California for Christmas

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Mostly Maine

…. and then, in the middle of October I ran away to the east coast for a whirlwind adventure. I met up with my dear friend Amy and over the course of the next 6 days we packed on over 1000 miles on my shiny new rental car and had the time of our lives. We spent a few days in Maine (Portland and up to Acadia and Bar Harbor) before we headed south to Boston, where we met up with the one-and-only Jabari who took us out on a tour to the end of  Cape Cod where we found magical misty towers, seals, sand and a whole lot more about each other.  I wasnt necessary there to take photos, … Read More

Wild Ride

Today we tipped over into August. I’m sitting here trying desperately to catch my breath. It’s been a hundred mile an hour summer. There’s many many things I could say about how its been going, but honestly, I don’t know I could even remotely put it all into words. The word “roller coaster” comes most immediately to mind. I’ll let the pics do the talking from here and hope the clock slows down a little so I can find some time to elaborate soon.

A Night of Lights

We were walking out of a local establishment downtown Rapid City, after hearing Lang Termes play another incredible set of music when Aaron said to me “Look Babe! Its KP7 for the next hour!” To which I replied “My camera is at the shop, should we just grab it and go?” Needless to say, we agreed heading out was the right decision and we were rewarded almost instantly Aaron noticed an unusual glow to the west of us. Now, down in our neck of the woods (South Dakota) it’s not completely uncommon to see the lights, but usually they are more-or-less just a greenish glow to the north. What is unusual is spotting them to the west or east, and … Read More

here nor there

Aaron and Tuesday and I had some fun chasing the light and clouds around over the weekend.

2016 (in a nutshell)

You know, It wasn’t until I started collecting these photos that I realized exactly how big of a year 2016 was. It was really one for the books. I can very honestly say I am not the same person I was when we said good by to 2015 and hello to 2016. I’m excited to see what the future has in store, but for now, please feel free to look back with me on some of my favorite shots from the past 365 days. Enjoy, and here’s to the next lap around the sun!

Oh Montana…

I had a lightning fast trip to Montana last weekend. I headed up to hang a show at the Lockhorn Cider House in Bozeman. The activity I drove all that way for, took me about 45 minutes and even though I only had one day to spend in the area, the freedom from my obligation gave me plenty of time to roam around the mountains. A quick hike with Jake and Betty G to Fairy Lake left me more than inspired to keep going. I set off for a noble drive up multiple mountain ranges, and Montana, you did not disappoint. You really do take that whole “Big Sky” thing seriously. My show will be up through October and I will be … Read More

they all fall down….

Nothing quite reminds me of the circular nature of our lives like Fall. Each year I find myself in similar places, wondering around winding trails, getting my socks wet trying to capture the way leaves look in the trickling streams that crawl below the simmering changing leaves. The air changes. Everything exists with the awareness of the season’s punctuation mark. Yesterday, infinite breath-taking beauty met me around every corner. I could have clicked for hours if the sun weren’t getting ready to leave us for the day.

….And then, that happened.

I had my eye on this storm all day. I first noticed it when it was a tiny blip on the radar near Lead SD. I studied it most of the afternoon (while I was supposed to be working) as it continue to developing and do some really strange things. At about 5:00 it busted loose and went nuts.

Montana: Big Skys – Big Mountains

The Daughter and I spent last week bumming around in Montana. We were fortunate enough to catch the an excellent fireworks display in Big Sky while my brother Jake and The Tiny Band played in front of thousands. The weather was lovely, the sights were extraordinary and the company was top notch. We were there mostly for work but managed to squeeze in some playtime as well. My work will be up for the month of July in Bozeman at Maya Rising (upstairs at 20 Main St).

The Moon, The Stars, & The Giants

The Needles of the Black Hills are among South Dakota’s oldest rocks. They were formed around 2 billion years ago when molten magma slowly solidified beneath the earth’s surface. The moon was formed 4.5 billion years ago during a massive collision between a smaller proto-Earth and another planetoid, about the size of Mars. Our amazing planet is 4.543 billion years old. The oldest stars in the Milky Way are roughly 13.4 billion years old. …. and I am 36. We all stood together for a few hours of timelessness and everything was beautiful.

Dinner?

  Three years ago, my daughter graduated from 5th grade. (Meaning she was making the move from elementary school to middle school). It was a lot for me to process, so I threw the young one in the car and headed out. I remember we didn’t have much time but we managed to find ourselves in front of a glorious rainbow. A rainbow that, because of the circumstances, mattered more to me than others. We watched it together and I tried to convince her that it was amazing. We watched the rainbow but eventually left it behind to get back to town for something important, I don’t remember what it was. Funny that, I remember the exact day, I remember it … Read More

And so it begins…

Behind me some fresh calves frolicked and chased each other around the safety of their mothers. Meadowlarks sang from atop nearby fence posts, joined by chorus frogs hiding below them in the water collected in ditches. In the distance I heard a covey of sage grouse chuckle as they danced to impress their ladies. …And before me the sun kissed the mountain and said “good night.” This is Spring in western South Dakota. This is home. This is why I love it here.

Local photographer preparing to open gallery: “Along the Way” – KEVN

I recently spent some time chatting with Steve Long at Black Hills Fox News. He compiled this nice little story on my current adventures. Updated: Tue 11:49 PM, May 03, 2016 A local woman first fell in love with photography at age 12 ,and says she’s never really set the camera down since. For the past few years she’s sold her work at craft shows and *other people’s* galleries. But in a couple weeks she plans the grand opening of her own small gallery, ‘A Long the Way” in her hometown of Rapid City. Bonny Fleming uses her camera like a poet uses words. Fleming says, “What I try to take pictures of is the stuff that I can’t believe … Read More

Ode to Bison

Its no secret that I love these magnificent animals. When I heard the news that Congress had passed the the National Bison Legacy Act (To adopt the bison as the national mammal of the United States), I couldn’t resist the urge to scour through and find some of my favorite shots from my various encounters with these incredible animals. There is no shortage of beautiful bison photos out there. We all have them. A few of us have incredible stories from our various encounters with them. Hell, at least six pop to my head at the mere thought of Buffalo. But that is because there is an undeniable fact that they are powerful animals. A point made over and over anytime … Read More

Moonrise Melody

Last night, Tuesday and I took off after work to chase the moon. We landed in the Badlands. We found La Luna and throughout the evening it proved to be a noble and friendly companion as rose with conviction peaking out between dusty mullien stocks and tired-day-end clouds. It was really the sounds that stole the show, though. Song birds, chorus frogs and the whisper of the soft winds played a perpetual melody. We were serenaded by the symphony of the springtime-prairie. The sage grouse danced their funny dances and the meadowlarks perched perfectly and sang to whoever was listening. At one point I watched several male bluebirds bop about as they took turns trying swoon a particularly lovely and desirable female… she seemed interested but not yet wooed. … Read More

Earth Day

Here we all are, spinning around the vast empty darkness of space on this giant blue ball. There are few things that every single living thing (to our knowledge) has in common; the fact that we ALL call this place home is one of them. The chances of our existence is so minute, so improbable that to call ourselves “lucky” would be a gross understatement. Not only do we get to exist, but we get to exist here… on EARTH, where every single day, an infinite number of insanely beautiful things happen. I’ve taken 36 laps around the sun on this planet. (A drop in the hat when compared to how many it has taken without me.) I’ve considered it … Read More

……And then the day kissed me

Weather in the Black Hills can turn on a dime. Last week my friends and I strolled around Spearfish Canyon and meandered up to Devils Bathtub. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and Spring was springing. Exactly one week and one day later I returned to a much different scene. The trees were painted white and giant snowflakes fell clumsily from the sky. At one point I found myself on the rim above the Canyon. I sat down to take in the view and before I knew it my eyes were closed and I took in several deep breaths. The air was cold as it filled my lungs and I got lost on the moment, the darkness, … Read More

…oh that lazy rainbow

Probably my most favorite exchange in a while happened this morning on Facebook. My friend Roger accused yesterday’s rainbow of being lazy. (… a thought that delights me endlessly) Roger  “That is probably the laziest rainbow I’ve ever seen.” Me: “It really didn’t give a crap… It was like “you want a rainbow, here’s a rainbow… Whatever, I guess.” …. Must have been a teenager.” Roger: “It could be that we are being too harsh. Was it early when you took the picture? Maybe it just woke up.” Me: “It was 6:30 last night, so it’s entirely possible you are correct”