2012 Favorite Images

It has been too long since I have posted to this blog, The past year has been busy and challenging with ups and down including the passing of my father. I managed to get a reasonable amount of photography done with several trips. Reviewing my images I have picked out 12 of my favorites from the year. Enjoy! I am resolving to post more in this new year.

Missouri River floodplain grass, Charles Russell NWR

Eureka Dunes, Death Valley NP

Grass and Willows, San Luis Valley

Cotton Lake Marsh, Medano Ranch

Tall Grass Prairie Sunrise, Oklahoma

Wind River Aspens, Wyoming

Kebler Pass aspen boles

Blanca Peak Clouds, Colorado

Kansas Prairie Sky, Quivira NWR

Prairie Storm Rainbow, Chico Basin Ranch

Running Horses, Zapata Ranch

Kebler Pass Aspen and Ferns, Colorado

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Winter Colors,Textures and Patterns: Frosty Trees and Grass

This gallery contains 6 photos.

On a recent trip returning from Kansas I had a very  productive day photographing frosty grass and trees. The earth toned colors of the grasses combined with heavy frost and ice on the grass and bare tees made for some … Continue reading →

Memories of Summer: Oklahoma Tall Grass Prairie Sunrise

A blast  of Winter came to Colorado over the last few days; snow, cold and wind. Now I actually like cold and snowy weather; it can provide  beautiful and challenging photography, but my senses  were still accustomed to the wonderful  warm days of Indian Summer in Colorado that were present just days before the storm . This morning, as I scraped the ice off my truck in 16 degree temps, my mind wandered back to my summer excursions, particular to a trip I made in July to Oklahoma when the temperatures went over 100 degrees. On one day I spent a wonderful morning at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in the Osage Hills of Northern Oklahoma and was able to capture a great sunrise. Conditions were perfect with incredible verdant green grass and wonderful clouds in the sky that lit up as the sun hit the horizon. Viewing it certainly warms me up and brings back wonderful memories. Isn’t that why we all make photographs?

Sunrise on the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Oklahoma

Slow Down and Look: The Joy of the Intimate Landscape

One of my absolute favorite photographic subjects  are intimate compositions of grasses. Finding and making  these “Tapestries of Grass” is a joy but also a challenge to extract an image from an environment that at quick glance may seem mundane or  even chaotic. The secret I believe in making any good intimate landscapes is to slow down and really look at the environment around you. When I am out I will often just stop and stand still for several minutes, scanning the surroundings and watching the light. More often that not something will catch my eye.  I look for patterns, textures, and colors and if it strikes me I set up the tripod and precisely fine-tune the composition.  If it all comes together I make the photograph, if not I move on.  The following image made in Kansas at the Webster Wildlife area is a good example. It was made from spending at least  30 minutes wandering and looking in an area of  prairie less than acre in size.

Tall Grass Prairie Autumn Colors

I have  been processing more images from the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve. This image was made in the afternoon before the image I posted on Monday. A storm system was building to west and the soft cloudy low contrast  light  made the colors of the Indian grass and Goldenrod almost glow. The interesting sky and clouds provided a good contrast to the layers of prairie grass and flowers.

Goldenrod blooms among the Indian Grass in the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, Kansas

2009 Visions of the Flint Hills: Preserving the Tallgrass Prairie Art Exhibit and Sale.

I am very pleased to announce that two of my photographs have been juried into the  Kansas Park Trust -2009 Visions of the Flint Hills: Preserving the Tallgrass Prairie Art Exhibit and Sale. The show will be held at the Buttonwood Art Space in Kansas City, MO from Oct 2 to December 5, 2009. The two images are Kansas Summer Prairie Sunrise and Kansas Winter Prairie.  I will be present at the opening on Oct 2.

Art of the Prairie: A Nebraska Sand Hills Grass Photograph

One of  the main subjects I am drawn to now in my journey to photograph the beauty of the natural world is the prairie, and the amazing textures and colors of grass that make up this often unappreciated environment. True, the prairie  and plains are  relief challenged environments and they may not bring to mind the  incredible vistas of rugged alpine  terrain, but I personally have found that if you  take the time to experience the prairie and really see it you would be astounded at the beauty that is present.  One of the goals of this web journal will be to highlight  my vison of the prairie and hopefully  illustrate  that the beauty  of nature extends well beyond spectacular the red rock country of the southwest or the  unquestionable grandeur of the mountain environment. To that end I present the next image from my recent Midwest trip.

Smooth broomgrass grows thickly around a lake in Crescent Lake NWR, Nebraska ©Stephen Weaver

Photographed in the Sand Hills of Nebraska in Crescent Lake NWR, this image highlights the luxuriant growth of grass surrounding one of the many  lakes in the refuge. I was blessed with great clouds and soft light and the different layers and textures  as well as the near-far composition help to make this a satisfying image.

Summer Travels #1

Ok here we go with my first real post.  I have been travelling quite a bit this summer and recently returned from my third major trip of the season from Oklahoma where I taught a photo  workshop at the Museum of the Red River in Idabel.  I will cover that trip in a future post, but for this opening I want to start with my first big trip taken in mid June through the upper midwest.  I was scheduled to attend a conference  and work shop on Field Computing in Education sponsered by the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) that was held in Door County Wisconsin at Lawrence Universitys Bjorklunden.  I decided to drive to the conference and do photography on the way and after over a space of about 2.5 weeks. It was a fabulous trip photographing  in Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wyoming with total miles travelled being 5,312!  Photographically it was very productive, particularly with new prairie images from Nebraska and North Dakota.  My first day was spent in Nebraska in the Sand Hills region, an area I first visted last year. Because of lots of Spring moisture the grass was amazing. I camped at Smith Lake and made several really nice images at sunset and also sunrise the next morning. Below is one of my favorite images from that first evening

Sunset light on the prairie grass in the Sandhills, Nebraska ©Stephen Weaver

What  I was attracted to in making this image was the amazing warm sunset side light which illuminated the grasses as well as the strong layers with diagonals of the receding hills accented by the light. As with all strong photographs the presence and capture of dynamic light is the key that makes this image work. It was a great start to my trip!