So 15 minutes after capturing “Knee Deep,” and roughly 30 minutes after “Beyond Wasta,” I came across this vista, which is looking northeast over the Belle Fourche River valley. The size of the cattle gives a bit of scale to this scene. It was windy and a bit cool when I got out of my truck to set up my tripod (this is an HDR sequence). But when I look at this photo, I feel a sense of silence and peacefulness. And if cattle can feel contentedness, I’d guess they’d feel it here
“Why black and white?” you ask. I didn’t like the quality of the color in the scene and I also felt it distracted from seeing all of the shapes, lines and contours. Finally, I like the way black and white makes the cattle and their shadows stand out from the pasture land that they have chosen to picnic on.
Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/14.0 ISO100 182mm
Incredible picture!
Thank you, Ryan. It is an incredible place. It was 10 am by the time I got here and that is a little too late for the best light as far as I’m concerned. I kept thinking that I have to come back when the light is optimal. But given that this valley is far off any beaten path that I’m likely to be on, it would take careful planning to be here at the perfect time.
I wanted to go to Belle Fourche but did not make it there. How far was this from BF?
I think that this spot is probably around 60 or 70 mile from Belle Fourche. Like many rivers, this one meanders pretty indirectly between the two points.