On June 05, I decided to visit the Badlands of South Dakota and Mount Rushmore with no formidable severe weather risk across the Great Plains in the offing. I woke up quite early after rooming the previous night at a Best Western in Wall, SD and began heading south out of town on SD Rt. 240 that passes through the Badlands. I figured I'd do one photography session during the morning and one later in the afternoon as I arrived back to Wall, SD after visiting Mount Rushmore located southwest of Rapid City, SD. I spent about a hour and a half shooting many photos of the absolutely beautiful landscape. There is no doubt I'll be back here sooner rather than later. This was my first time visiting this location and I surely was impressed. I could spend endless days doing photography of the Badlands. Anyhow, after photographing the eroding rock formations I visited Mount Rushmore around noon and than later returned back to the Badlands around mid-afternoon to photograph them with a higher sun-angle. I've added many photos from this day's activities below:
A shot of the sign which
is a frequent tourist photo-op...
Bubbling cumulus over the Badlands by mid-afternoon!
Mount Rushmore around midday...
(Canon 70-300mm telephoto-zoom lens)
I can't forget the South Dakota sign right?
One more I can add to the collection...
What a beautiful landscape and a great view!
Wildlife shot!
(Canon 70-300mm telephoto-zoom lens)
A viewing point (left) of the Badland's buttes looking
down into the deep canyons...
A portrait-shot of Mount Rushmore!
Another great view!
A falcon in-flight?!
Ongoing erosion can be seen here...
A close-up...
Kind of was funny watching the tourists
with their "wimpy" cameras while I pull
out my beast of a DSLR camera!
Talk about a scenic route...
Crazy formations!
A wide-angle shot of the beautiful landscape!
(Canon 10-22mm wide-angle lens)
A white-tail deer roaming the prairie
during the morning...
A wide-angle shot of Mount Rushmore!
Definitely not a "bridge-to-nowhere"...
Portrait-shot of the bridge!
Another beautiful view...
A close-up shot!
(Canon 70-300mm telephoto-zoom lens)
Another wide-angle shot here...
One more close-up...
(Canon 70-300mm telephoto-zoom lens)
A hot warm day nearly popped some convection
while I was in the park during the afternoon...
Another wide angle shot...
Cirrus clouds drifting over the Badlands...
Portrait-shot of the amazing formations!
Mount Rushmore yet again...
.JPG)
Same photo, but with that Old School feel...
I've added a GoPro video (above)
One last shot before I head back for the evening...
Convection indeed does develop as I arrive back to Wall, SD!
(This was shot from the balcony at my hotel)
I've added a GoPro video (above)
