A Photo Adventure In Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park has become one of my favorite places to photograph wildlife. I have been there a handful of times now and I have never come back with an empty memory card. This park is full of beautiful wildlife such as impressive bison, beautiful wild horses, funny little prairie dogs, and many other animals that are a pleasure to be on the lookout for in the park. This trip I thought I would also try something new and attempt to document my adventures in the park with photos. This was a fun little challenge for me and actually took a little of the pressure off of myself when I was not able to take wildlife photos that I found to be “portfolio worthy”.

If you haven’t visited Theodore Roosevelt National Park yet I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves nature. It is one of the least visited National Parks which in my opinion only adds to its charm.

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10)

Camping In The Park

I tried something new taking this photo using a technique called “light painting”. Light painting involves shining a light source ( in this case a headlamp) onto the subject you are photographing in order for it to be lit. I did this lighting up the tree in multiple different shots and then combined them in photoshop.

Early Morning Wakeup

Waking up in a cold tent and having to leave a nice warm sleeping bag before sunrise isn’t exactly fun, but it results in beautiful morning light and usually more animal activity than during the afternoon.

The Morning After The Storm

The first night camping included a couple hours of pouring rain. Luckily the inside of the tent stayed dry, but the tent was covered in water droplets the next morning. The night also involved one tent pole falling on my head because it was so windy, I was able to pop it back and it stayed in place the rest of the night.

Friends Make Everything Better

Waking up in the early morning to go workout is hard, but growing up it was easier because I did it with my basketball teammates. Waking up in the early morning to go photograph is also easier when you are doing it with a friend.

Rain Clouds in the Distance

I really tried to capture both close up portraits and vast nature scenes of wildlife this trip. Unfortunately this horse just never turned around or lifted up its head, But the rain clouds in the background were still amazing!

The Landscape

When I was on a little hike I captured this landscape photo. I really wanted to show just how impressive the clouds were when I was there.

Winter is Over

This is a photo of a bit of bison fur hanging from a tree branch. The bison are all losing their winter coats preparing for the hot summer months.

Texture

I often laugh as I watch people photograph random rocks in the park, but I figured I would try it myself just for a couple minutes.

The Most Unproductive Beautiful Evening

Driving around trying to find animals in the beautiful soft evening light is always the goal at the end of the day, but unfortunately the last night at the park was unsuccessful for photos. But instead of focusing on the negative of not getting any great pictures I focused on the beauty of God’s creation! This night had the most beautiful sky I had seen in awhile and it was blessing to see it.

Document the Moment

I probably will never do anything with this photo but I wanted to capture the beautiful pink clouds I was lucky enough to see. I think the sunsets are one of the things I miss most about North Dakota.