Words fall short when expressing my feelings when I visit the Pawnee National Grasslands. There is this quiet. The only sounds are the wind, the birds, maybe a cow mooing in the distance, my footsteps and my breathing. None of the sounds of the city can be heard, the ones we are accustomed to hearing and are almost expected. The vastness of this landscape has a way of making me feel small and insignificant, yet I feel so much a part of it. It’s an ecosystem all its own, one many people never experience. This is a land where no plow has turned the soil. There is not much of that left in of the short, mixed and tall prairies. This is cowboy country where small dark specks in the distance are grazing cattle. It’s a place of quiet.
Here is an HDR version of the above image using three exposures; metered and plus and minus one stop. The preset used was Landscape Balanced. This one is more appealing to me but not as true to what I saw when taking the image.
4 Comments
John
I love the Pawnee Grasslands too – I once camped near the Pawnee Buttes so I could observe a meteor shower. The whole night, in the distance, I could hear coyotes yelping and barking. It’s a place where the silence is deafening.
Nice HDR treatement. Did you use Photomatix, HDR Efex Pro, Photoshop or something else?
Monte Stevens
I’m wanting to camp there before fall sets in just to experience what you talk about.
Paul
I’m going to have to check out some grasslands when I pass through Nebraska. 🙂 I experienced the type of quiet that you speak of when I was in Joshua Tree National Park. All of a sudden, I noticed the extreme quiet. I mean, complete silence. No wind. No movement. No cars. Nothing. It was amazing that there are still places like that and, at the moment, I was very thankful! 😀
Monte Stevens
Northern Nebraska has some nice areas that I hear are good for photographing, the Sand Hills area. I would also think anywhere along the Platte River would offer some interesting images. And, the quiet is foreign to a large percentage of our American culture, even frightening some. Dealing with their own thoughts can be a new experience to some. Being present to life can also be a new experience. Glad you enjoy those times.