I recently took the opportunity to visit western Kansas. My goal was to photograph Monument Rocks. I arrived at the Rocks in the late afternoon. The sky was mostly clear, and I eventually gave up on any chance of a great sunset. After doing some thinking, I decided to run up to Oakley and visit the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center. I knew the Center would be closed, and hoped that this would mean no crowds at the beautiful Buffalo Bill bronze statue. I wasn’t disappointed, and only encountered a couple of other people there.
After studying the intricate details in the sculpture for a little while, I started photographing it. My first few shots, including this one, were what I would consider a typical tourist type of photo.
I then started experimenting with on camera flash. I used an add on flash on the top of my camera, since I knew the built in flash would not work. The next couple of photos combine the low evening natural light with the camera flash. This method created definition in the shadowed parts of the sculpture. I tried a standard multiple exposure HDR image, which created a much flatter image. While processing the close up image, I had to correct the color in the washed out areas lit by the flash. I don’t have colored filters for the flash, so I had to fix this in processing.
A few clouds lay low on the horizon at sunset.
After sunset, I had to wait almost an hour before the sky was dark enough for the next series of images. Photographing the sculptures after dark was challenging due to multiple light sources. The parking lot light on the right was unavoidable, so I placed it behind the horse to block most of the light. This next image was taken an hour after sunset. The constellation Scorpius is visible above the bison. The three bright objects are, from top to bottom, the planets Saturn and Mars, and the star Antares.
Over the next half hour, the sky continued to darken. By tracking the movement of Scorpius, I knew where the Milky Way was located. The Milky Way was not visible to the naked eye. During processing, I was able to bring out the details of the Milky Way, showing how much beauty is lost in the glare of light pollution. I merged 5 horizontal photos to capture this view of the Milky Way.
I noticed that the Big Dipper was aligned nicely over the sculpture. During processing, I enhanced the stars of the constellation slightly, bringing them closer to what they looked like in person.
I shot one last photo on a whim, showing the town of Oakley. The lights of town created multiple lens flares.
I highly recommend a trip to Oakley to visit the Center and to view the sculpture. Artist Charlie Norton created the sculpture, imbuing it with incredible detail throughout the piece. More information on the sculpture, as well as a link to Charlie’s website, can be found on this page.
Afterwards, I went back to Monument Rocks. I had permission to be there after dark. Unfortunately, heavy clouds rolled in, and I didn’t capture anything worth keeping. Even though I didn’t bring home any new images of the Rocks, I still enjoyed the visit.
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Rob Graham
Graham Photography's Photographic blog 