What is there to photograph in the flatlands?

[j_robinson2]

Have been invited by a few friends to visit them in the flatlands. Northern

Oklahoma and on up to North Dakota. I am used to the Sierra Nevada, Cascades

and Rocky Mountains as I travel between them often and can take extra time for

photography in between business stops.

Have never done photo work on flat places. What is there of interest in

something like this without mountains and canyons, red rock and granite?

[warbler5]

I am headed up to South Dakota next week....my plan is to visit the National Parks in the SW part of SD, including the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore, and some of the grasslands National Wildlife Refuges during our drive to the SE part of SD (family reunion).

 

I know the feeling...I felt the same way when I made a similar trip to North Dakota in 2004. North Dakota was LOADED with breeding birds when we were there, and the NWR's almost all had auto-tour birding routes. Many birds that we see here in drab, winter plumage are in full breeding plumage during May-June in the Dakotas. North Dakota has more NWR's than any other state. I also found many old barns/farms of interest to photograph. And, weather patterns there often give you beautiful cloud formations to frame your photographs.

 

Of course...as my husband would say...it's so flat there, that you could always photograph the curvature of the earth! ;-) But, no, it's NOT California!

[frank uhlig]

To understand a new environment, to experience it and then to capture it on film, sensor, or canvas surely takes more than a few hours/days and an open, exploring mind. Sometimes it takes a life-time.

 

So, my advice is to remain in the flatlands for years to come to learn their beauty and mystique.

 

To ask "what is there to photograph at the Grand Canyon, in New York, Paris" would be considered oufy questions, right. Same holds for "flatlands" as you call them. Sorry.

 

Just see what you can find or see in a few hours time. And if nothing of (your) interest shows up, suffer through a blank photo day. It is good to be humbled by oneself, you know. It is bad to be a copy-cat of what others have found interesting. Does not warm the soul, is not like opening one's own eyes and receiving inspiration from the place and light..

[SteveH]

The locals say that it's so flat that if you get on a ladder you can look east and see the

back of your own head. Maybe you could photograph that.

 

Meanwhile don't forget those fabulous prairie sunsets, some buffalo, maybe the greater

prairie chicken, grain elevators and roads and railroad tracks that go straight for miles.

[stephen hazelton]

Northern OK to ND takes in an awful lot of territory.

 

First thing is, flatlands are not all flat. Out on the flatlands of CO, you'll find Pawnee Buttes, for example, an excellent photo spot if you ever get there. Similarly with Scotts Bluff, NE. But assuming you don't happen to find one of the non-flat areas, what else is there?

 

As I recall Route 66 angled up through Tulsa- seek it out. Some of the rivers in flat areas completely dwarf any river you'll ever see in the mountains- not sure about that particular part of the country, though. Look for tractors plowing, bulls beside windmills, derelict barns, old water towers, you name it. Yes, it's all been done, just like the mountains, but that never stopped anyone. Seek out historical sites- Fort Laramie is one example. Up around Pittsburg, KS, look for Big Brutus, spend a bit of time there. Do some train watching. Look for coal trains in Thunder Basin, WY. Any major city has stuff to see- we were up at the arch in St Louis a while back, for example. There's the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo. If you go to ND, you go through SD, right? If so, that leaves Mt. Rushmore and a host of other oppurtunities.

 

Pick out the states you're going to be passing through, see if they have an online tourist guide or things-to-see and do- ditto with cities along the route. If you have a choice, follow the 2-lane rural highways instead of interstates, and it will often be a lot more interesting.

 

We lived in CO for a while, and I loved going in the mountains, and photographing in the mountains. My wife liked to go there (if she could ride), but didn't care much about looking at photos of it all. My stepson didn't much care if he was looking at a mountain or not. Seeing beauty in a place doesn't just depend on the place, but it depends on the viewer as well. Look for beauty and things to photograph, and you'll find it, whether in mountains or not.

[mbb]

In general and not about this particular flats.

 

Being born and raise in quite hilly area close to big mountains, when I was very young, I always thought that flats are uninteresting. When I moved to very, very flat part of Texas I quickly found how wrong was my feeling. I can spend days in costal marshes and wetlands and never have enough or run out of interesting subjects to observe or photograph. Not to mention that almost every day brings something new and different.

 

Just go and find it for yourself. In fact, I never found place in nature which is uninteresting and offer nothing to photograph.

[chelsea]

Never been there, but been in "flat" countryside. I would be looking for: early morning and late evening shadows on grass and other foliage, all that flat brings the sun up and takes it down on good angles for that. Dew on foliage in the morning. Gotta be some ponds out there, lots of insects and birds. Big sky, weather formations, clouds, some little thing in the foreground surrounded by vast openness. River bottoms and streams, look for sand formations, patterns along the banks. Find a rise, look back across the flats, get the gradations of shadows and colours in the landscape. When it's windy, keep the camera handy and watch for dust devils. Someone mentioned the man made stuff, lots of old farms out there. Surely to be some old cars, farm equipment, neat rusted stuff grown over with grasses and lichens and whatnot. It's not a desert, but even the desert there's patterns and shapes to keep an eye out for.

[Two23]

I've traveled all the area you mention at one time or another. Much of it I covered on a monthly basis--entire states of KS, NE, SD, ND, and the northeastern corner of OK. As well as the western half of MN, IA, MO. It's NOT all the same!!! It's really NOT that flat. Parts are, such as between Wichita and Topeka, but most of the eastern third of KS is actually quite hilly. You can tell where the bands of hills run by looking at a map. There are few towns in the hilly areas. They historically mostly graze cattle there rather than row crops, making the population sparse. In KS, the U.S. 160/166 is one of my favorite routes. It's nothing like the cliche' KS you read about in the biased east/west coast media. North central KS has some really cool farmhouses made out of blocks of stone. This region centers around Lincoln if I remember right. The area around Council Grove is both historic and beautiful in the spring, as is Cottonwood Falls.

 

Nebraska is flatter in the the western two thirds, but very hilly in the eastern third. South Dakota is quite hilly, and the second tallest mountains in North America (Black Hills) are in the southwest corner. The Missouri River valley can be fantastic in the right light. The eastern third of SD is thousands of glacial lakes swarming with birds, the center is row crops and the MO River valley, and the western third is either mountains, buttes, or shortgrass prairie. North Dakota is flatter than SD but otherwise similar with the exception of no mountains. I have spent a life time photo'ing the Northern Plains and have barely scratched the surface. I still see something new every time I go out each day.

 

Many photographers from the East or West coast (especially big cities) seem to have an arrogance and an ignorance about the Great Plains. They don't seem to understand either the geography or even more importantly the culture. I like to say that the prairie is a very shy being. She will not show herself to those in a hurry, those with a rude manner, those wanting "instant" results. To photo the prairie you need the patience of a duck hunter, waiting in the cold for hours until the ducks come. You need to really know how to --see--. There are stunning compositions everywhere, but you must slow down, clear your mind, and look for them. They rarely jump out at you and scream. To photo the Great Plains you must really understand life and adjust your tempo to fit its tempo.

 

At the moment the wheat harvest is on. I'm not sure where it is, but likely it is as far north as central Kansas. Huge fields a mile square, mammath red or green & yellow machines inching acrossed it, brilliat blue skies. If you are polite and stay out of the way, the crews will allow you in the field to photo. Dust is thick and can kill a digital camera if you aren't careful. About an hour before sundown, deer begin coming out of hiding, first in the shadows along the shelter belts (lines of trees planted to protect fields from wind.) Badgers begin badgering and raccoons begin raccoonoitering. The population on the rural Plains has been steadily dropping since WW2. Today, fewer people live in most counties than did in the 1890s! Abandoned farmhouses, abandoned barns, abandoned dreams litter the land. By politely asking you will almost always receive permission to go photo them. The heart and soul of the Prairie Land is a belief in God. You will find small white churches every where, kept up neatly and in some great settings. No one minds if you walk around taking photos. Often the churches are unlocked, meaning entrance is OK. Just be respectful. In back or to the sides of the church are small cemetaries, often with terse stories if you read them correctly. A group of people with the same last name all buried in 1918 means the family was decimated by the great flu. A grave with a lamb on it means a child is buried there. You will find a lot of lambs in those old cemetaries.

 

Every where you look, you will see stories to photo, if you slow down and open your mind. Talk to people, tell them a little about you, ask politely for permission and you will have enough to photo to last you the rest of your lifetime. Honestly, there's no way I'd live anywhere else.

 

 

Kent in SD<div></div>

[ross_warner2]

Can't beat plain's sunsets. Check the sandhills of Nebraska. Black Hills (see Rochford) and Badlands of South Dakota, Bandlands and pothole region (ducks and geese) of North Dakota. The small and abandoned communities provide photo ops.

[the lone ranger]

Is this flat enough for you? <a href="http://www.rwongphoto.com/RW1408.html">Vega, Texas</a><br>

 

The western mountain ranges are great no doubt, but it's not very challenging to find things to shoot there. I think traveling through the Plains is good for everyone, that's really the only way to grow as a photographer. Then when you go back to the West, hopefully you can see it differently than you had before.

[kirk_keyes]

Kent wrote, "and the second tallest mountains in North America (Black Hills) are in the southwest corner."

 

Kent - I really enjoyed your descriptions of the Great Plains states, but I'm sure you can't mean that.

 

The highest mountains in the Black Hills are just over 5000 ft. That's up to the base of a lot of mountains here in Oregon (Cascades, Wallowa, and Steens), and then many of them go another 4 or 5 thousand feet higher. And the Cascades have nothing on the Sierras and Rockies for elevation.

[Two23]

Kirk--

 

Living where I do, I see ALL the mountain ranges west of me as "The Rockies." Technically, what I was getting at was that east of Denver/Cheyenne the tallest peaks are in South Dakota, not the Appalachians. Highest peak in SD is Harney at 7,200. Not high by Wyoming standards, but pretty far from flat!

 

 

Kent in SD

[mike hardeman]

<a href='http://www.michaelhardeman.com/ImageSearch.aspx?SearchString=Oklahoma'>http://www.michaelhardeman.com/ImageSearch.aspx?SearchString=Oklahoma</a>

[kathywilson]

I drove from Colorado Springs to Overland Park, Kansas on a business trip back in February. I thought I'd actually enjoy the chance to stop and take photos of such a flat place since I'd developed a fondness for the prairies near the Springs.

 

But I was horribly wrong.

 

There are folks who love the flatlands, but it drove me crazy. Other than farm architecture (of which there is plenty) I couldn't see a thing I really wanted on film, and I *tried*. After that trip, I resolved to fly...

 

But if you can find something to break the horizon (and show scale), and you have a particularly good sky to add some interest -- a wide angle lens on the wide open spaces will illustrate better than anything how big this country really is. Good luck on your trip. :)

[david_robert1]

Wow, Kathy Wilson, I wonder if we have driven the same roads. The flat lands offer so many wonderful scenes that I have trouble believing some haven't seen the images in front, behind, and to both sides. The towns, the farms, the crops, the wild life, windmills, water towers, the festivals, rivers, groves, the crops laid out with laser precision, the fields filled with grazing animals, the people, the homes, churches, the railroad crossing with a hundred rail cars filled with Colorado coal coming by ever other hour. The wild flowers, the gardens, even 500,000 sand hill cranes along the Platt River in March. Shucks, it isn't "turn in any direction at Yosemite and grab a shot every one else has", but to say there is nothing to photograph, well, might be just a little overstatement.

[greg s]

"What is there to photograph in the flatlands?"

 

Bring a macro lens for the grasshoppers. Some are so large you may need a wide angle. :)

[glenbarrington]

Instead of asking this question, just make sure you take your camera with you when you go. And if you can't find anything to shoot, that's OK, there are plenty of people who can.

 

Me? I love prarie flowers, there's a tough, scrappy beauty in these plants bred to survive flood, drought, fire, incredible wind, and unrelenting cold.

 

But then again, who's to say your photos have to be pretty scenics? You will react to and form an opinion of whatever you find there. Shoot those things that caused your reaction. I can pretty much guarantee you though that if you take your 'rocky mountains' mind set you won't find anything to shoot. Stay flexible mentally and develop an insigt into what makes you who/what you are.

[gman]

The flantlands have a beauty all their own. I really need to slow down when I drive through and take more pictures myself! After all...our farmland is shrinking! I think many of the farms in Nebraska and Iowa are inspiring as are some of the small farming towns. For years I have wanted to get off the highway and explore the area. There are rolling hills and rivers and many wildlife refuges too. The storms that come through also offer photo ops. So much to see and do...so little time!

 

Wayne

[mark_chappell]

Check out some of <A HREF="http://www.juddpatterson.com/"> Judd Patterson's</a> work

(the Kansas part) to see what someone with a good eye can do.

[suman]

Being a NE resident for 3 years, I can tell you not to miss the sunset and sunrise over the plains. I do not know if you hit the I80, but if you do, stop by Ogalla (spelling may be off teh target, but you will see). Sunrise over the lake is breathtaking. So is the sunset over the horizon. If possible, stop by Chimney Rock, kinda cool. Otherwise, just move to SD blackhills region. This place is good for some nice photo op, specially if you can get there in moonlit night. If you have time, don't forget to take a startrail shot, since these places are so much out of the reach of sodium vpour lamps. Never been to ND, so I am keeping my mouth shut here.

[david_nevin1]

Yes, I'd have to agree that hurtling down I-70 from Colorado to Missouri is not the best way to see Kansas. But if you turn off a little to the north or south there's plenty to see.

 

I'm particularly fond of the Konza Prairie near Manhattan. Rolling hills and tallgrass prairie--a beautiful place that's not easy to capture on film. You have to think a lot before you shoot.

 

Stop in a few small diners and ask the people about things that are neat around there--you'll discover hidden waterfalls, rock barns, cowboys that still round up cattle on horseback, ghost towns, waterfoul, deer, bison, fields of wildflowers. . .

 

Extreme Eastern Oklahoma is geographically an extension of the Ozarks (and Ouachita) hills so lots of oak/hickory forests and clear, rocky streams.

 

Southeastern Kansas had some interesting strip mining that has left numerous narrow lakes that present a few photo oportunities. I don't have much experience in the western half of the state (or further north than Kansas) but thought I'd share what I knew. . .

[keith turrill]

Any moron who is at the Grand Tetons can stick a camera out of a car window and take a nice picture. I have been in Iowa for 11 years now and learning how to photograph prairies takes some effort.

 

Rural towns, railroads, grain elevators, and livestock are good subjects. There actually is considerable wildlife and birds along rivers.