Badlands – Page 2 – Ken's Photography and Travel Blog

After my early morning sunrise session, I scouted other areas along SD Route 240 for potential sunset today and/or sunrise locations tomorrow morning. As typical, I used my iPhone for the scouting photos, so that I could move around more easily, unhindered by heavy camera gear.

Badlands NP, September 16, 2022, PM, iPhone Photo 1

My first scouting stop was a viewing area designated as “Yellow Mounds Overlook”, where I climbed a steep slope to check out the views from a higher elevation, after scanning the area from the parking lot.

Badlands NP, September 16, 2022, PM, iPhone Photo 2

Badlands NP, September 16, 2022, PM, iPhone Photo 3

Badlands NP, September 16, 2022, PM, iPhone Photo 4

I continued along SD 240, stopping to check out the views from other pullouts.

Badlands NP, September 16, 2022, PM, iPhone Photo 5

Badlands NP, September 16, 2022, PM, iPhone Photo 6

Badlands NP, September 16, 2022, PM, iPhone Photo 7

At each location, I made a number of images, testing compositional variations. This post contains a few selected images from a few of those stops.

Badlands NP, September 16, 2022, PM, iPhone Photo 8

Badlands NP, September 16, 2022, PM, iPhone Photo 9

Until next time,

Ken

I had decided to shoot at one of the overlooks in Badlands National Park my first morning here, but when I arrive at that destination, I did not like the view and proceeded down the roadway to another pullout. That pullout was intended as an overview of an area to the north, but I climbed a grassy slope on the opposite side of the roadway, anticipating better sunrise lighting on the features on that side of the roadway. That is, if there was a sunrise this heavily overcast morning, after a storm came through during the night.

Looks like no golden hour this morning, but the clouds are dramatic.

With the sun just barely peeking through the heavily overcast horizon, I decided to move on down that roadway and look for other photographic opportunities.