Chasing the Morning Light
We woke up at 4:30 and there was already light in the sky. I wanted to get into the park before the sun rose and we were already late. On the way out of the campground, the moon was setting and it was blood red. By the time we got in a place to get a picture, it was too late. But, the sun rose shortly after and it was blood red. Was the sun so red because of wildfire smoke? The only time I’ve seen the sun this red was in Washington State when there was smoke from wildfires. Whatever the cause, the morning felt different. It is nice to simply be there when the landscape wakes up.
The Badlands are one of those places that refuse to fit inside a camera frame. A telephoto compresses the ridges. A wide-angle makes everything seem farther away. The eye sees depth that a photograph struggles to reproduce. I like using the telephoto lens for landscape shots because of the compression, so I stitched together 4–10 images to get a little closer to what it actually felt like standing there. I usually flipped the camera vertically which is why I needed to stitch so many pictures together.
The colorful layers of the Badlands represent a different ancient environment—river floodplains, volcanic ash falls, forests, and swamps—preserved over millions of years. Reading the cliffs is like reading pages in Earth’s history book. The lack of significant vegetation allows us to read those layers. But, the Badlands are disappearing. Rain, wind, and winter freeze-thaw cycles erode the landscape by about an inch each year. The dramatic formations we admire today are temporary on a geologic timescale.
Linda Burek Photography 
Linda
We will be there tomorrow! We did make it to Custer state park this afternoon. It was quite hot, but we saw buffalo and prairie dogs and enjoyed the drive! Thanks for the suggestion! Also visited Mt Rushmore. We had to have Jefferson’s vanilla ice cream because we live near Monticello! Now in Wall!!!
Enjoy your trip and be safe! I really enjoy your blog!
Anne
Sent from my iPhone
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