Scott Bean Photography

Sunrise this morning

2009-07-13T17:44:00.001-05:00

I got up early this morning to try and beat the heat and get some photos of sunrise. I had a bit of color in the sky before the clouds (and rain) moved in. Here are a few photos from this morning.

Show coming up

2009-07-12T21:39:00.001-05:00

I'm way behind on updating my blog recently, I've been shooting too much and processing too little! I did get some great news this summer though, my work is going to be on display at the Lee Dam Center for Fine Arts in Marysville KS this summer. The opening night is July 31st and I think the show will run for 6 weeks. If you are in the area, stop in and check it out and let me know what you think.

Marshall County Waterfalls

2009-06-03T21:11:00.004-05:00

Earlier this spring I was up in Marshall County to photograph the waterfalls at Alcove Springs and Lake Idlewild after some heavy rains. It was well worth the trip. A few pics from this trip can be viewed here.

Enjoy!

Horse Thief Canyon

2009-04-26T11:39:00.002-05:00

I had to get out of the office and enjoy the great weather we had last week so I headed down to Kanopolis Lake to do some hiking at the Horse Thief Canyon area. Kanopolis was the first state park created in Kansas and has 31.5 miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. Hiking Horse Thief Canyon and Red Rock Canyon will give you some unique Kansas landscapes to go through.

Here are a few of my pictures from this hike.

Peace.

Drive to Cottonwood Falls, part 2

2009-04-18T21:44:00.004-05:00

In my previous post I put some photos from the drive down from Manhattan to the Chase County State Fishing Lake and back to Council Grove lake, where I got to see a really beautiful sunset. I did get to photograph some fires on my way down to Chase county, which was the purpose of my trip, but they were early in the evening, I was really hoping to catch some nighttime fires as well...and the drive from Council Grove to Manhattan did not disappoint. Here are some photos of some of the fires I found on this part of the drive into Manhattan.

If you are wondering why the prairie is burned off in the spring, read this article. The spring time burning is necessary to maintain the grasslands found in the Flint Hills...without the burning trees would eventually take over the prairie. Many people are not aware that the prairies were being burnt long before Europeans settled the Midwest... and even without human intervention the prairies often burned when ignited by lightning strikes.

If you haven't ever seen the Flint Hills being burned off in the spring, mark it down on your calendar and plan to visit...just use common sense and stay out of the ranchers way and stay safe...and enjoy the smell of the smoke, it just isn't spring without it.

Drive to Cottonwood Falls, part 2

2009-04-18T21:44:00.000-05:00

Drive down to Cottonwood Falls

2009-04-18T20:28:00.004-05:00

I've always wanted to drive down into the heart of the Flint Hills during the spring burning season, so early this month I decided to head down to the Chase County State Fishing Lake to photograph the waterfalls there and hopefully catch some nice fires on the way down and back. I hit the jackpot! I got to photograph some fires on the way down, the waterfalls were really pretty, I had some nice light at the state fishing lake there and I had a beautiful sunset to shoot at Council Grove Lake on my way back to Manhattan. It doesn't get much better than that for a drive through the Flint Hills....always a treat. Here a few photos from this part of my trip, I'll post the rest later. Hope you enjoy!

Spring fires along Old K-18 and K177

2009-04-11T23:05:00.003-05:00

I have been out looking for prairie fires a couple of times lately. These pics were some I took along Old K-18 road (one of my favorite drives) and along K-177. The last one was shot across Tuttle Creek Lake. I love the smell of the fires in the spring!

Fort Larned in Infrared (IR)

2009-04-11T21:18:00.003-05:00

When I was out in the Great Bend area last month I stopped at the Fort Larned historic site to photograph the fort in Infrared. I had intended to convert all the photos to black and white IR, but I really liked how some of the shots looked in color IR. I really liked how the blue in some of the uniforms came through in the IR. You can view the photos here.

Enjoy!

Washington County State Fishing Lake

2009-04-11T20:49:00.004-05:00

Here are some shots taken at the Washington County State Fishing Lake in northeast Kansas (does anybody but me think the name "...County State Fishing Lake" sounds funny?). Looked like we just missed a fire, but a few spots were still smoking which made for some nice shots. The picture shown at the left is a 3 shot HDR (high dynamic range). I decided to do an HDR of this scene to be able to record both the detail in the trees and the wonderful color of the sky. The dynamic range of the scene was too great for a single shot to work (unless you used split neutral density filters). Shooting an HDR (or using filters) is often the only way you can capture the dynamic range that the human eye can see.

HDR's are not difficult to do. You need to bracket your exposures when you shoot, I normally will bracket 3-5 shots in 1 stop intervals depending on the scene. There are a number of software programs that will combine the shots into 1. I use primarily Photomatix or Enfuse directly from Lightroom. There are plenty of options out there though. You also need to watch out for movement between your shots, either you moving or your subject moving. You will get the best results using a tripod, though you can make handheld HDR shots work. Wind can really cause problems as well.

Photography For a Cause

2009-04-11T20:21:00.002-05:00

If you are looking for some great photos and a chance to help out the Manhattan Red Cross and the Boys and Girls Club of Manhattan head over to LaBrisa Photography and check out the Photography for a Cause Galleries...all profit from any sales from these galleries will be donated by the photographer to the 2 groups mentioned above. A win-win for everyone, great photos and helping out local groups! Kudos to LaBrisa Photography for doing this!

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge

2009-03-20T23:29:00.004-05:00

A few of my photos from sunrise taken at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in central Kansas are online here. This is another major wetlands in Kansas not far from Cheyenne Bottoms.

The photo shown above (you can click on it for a larger view) is a 5 shot panorama that was stitched together using Autopano Pro. When shooting a pano it is a good idea to make sure you have your camera in manual exposure mode...unless you are sure the light is even other the entire scene. If the light isn't even and you are in an automatic or semi-automatic exposure mode (like aperture priority) your exposure will change as you move through the scene, resulting in bands or stripes in your pano. To avoid that, put your camera on manual exposure and set your exposure on the most important part of the scene. It is also a good idea to put your camera in manual focus. If you haven't ever shot a pano before, give it a try...it is a lot of fun!

Enjoy.

Trip to Cheyenne Bottoms

2009-03-19T20:28:00.005-05:00

Here are a few photos from a recent trip to Cheyenne Bottoms. If you haven't been there before, this is a unique place and worth a trip to see, especially during the peak times for the bird migrations through the area.

This was a beautiful evening and I was hoping to catch a nice sunset across some of the open water at Cheyenne Bottoms. The picture shown at the left was one of my favorite from the evening. I really liked how the water was reflecting the colors of the sky and the little "islands" in the water. I placed the horizon down low in the picture to emphasize the sky and included a strip of shoreline in the foreground to add some depth to the photo. I set my camera at f11 to hold sharpness in both the foreground and in the little islands and my exposure was based off a spot meter reading from the sky in the center of the scene. I didn't make any adjustments to the meter reading, the scene I was reading light from was close to neutral toned (maybe slightly above), and I wanted the scene dark so I was able to just shoot at my initial meter reading.

Hope you enjoy!

Pillsbury Crossing

2009-03-16T16:09:00.002-05:00

If you follow my photography at all you'll know that I like to shoot at Pillsbury Crossing a lot. I love the sound of running water, it is so peaceful, I think that is what draws me back to Pillsbury. There is usually enough water running to drawn out the rest of the world, which is a good thing sometimes. If you haven't ever visited Pillsbury Crossing you should if you get a chance. Late winter is probably the least of my favorite times to go, but even now it is pretty. Hope you enjoy and find some peace in these shots.

Twin Mound Road and Olsburg Marsh area

2009-03-16T15:12:00.004-05:00

Here are a few shots from this past February I took on Twin Mound Road near the Carnahan Creek Area and around the Olsburg Marsh. Twin Mound Road turned out to be a great place to get some nice shots of the Flint Hills.

Enjoy!

Olsburg Marsh

2009-03-06T23:05:00.003-06:00

Here are a few photos from tonight's sunset taken around the Olsburg Marsh area at Tuttle Creek Lake.

Enjoy.

Website Reviewed

2009-03-01T09:54:00.003-06:00

My website was reviewed in the February issue of Shutterbug Magazine. The review can be read here.

NPN outing

2009-03-01T09:11:00.003-06:00

A few people from the central states forum on the Nature Photographers Net got together to shoot the Flint Hills recently. It was a bitter cold morning, but great to meet everyone.

Here are a few photos I took that morning.

Peace.

Amazing Sunset

2009-03-01T09:07:00.004-06:00

Here are a few photos from a recent sunset that was absolutely amazing. These were taken just outside Manhattan, KS at the outlet area (the "tubes") of Tuttle Creek Lake.

Enjoy!

13th Road

2009-02-14T13:27:00.004-06:00

A few photos taken along "13th Road" outside of Waterville, KS.

Rare morning photos

2009-02-08T13:56:00.004-06:00

These are a few rare sunrise photos of the Flint Hills just outside of Manhattan, KS. I don't normally do mornings very well, but I'm going to have to start, it was absolutely beautiful out this morning.

Enjoy!

Chase County State Fishing Lake

2009-02-08T08:46:00.005-06:00

These are some pictures from a trip earlier in January to the Chase County State Fishing Lake (except for the first 2, they were taken outside of Council Grove Lake). I've been to this lake a few times before looking for the waterfalls, but this is the first time I found them (I never went far enough across the dam to find the trail leading to them). I will be back to visit this place again many times I'm sure, the waterfalls where really beautiful. This is another really beautiful spot in the Flint Hills and there are lots of things to see in this area (the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, Chase County Courthouse, Council Grove, etc).

Enjoy!

Photos on Display at the Lawrence Public Library

2009-02-02T14:49:00.002-06:00

These 4 photos are on display at the Lawrence Public Library until Feb. 28th. There are 8 photographers showing photos of the Flint Hills this month, some great work is on display! If you get a chance to stop by and check them out let me know what you think.

Lyon County State Fishing Lake

2009-02-01T13:35:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago I spent a couple of days photographing around Emporia. These are a few of the pics I took at and near the Lyon County State Fishing Lake. It was bitter cold and windy, so if the photos look cold...it was! But it was a beautiful place. I had been there once before and will be back.

Enjoy!

Pottawattamie County State Fishing Lake

2009-02-01T13:11:00.002-06:00

Here a few sunset photos from Pottawattamie County State Fishing Lake outside of Manhattan, KS.

Enjoy