badlands, goodtimes
august 2020, 2021, and 2022 | badlands np
NIKON D850
Nikkor 16-35mm f/4.0, 80-200mm f/2.8, Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART, Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8
Badlands are found in several places across the world — they are otherworldly remnants of an epoch before we humans were around. A time when water levels were higher than today, and these colorful mounds and strange formations were once covered by oceans, teeming with life. Now, they are seemingly a barren wasteland where few desert dwellers roam free, holding memories of a time long ago, embedded in the soft sedimentary rocks and bright-colored clay.
Among the most stunning places to immerse yourself, Badlands National Park in South Dakota is a wonderful and less-visited place in the center of the US. For photography, this is a challenging playground of distinct and divine patterns in all directions. A landscape that changes with the light and offers endless forms of creativity. And an added bonus is an abundance of bison, longhorn sheep, deer, pronghorns, prairie dogs, and rattlesnakes, which have all been closely encountered during my visits.
My first time here, I wasn’t sure what to expect, and truth be told, we were driving west, aiming for some time in the Tetons from the east coast and made this a quick pitstop. Naturally, I was drawn to come back, and did so the following two years. Each time, I was headed west to the rockies and this simply became a must do.