. So many things that are out of your control have to come together to make a good picture.
My body is still on eastern time, so I woke up at 4:00 am. I pulled myself out of bed because I could easily get to Badlands Overlook before sunrise. The conditions were looking good, thought it was 50 degrees with a steady wind at the edge of the cliff (i.e. it was cold standing there waiting for the sun to come up).
The horizon way brightening and a made a cool panorama before sunrise on my iPhone.
After sunrise, I had to wait another 15 minutes in the cold for the sunlight to reach the valley. By then, the clouds had thickened, which dulled the light striking the valley. The picture came out okay, but it would have popped more with full sunlight.
After that, I drove the Badlands Loop Road looking for other photo opportunities. I wanted to try something different because all my photos were looking the same. Did a couple close-ups on flowers and a photo of a lone tree. The tree photo came out too bright, so it’s not posted.
After driving the Badlands Road, we went into the city of Wall to get gas and a drink with actual ice in it. (I miss my ice maker…) After returning to the park, I thought I’m take some shots of the prairie dogs that are near the entrance. Then the major downer of the day arrived. Got a call from my old apartment saying that they are going to charge me for replacing the carpet in the living room because of pet damage. I’ve paid them tens of thousands of dollars in rent and they are going screw me once more over some carpet. That pretty much ruined my day. Even the cute prairie dogs didn’t help.
I found an interesting photo opportunity shortly after getting on Sage Creek Rim Road. There is some nice greenery in the valley on a nicely curved line leading into the photo. Thought that would be a great option for a sunset picture. Also, saw a small green snake in the grass while scouting the location.
I drove the 30 miles back to the location and waited for the clouds to clear before sunset. I got lucky and the clouds cleared. But I should have realized ahead of time that the sunset light wouldn’t reach the lowest part of the valley. D’oh!
At least on the good side, a coyote crossed the road in front of me as I was driving to the location. It happened so quickly, there was no chance of getting a picture. But still cool!
Now it’s Thursday, the overcast is very heavy and it’s been raining off and on. I doubt I’ll get a chance to take that picture in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Might have to save it for another visit to Badlands.