Here in the badlands, where the land is rough and open, the spirit can run wild. Unlike the flowing prairies of North Dakota, the badlands are exposed. Carved into each layer of rock is the story of wind and erosion. It carries the harsh realities of life in the West. Beauty here isn’t lush and obvious, but vast and dangerous. The land endures; time etched into the earth. The horizon stretches, the sky engulfs you, and all is quiet. Tucked away in the folds of the Badlands, the wild horses move like secrets. This is their home. It’s as if the land itself breathed them to life. Here they are wild and free.
Our family enjoys visiting the Teddy Roosevelt National Park in the heart of Medora, North Dakota. We love walking the trails and finding the wildlife. The prairie dogs and bison are easy to spot along the winding road. We keep our eyes on the hills to catch a glimpse of the wild horses. No matter how many times we spot them, we are always captivated by their presence.
I honestly love both the original and the cropped photo. The original focuses on the full landscape, but the cropped photo narrows in on the wild horses. I used the rule of thirds with the horses spanning across the photo to create movement.
Hi Christy,
Your pictures brought back some good memories for me, The TR park is one of the best kept secrets out there. My dad grew up in North Dakota. I have been to the Medora Musical more than once.
Somehow the focus on horses reduces the sense of the desolation of the original. This is a photo that could have been cropped in a lot of different ways. For example, cropping out the horses entirely would have increased the sense of isolation. Or cutting even closer to them, making the ledge seem more ominous, would have added a sense of precarity
Hello Christy,
I must say that your photos are breathtakingly beautiful! As a Florida native, who lives in a state with the geography of a pancake, seeing that hilly landscape would take my breath away. I loved it when you were describing seeing Bison and prairie dogs while walking the trails like it’s no big deal. I chuckled after reading that line. Your capture of that herd of majestic wild horses, while they were peacefully grazing, also captivated me, as they did you.
Both pictures are fantastic, and I really like the way you cropped the original, because the horses are the focus, as they should be. I would only suggest possibly zooming into a few of the horses to capture their wild nature a bit more.
-Kelly
Hey, Christy! It’s crazy that they call this the Badlands, given that some of the worlds greatest creatures (horses and prarie dogs) just hang out here full-time! That is an incredible shot, and the isolated shot of the horses on what looks like a mini-mesa really brings them into total focus, automatically bringing your guard down, which is what you don’t want to do in a place called the Badlands!
The second image brings in the full breadth of the nature there, how at any moment you could be being watched by a mountain lion 600 ft away and not even know it.
Great job!