In my 10 years of professional photography I have only attempted night photography less than a handful of times. On Monday, February 17, I was traveling for a newborn session from Belle Fourche to Mitchell, South Dakota. It was getting close to 9:00 PM and I had never visited the amazing “Dignity” sculpture so on a whim I pulled off the interstate in Chamberlain. The night sky was clear with a little bit of a low haze fog rising from the Missouri River. The temperature was in the low 20s with a breeze coming from the north. I parked my car as close as I could, crossed over the ice covered grass and approached a slanted sign describing the regal statue before me. I was in awe at its colorful beauty! I began to experiment with different settings and was starting to like each shot a little better. Adjusting my shutter speed while handholding it was becoming impossible to get a clear image. (I did not have a tripod with me.) Improvising, I sat my camera down on the slanted sign, hooking the hood of the lens on the lip of the top of the sign. I leaned down to look through the viewfinder and could fit just enough of the statue in the frame. I set the shutter speed to 30 seconds, pressed the button, and then shoved my hands deep into my pockets to warm them while I waited in the bone chilling breeze. After taking a few photos, grabbed my cold camera and walked quickly back to my car. Glancing through them I was excited to see that I had even captured the stars, some light flares, and details of the beautiful statue not visible to my naked eye.
. 📸 ©️Jodie Baxendale
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