Photo of the Week

Bear Butte, or Mato Paha, in Meade County is one of seven Lakota sacred sites. The mountain's name comes from a legend about a bear that attacked a group of people atop nearby Devil's Tower. The bear scratched the sides of the tower until he grew tired, then lumbered east, fell down and died. To see more of Christian Begeman's photos, visit cbegeman.blogspot.com.

Photo Friday time! SD Magazine photographer Harlan Humphrey captured this sweet moment of his granddaughter, Aurora, contemplating the beauty of the pasque flower with her dog, Tilly. Humphrey is a wildlife photographer and his features often appear in our magazine's Our Wild Side department.

A mama and two baby buffalo roam the Cheyenne River Ranch. View other photos of the Wild Idea Buffalo herd here or visit photographer Bonny Fleming's site at bonzeye.asiostudio.com.

A meteor streaks through the night sky east of Nunda, South Dakota. Photo by Zachary Wicks.

Today's Photo Friday shows a tree that grows protectively over the Eminija Indian Burial Mounds near Brandon. The mounds are the final resting place for Native Americans of the Late Woodland Period, who lived in this area sometime between 500 and 1000 AD. Photo by Chuck Bennis of Brandon.

"God wants us to reach," said Kevin Locke, hoop dancer, "reach for more light, feed our roots and blossom." Photo by Bernie Hunhoff.

South Dakota in spring. A snowy Pactola on April 9, 2013. Photo by Robin Hao Gonzalez. See more of Robin's photos on her website.

A dancer from a wacipi held at Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place in Fort Pierre last year. Photo by Bob Grandpre. See more of Bob's photos at www.grandprephotos.com.

Have you seen any snow geese lately? Joe Riis, a National Geographic photographer from Bijou Hills, captured this sunset shot of a group of snow geese migrating north to the tundra. "With over five million snow geese, this is one of the great migrations of the world," wrote Riis. "The snow goose population has been booming since the mid 1970s, they feed on corn as they move north." See more of Joe's work at www.joeriis.com or like his Facebook page, where he gives photo updates from the Bijou Hills and around the world.

We're thinking spring this Photo Friday! Christian Begeman took this photo of the pasqueflower. They bloom for only about two weeks along hillsides east of the Missouri River and in the Black HIlls beginning in late March, sometimes even poking through snow. See more of Christian's photos at www.cbegeman.blogspot.com.

Our Missouri River valley is both beautiful and big. North America's longest river valley drains one-sixth of the United States. Photo by Chad Coppess of SD Tourism.

A peaceful spot near Red Shirt. Photo by Robin Hao Gonzalez. See more of Robin's photography at www.robinhaogonzalez.smugmug.com.

Bruce Porisch spotted these three bucks northwest of Flandreau. One had shed one side of his antlers.

Hair-thin gypsum strings, a rare formation found in the deepest caverns of Jewel Cave, wave slightly in a gentle breeze. You can read about cave spelunker, Don Kopp’s adventure into the hidden underground world in our new March/April issue. Photo by the National Park Service.

Happy Photo Friday! Mary Kay Smith lives on Hwy 18 just east of Davis. She says, "I got up one morning in January 2010 and saw this and thought it was a bad accident or fire." She soon realized it was double sun dogs with the middle glow being the sun.

Last weekend's Lead-Deadwood Winterfest Snowbash featured snow tubing, dog sled rides, a parade of lights, a bonfire and fireworks over the Open Cut in Lead. Visit photographer Chad Coppess's website, www.dakotagraph.com, to see more photos from the action-packed event. We would also like to congratulate Chad for winning S.D. Tourism's A.H. Pankow Award!

The sun sets on Farm Island during a very cold Sunday evening. Photo by John Mitchell of Pierre.

Have you ever played basketball in a hayloft? Today's Photo Friday pick is of photographer Abby Bischoff's childhood playground on the family farm near Huron. See more of Abby's work at flockstudio.com.

This week's Photo Friday photographer, Mark Gubbins of Iroquois, told us, "I captured these sundogs just before sunset on January 16, 2013. I had to endure -15 below wind chills, but it was worth it."

Today's photo Friday is another winter shot of Pactola in winter. It's such a gorgeous scene we couldn't pass it up. See more of Kadek T. Susanto's work at www.kadeksusanto.com.

It's the first Photo Friday of the new year! Harlan Humphrey shared this photo taken in Wind Cave National Park. You can see more of his photos on his website.

Pactola Lake is stunning with a dusting of snow. Today's Photo Friday image is from Robin Hao Gonzalez. See more at Robin's site.

Nancy Tesdall shared the magic of Winter Wonderland of Falls Park in December in a photo gallery this week.

Aberdeen's Living Christmas Tree performance features a 55-member orchestra and 125-member choir. The event began in 1988. Chad Coppess, senior photographer at the S.D. Dept. of Tourism, traveled to Aberdeen earlier this month to photograph the holiday spectacle. To see more of Chad's photography, visit www.Dakotagraph.com.

Alexa Brtna, a young photographer from Loomis, SD, took this photo on her family's farm.

Santa Claus exchanged his reins for a steering wheel, driving a Tri-State Old Iron Association Farmall through downtown Yankton for the 2010 Parade of Lights. This year's parade is Saturday, Dec. 1 at 6:00 p.m. Photo by Bernie Hunhoff.

Ron Nelson of Spectrum Photography caught the ice forming on Lake Preston on November 14. To see more of Ron's work, visit Spectrum Photography.

Photographer Ron Keller took this sunset shot of the railroad tracks leading into Aberdeen.

Kirk Hulstein of Pierre enjoys archery deer hunting along the Missouri River bottoms. Photo by Chad Coppess, senior photographer at the S.D. Department of Tourism. See more of Chad's photos at www.dakotagraph.com.

Christian Begeman located this abandoned old elevator near Nunda, South Dakota. See more of Christian's ghost town photography here, or visit his blog.

Jim Lane spotted this buck in the middle of Rapid City. His spouse, our circulation director Jana Lane, told us, "It was difficult to get a picture of this buck. His neighbors are probably familiar with him though. For a buck to reach this size and maturity he must know his way around."

Dennis Laughlin shared this photo of two molting buffalo in Wind Cave National Park. You can view more of Dennis' work at www.windridgephoto.com, a name he chose as a reminder of the beautiful scenery the national park offers.

On Friday nights in autumn, students, parents and fans pack small town bleachers and big city stadiums to cheer on their teams. Greg Latza's photo of the Flandreau Fliers and their fans appeared in our November/December 2011 issue. To see more of Greg's work, visit www.greglatza.com.

Vinegar Hill Cemetery in Galena is one of creepy places we featured in the Sept/Oct issue. It isn't unsettling because of the miscreants buried there or their ghosts, but because of the eery feeling one gets while walking among the silent pines and imagining the life of the pioneers who dug the lonely mountaintop graves, far from home and loved ones. Photo by Bernie Hunhoff.

Kadek T. Susanto photographed this colorful trail near Canyon Lake in Rapid City. See more of Kadek's work at www.kadeksusanto.com.

Abby Bischoff of Sioux Falls took this photo at our old-time barn dance on Sept 8th. To see more of Abby's work visit www.flockstudio.com.

Bernie Hunhoff took this photo of Four Corners Bridge in July. Four counties – Ziebach, Pennington, Meade and Haakon – cooperated in 1930 to build a quarter-mile-long metal bridge above the Cheyenne River. The bridge is at the point where the four counties meet, at the bottom of a quiet, cedar-rich valley.

A late summer storm gave Paul Schiller a chance to practice his lightning-chasing skills. He took this image on Tuesday night north of Tea. See more of Paul's photography at www.actsofnature.com.

"Crazy Horse dreamed and went into the world where there is nothing but the spirits of all things. That is the real world that is behind this one, and everything we see here is something like a shadow from that one," wrote Black Elk in Black Elk Speaks. Our editor, Bernie Hunhoff, photographed the Crazy Horse Memorial on July 28.

Markus Erk caught the ephemeral flash of these lightning bolts during a summer storm in Meade County on July 24. He finds a tripod, cable release and an umbrella-wielding assistant to be useful when taking storm pictures, but advises, “if lightning is really close, better to be safe than sorry and head inside!”

A deer pauses amidst the greens and browns of summer grasses at Wind Cave National Park. Jerry Cahill, a Chamberlain native now living in Seattle, took this photo in July.

The Crazy Horse Memorial on a bright summer day in late July. Photo by Bernie Hunhoff.

Bernie Hunhoff' discovered this shiny buffalo at Custer's 89th annual Gold Discovery Days last weekend.

Ah, fishing! Hanging out with your buddies on a boat must be the perfect end to a day. Zachary Wicks spotted these fishermen on a lake south of Webster.

A prairie squall south of Mitchell by photographer Paul Schiller. Schiller has taken hundreds of photos of South Dakota skies at their most temperamental; to see more of his photos visit www.actsofnature.com.

Old Iron Association members got creative to commemorate this year's tractor ride. The old tractors will parade down Yankton's Main Street today at 6 p.m. Photo by Dave Tunge of Dakota Aerials.

Today's Photo Friday by Harlan Humphrey was taken at the annual Mt. Rushmore Independence Day Celebration. Fireworks will not be a part of the celebration this year due to high fire danger in the Hills, but the celebration features other activities including educational programs, patriotic tributes and music. Visit travelsd.com for more information.

This recent lightning flash near Kennebec was a welcome sight for farmers and ranchers. Many areas in the midwest are facing drought conditions. The nation's bread basket needs some rain. Photographer Greg Latza is a regular contributor for South Dakota Magazine and photographed the cover for our July/August issue. Follow Greg Latza's Photography on Facebook and visit his website www.greglatza.com to see more amazing South Dakota photos.

Today's photo of the week honors the father of South Dakota Magazine, Bernie Hunhoff, shown here in a vintage photo from the 70s. Thanks for all you do for the magazine family! Cheers to you, Bernie, and all South Dakota dads.

Bear Butte, called Mathó Pahá by the Lakota, stands majestic before a dramatic sunset. Geologists believe the butte was created 65 million years by volcanic activity. Many people make pilgrimages and perform religious ceremonies at Bear Butte each year. This photo was taken by Harlan Humphrey on June 6, 2012.

Aerial photographer Dave Tunge took to the skies last Sunday to photograph kayakers racing on the Missouri. This photo was taken just south of Yankton and the finish line was at Sioux City. See more of Tunge's photos at www.DakotaAerials.com.

RJ Roghair of Black Hawk spotted this meadowlark singing in Custer State Park last April.

Michael Lokken shared this photo taken after a day of boating on the Missouri River near Vermillion.

A summer storm over Fort Randall Dam, taken last summer by Sioux Falls photographer Erin McManus. To see more of Erin's work, visit www.erinmcmanusphotography.com.

Photographer Lisa Duncan gets inspiration from early morning hikes. She captured this eerily beautiful image near Pactola Lake. See more of Lisa's photos on her website.

Fort Sisseton was restored in the 1930s by local citizens and WPA laborers, and became a state park in 1960. Today visitors to Fort Sisseton can rent tipis for camping, fish in Lake Kettle, hike or attend one of the park's many festivals throughout the year. Photo by Dennis Price and Vonda Kusler.

Ron Linton photographed this elegant mountain bluebird in the Black Hills this April. Bluebirds in Custer State Park are going to have a pleasant surprise tomorrow when volunteers gather there to build them bluebird boxes. Females alone are responsible for constructing nests — the males appear to help, but they either bring little nesting materials or clumsily lose it in flight. See more of Ron's work at www.thruoureyesphotos.com.

Photographer Kadek Susanto keeps an eye on the skies, always looking for the perfect moment and lighting to best showcase South Dakota's amazing clouds. This weather in this photo, titled "Beauty Storm," rolled in near Box Elder in June 2011.

Twin barns near Madison, as seen by Kevin Wright.

Paul Schiller has been chasing prairie storms the past eight years with the KELO-TV weather team, photographing dramatic skies when most of us would choose to be huddled in our basements. See more of Paul's photography at www.actsofnature.com.

"What does not fit into the smooth circle of our days, in the repeating cycle of the season, does not belong here," wrote Linda Hasselstrom in "Going Over East". Pasqueflowers are a welcome symbol of our changing seasons. Christian Begeman of Sioux Falls spotted the first we've seen; he photographed these blooms on March 20 in Hanson County, weeks earlier than normal. See more of Christian's photos at his blog.

This image of frosty pasque and bearberry was shot by Erik Carlsgaard while on a spring turkey hunt in the Black Hills National Forest. Erik says, "Turkey hunting is a great way to be in the woods, watching spring struggle and overcome a hard winter."

Robin Hao Gonzalez took this photo of the old Folsom church southeast of Rapid City. The first church at Folsom was struck by lightning and burned down in 1917. Parishioners helped haul rocks in a spring wagon from Railroad Buttes to make the foundation for this church.

A "pygmy wolf" named Chet perches atop of this mighty snow buffalo sculpted by Tony Willman of Wessington Springs in the winter of 2011. This photo originally appeared in the Wessington Springs True Dakotan.

The night sky spins past this abandoned house near Esmond, South Dakota. Thanks to Mark Gubbins of Iroquois for the photo!

Jan Nickelson of Sturgis captured this scene of frosty trees as the fog lifted in the Black Hills.

Cheers! Our photo of the week features brothel owner Bismarck Anne, right, having a beer with a woman nicknamed Crazy Horse. Bismarck Anne worked in brothels in Hill City and Custer before she earned enough to start her own house of ill repute. She opened "The Palace" around the year 1900 in Keystone. Photo courtesy of the Journey Museum in Rapid City.

Winter brings a veil of tranquility to the sometimes cantankerous Big Sioux River. Photo by Dean Pearson.

Snowy Moccasin Creek in Aberdeen. Photo by Dennis Price and Vonda Kusler.

Pactola Lake on a cold winter morning. Photo by Lisa Duncan.

Bird lovers Celeste and Josslyn Elwood of Yankton spotted this snowy owl resting at the edge of Lewis & Clark Lake on Friday, January 6.

This final sunset of 2011 was captured in the backyard of photographer Shiloh Day's parents' house in Highmore, SD on New Year's Eve. The bare lilac bush has shed its leaves waiting for the snow to fall in central South Dakota.

A new year's message written in timber along the Missouri River in Yankton. Happy New Year to our South Dakota Magazine readers!

South Dakota's open spaces make it possible for the fading sun to brilliantly paint the prairie. Greg Latza recently captured this shot as ice was beginning to form on Clear Lake north of Humboldt. See more of Latza's photography at www.greglatza.com.

December snow flurries give a dreamy quality to a photo of inquisitive deer. Christian Begeman captured this shot near Fort Pierre. See more of Christian's work at www.cbegeman.blogspot.com.

West River photographer Mätt Lämb captured the serenity and spirituality of Bear Butte in this photograph taken on December 3, 2011.

Snowy reflections on Rapid Creek. Photo by Lisa Duncan. To see more of Lisa's photos, visit www.lisaduncan.smugmug.com.

Harlan Humphrey captured this 5 point whitetail buck on camera in Custer State Park. "It is very difficult to get a photo of a whitetail," he told us. "Especially highlighted on top of a ridge." To see more of Harlan's wildlife photos, visit his website at www.harlanhumphreyphotos.photoshelter.com.

‎"We do not want riches, we want peace and love," Chief Red Cloud once said. This photo was taken in the cemetery he was buried in, Red Cloud Cemetery, on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Photo by Bernie Hunhoff, captured on November 11, 2011.

Pine cones cover this patch of ground near Rapid Creek. The work of photographer Lori Kiehn was recently selected for publication in the book "Capture Dakota."