It's time for the Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo! I absolutely love this time of year, when I can go hang out with the horses and the cows, and take in the the sights (and yes, the smells!) that bring me back to the days before family and responsibility, when it was just my horses and me, spending our time together traveling on weekends to shows and rodeos and spending the week riding in the mountains or on friend's ranches. Those were the days of my carefree youth...and the stock show is my time to be immersed in those terrific memories!
I spent a little time at the Rapid City fairgrounds yesterday at the BHSS Winter Classic AQHA show, photographing the amateur heeling event. I am more impressed with the low-light capabilities of my Canon 1D Mark III every time I use it at a high ISO without flash. The fairgrounds arena is very dark, and there is an on-site photographer set up to sell photos of the event, so I didn't want to use flash and risk interfering with her photos, so I photographed without flash (by the way, my photos of this particular event are not for sale...I was only shooting for fun and for practice). I have had several requests to photograph some of the local team roping events around the area, so I am excited about my increased low-light capabilities with this camera, although I am still in the market to buy some strobe lighting!
As the Black Hills Stock Show gets underway, many of my images will be available in the "Events" category of my website at Thompson Photography. A schedule of events for the stock show and rodeo can be found at BHSS - Schedule.
Most park goers take the exit for the town of Wall back on the highway, but an off-the-beaten-path sight warrants visiting. Follow the gravel Sage Creek Rim Road to Prairie Dog Town, where the social rodents sit perched atop their burrows throughout the day despite the presence of nearby bison.
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