Falls Park Holiday Lighting

A group of bicyclists decorated with holiday lights makes their way by onlookers prior to the lighting of the "Winter Wonderland" light show at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD.

I attended the 8th annual "Lighting of Falls Park" in Sioux Falls yesterday evening. I was on the viewing tower working on a time lapse project. Here are some photos that I was able to get while there. Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for looking.

A few shots of the falls in the low light of dusk.

I liked the scene in black and white as the frost from the spray can be made out easier.

A small group of bicyclists decorated in holiday lights road through the park while onlookers awaited the lights of the winter wonderland to be turned on by the mayor.

Falls Park "Winter Wonderland" 2010 (from the observation tower)

Trying To Catch The Stars

Venus shines bright in the evening sky at Palisades State Park, South Dakota.

Recently I saw some amazing time lapse video of star and night scenes online. So I resolved to see if I could learn how to do it myself. Shooting the night sky is not easy, but it is the first thing I need to learn in this quest. Last evening was fairly clear early on so I drove to Palisades State Park to try my hand at shooting the stars. I got there with about an hour of sunlight left in order to scout locations... the first batch of photos below are some scenes from around the park as the sun set. Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for stopping by.

A stand of fuzzy branches backlight by the low sun. I'm not exactly sure of what kind of branch... possibly sumac?

A last vestige of autumn clings tenuously to a branch in the November breeze.

Late sunlight on the King and Queen rock formations.

The half moon would prove to be a bright light to deal with when the stars came out.

Sunset on Split-Rock Creek.

An airplane streaks across the stars.

Flashlight graffiti by yours truly.

I painted the rock with my flashlight for this shot.

The half moon provided enough light to silhoute the rock formations while I was out. Also, note the glow of Sioux Falls and Brandon Valley in the lower right of these shots. They say the best time to shoot the stars is no moon and the best place are far from any cities so the only light you capture is that of the stars.