Portrait Session at Dalby Memorial Park

Sunday morning I packed up the truck and headed to Wyoming for a portrait session with a wonderful couple and their absolutely adorable little boy! When I left Spearfish, it was totally calm, about 55 degrees, and the weather forcast was calling for a nice day. As I drove west, the temperature dropped, and the wind speed picked up! When I reached Gillette, it was about 45 degrees with 20 - 30 mph wind gusts ~ making for a wind chill of...COOOLD!!!! But in true Wyoming style (they are new to the area and trying to fit in!!), they were tough, and we proceeded to have very fast photo shoot. With the baby's teeth chattering, and him deciding he had enough, we wrapped it up in about 15 minutes, but luckily with a terrific family like this, great images come naturally!

Greater Dakota Conference ~ Spearfish Canyon Country Club

Although it seems like the season is just beginning for the Spearfish Girls' Golf Team, the Greater Dakota Conference held today at the Spearfish Canyon Country Club marks the winding down of the golf season. It was rather cold and windy, but these girls are tough, and they were happy to be able to head out onto the course with no rain or snow to dampen their high spirits!

Although I am from a family of avid golfers, I was always too busy with my horses to pay much attention to golf, so I was looking forward to the chance to photograph a sport that has always been so much a part of my family, but I was never involved in! It almost made me want to dust off my golf clubs (unfortunately, I don't think they would know what to do)!!!



More images from the GDC golf meet can be seen at Thompson Photography !

Venus and the Moon

Early risers Wednesday morning were treated to this lunar event, as Venus slipped behind the waning crescent moon in a lunar occultation. There was also a Lyrid meteor shower in full swing, peaking at around 2AM...I slept through that one though! This picture was taken at about 5:00 AM in Spearfish.

Shelter Pals Battle of the Bands

On Friday night, Shelter Pals from Spearfish High School sponsored a Battle of the Bands contest to benefit Northern Hills Humane Society. Brain Fog, Dead Coyote, and Blacklite District all put on incredible shows, battling for a $100 first place prize sponsored by Black Hills Guitar.

Being an avid concertgoer from the 80s, I have to admit I was a little skeptical about attending a concert at a high school, supervised by a bunch of teachers, but was I in for a huge surprise! The bands put on a great show, the kids all had a fantastic time, and the best part...the teachers let them!!! The ground rules (there were two ~ only band members on stage, and no crowd surfing) were layed out at the beginning, and the show began! The parents and teachers all stayed towards the back (more than likely with earplugs!), and the kids all crowded the stage, typical of any concert, and proceeded to enjoy the show!

The bands were judged on both their musical talents and their showmanship, and at the end of a great show, Blacklite District was awarded the first place prize by the three judges. Congratulations to Blacklite District, and to all of the guys from Brain Fog and Dead Coyote, you all put on a great show!!!!










More images from Friday night's show can be seen at Thompson Photography ! Feel free to download any of these images for your personal use on Facebook, Myspace, etc.

Dougas High School Track Meet

Monday was one of those days when I REALLY love my job! A beautiful spring day, about 55 - 60 degrees out, and I spent the entire day shooting a track meet at Douglas High School in Box Elder. Now there have been a few football games when it was snowing, the wind was blowing about 40 mph, it was 30 degrees out, and I was asking myself if I really wanted to be a sports photographer...but this just wasn't one of those days!!!! Hopefully the weather cooperates and the kids, coaches, and spectators get to enjoy many more meets just like this one!

I love photographing clouds, and when I saw this jetstream in the sky, I figured it must be a message from EAFB!







More exciting track and field action can be seen at Thompson Photography !

Hunting for Pheasant (with my Camera)!

It was such a beautiful day today, after taking pictures for so long of nothing but blizzards, I had to get out and enjoy the sunshine! I decided to head north into Butte County, toward Vale, and try to find some cooperative pheasants. I found ALOT of pheasant getting their fill of gravel on the edges of the roads, but the majority of them didn't want to hang around while I tried to take my pictures! I found it is definitely much easier when I have my husband along to drive and all I have to do is take the pictures!

Great Blue Heron just outside of Spearfish

Rooster pheasant outside of Vale, South Dakota

Tank having some fun in the snow!

Northern Pintails at Bear Butte Lake. The lake was absolutely loaded with ducks and geese enjoying the open water!

I love winter, but when this time of year rolls around, I am ready for the snow to melt and the beauty and wonder of spring to arrive!!!!

Spearfish Pre-Prom Fundraiser Raffle

It's finally prom time!!! And in spite of the third blizzard (well, this one wasn't actually a blizzard, but LOTS of snow) in two weeks, and no travel advised, prom went forth as scheduled.

Earlier in the spring, I had been approached about donating a photo shoot and some pictures, along with another local Spearfish photographer, James Photography, for a fundraiser for the senior class. Two local restaurants were donating dinners for two groups of eight, and James Photography and myself would each do a photo shoot for one of the groups. I thought that sounded like a wonderful idea for a fundraiser, and since I haven't had a chance yet to shoot many groups, I jumped on the offer!

As the day for prom neared, I was really getting worried about a location, as I don't have a studio, and I didn't figure the girls would be too excited about posing in three feet of snow! However, I didn't need to worry! One of the girl's parents volunteered their beautiful home with a wonderful setting for portraits, as well as a covered deck that would have been perfect if it wouldn't have been snowing and only about 20 degrees out! Although everyone ran a bit late due to the weather and the horrible road conditions, we had enough time to get some wonderful shots taken before everyone headed off to their celebratory dinner and a wonderful night at prom!

Having some fun in the snow!





More pictures can be seen at Thompson Photography

Thank you so much to Roxy and the organizers of this fundraiser for giving me this opportunity, and to the parents and students for letting me share this exciting day!!!