Category: gallery-all

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Oh Deer

Photographer Christian Begeman avoided the big deals Thanksgiving weekend and went for big game instead. His travels took him to Walworth County, Custer State Park and the Badlands, where he found deer and other wildlife engaged in romantic pursuits.”I came across a mule buck that had added a crown of thistle to his rack. It must’ve worked, as I watched him court a doe and take care of business,” Begeman says.”The bighorn sheep were active and I heard the crack of horns echo through the valleys more than once. I did not witness any of those hostilities, but the big rams were on the move.”

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Bookin’ It Through the Badlands

Photographer Scott Korsten and his wife Marilyn recently discovered that it pays to take it easy when traveling across South Dakota. “My wife and I were on a quick business-related trip to the Black Hills area,” Korsten says. “Although we were driving with purpose, trying to make good time, we decided to take the quick detour through the Badlands…a place we hadn’t actually driven through for several years. We were reminded of just how vast and beautiful this area of the state’s interior really is — well worth the extra time it took for our trip.”

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Seasons Collide

According to Jerry Boyer’s calculations, Spearfish Canyon was set to explode with fall color during the final weekend of September. Boyer is a writer who has tracked the progression of canyon’s autumn foliage for several years and publishes twice-weekly updates beginning in early September. But Mother Nature intervened, as she is wont to do. Cold and snow descended upon the canyon just as Boyer estimated its color saturation at 90 percent. Christian Begeman was in the Black Hills and photographed the area along Roughlock Falls Road and Wagon Canyon Road southwest of Savoy as fall and winter collided.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Cowboy Up at Interior

There’s a rodeo nearly every weekend during summer in South Dakota, and few are as steeped in tradition as the gathering in Interior. Cowboys have challenged each other’s roping and riding skills there since the early 1920s, when it was among the largest rodeos in the country. Today the Interior rodeo doesn’t draw as well as it once did, but bronc rides and bull rides at the edge of the Badlands are still as entertaining and exciting as ever.

Rapid City photographer Jeremiah M. Murphy made his annual visit to the Interior Frontier Days rodeo on July 4. Here are a few snapshots from the evening’s bronc rides and behind the chutes scenes. If you want to take in a South Dakota rodeo with your own eyes, there are great opportunities this weekend at Boss Cowman Days in Lemmon and the Wall Celebration, or next weekend at the Burke Stampede Rodeo and the Geddes rodeo.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Spring Hike at Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse Memorial hosted its 33rd annual Spring Volksmarch June 2-3. Hikers from around the country made the 6.2-mile jaunt over dirt trails and gravel roads to experience a view of the world’s largest mountain carving that visitors don’t ordinarily enjoy. The turn-around point happens on the outstretched arm of Crazy Horse, with the sculpture’s nine-story face looming in the background. The volksmarch is among the most popular organized hikes in the country. Another trip in the fall is scheduled for September 30. Photos by John Mitchell.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Return to the Summit

The Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls hosted the Summit League Tournament March 3-6. College basketball fans from throughout the Upper Midwest gathered to see which team from the Summit League, which includes eight schools in seven states, advanced to the NCAA national tournament (South Dakota State University prevailed over the University of South Dakota on both the men’s and women’s side). The tournament has been a boon for Sioux Falls and the state since its arrival 10 years ago. Sioux Falls will host the event through 2022. Christian Begeman from Midco, whose sports network televised the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, roamed the arena for four days and captured these images.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Bear Butte Burning

A weekend fire, reportedly caused by debris that escaped from a nearby rancher’s burn pile, scorched 150 acres on the north side of Bear Butte, near Sturgis. Firefighters, aided by an inch of snow that fell Sunday morning, had the blaze under control about 15 hours after it was initially reported. No buildings were damaged and none of the animals in the Bear Butte State Park bison herd were injured. John Mitchell captured these images as the blaze burned.