219 ☼ The bison, the ex, and the best shoot of that year
A solo photo trip in South Dakota turns personal when a surprise connection with my guide changes the day.
Dear friends,
Have I got a travel story for you! In 2015, I was sent to South Dakota by Travel + Leisure to photograph Badlands National Park for a special photo essay. I’d never been before. I don’t drive, which made things interesting. Luckily, the magazine connected me with a local who knew the park like the back of his hand and was willing to drive me around.
What unfolded that day was wild in more ways than one. The wildest part wasn’t even locking eyes with a very large male bison from just meters away. Midway through the day, a surprise reveal turned everything slightly... weird. But we’ll get to that.
Also in this issue:
My thoughts on the Fujifilm X-H2S, on loan from the good folks at MPB.com.
Before we go there, in case you missed it here is the second episode of my new video series “She Just…Disappeared?” featuring the return of the mysterious Madame Paris.
Shot and edited by my friend Harry Orange, written and directed by me. More on the camera we shot this on, the very special Fuji X-H2S below in the gear section.
The Badlands Pick-up
I landed the night before, and we met early that morning. He drove a dusty truck that fit right into its environment and looked like it had seen a lot. We exchanged hellos, loaded my gear, and got on the road. He talked me through the terrain while I looked for light and landscape features that were covered in my assignment.
The Drive
He knew where to go. Every bend in the road had a story. He told me about rock layers, prairie dogs, and how to spot bighorn sheep. I sat in the passenger seat, camera ready, clicking away through the window, then hopping out for the wide shots.
The landscape was strange and beautiful, like a watercolor painting left out in the sun. Almost alien looking jagged rocky mountains in shades of pink and gray. Rolling fields that looked soft until you tried walking through them. I shot everything.
The reveal
Somewhere after lunch, we started talking about life. Where we’d lived, people we knew. His hometown, my city. He mentioned a name. I paused.
Wait. That name?
Turns out, he was my then-girlfriend’s college boyfriend. Years ago. No overlap. Just... weird timing. We both laughed awkwardly. There was a beat of “oh wow.” Then we kept going. I was completely dependent on him for transport, and he was kind enough not to let this get in the way.
The bisons
Later in the afternoon, we spotted them. A massive herd of bison crossing the road, one after the other, mothers and calves in no rush. We stopped the car.
One massive male stood between us and the herd. He watched. I raised my camera slowly. We held eye contact for a moment that felt like forever. Then he turned his head, satisfied, and let me work.
It was one of the best wildlife moments of my career. Pure respect. No sudden moves. Quiet, gentle, focused. It felt like an understanding.
Sunflowers, forever
The sun started to drop. Everything went golden, right when we came upon an absolutely massive field of sunflowers. It’s hard to describe how oceanic this view felt. As far as I could see, sunflowers, forever.
We wrapped up and headed back. I thanked him, genuinely. Whatever weirdness that mid-day discovery brought in, it didn’t change the fact that he gave me a perfect day to do my work. And I’m proud that those photos ended up in Travel + Leisure magazine. Still one of my favorite assignments.
We’re almost at the end of another year and to me it’s flown by. I hope you’ve been documenting your life, the highlights and the things that move you. For this coming week, grab your camera, walk out the door, and see if there’s some urban or rural landscapes to photograph. It’s so therapeutic for me to just look at nature like this, and I bet it will be for you as well.
Talk soon,
Wesley
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This Week’s Camera + Tools
Camera: for the photos in this issue I used the Canon 5D Mark III + 24-70mm lens
For the video, we shot with the Fujifilm X-H2S on loan from the good folks at MPB.com. We picked this camera especially for it’s advanced slow-motion video capabilities, which you can see showcased in the scene where Madame Paris kicks leafs up. This camera supports 4K video at up to 120 frames per second, and 1080p up to 240fps, allowing for smooth slow-motion playback with great details and lovely color depth. I can imagine using it for fast-paced sports or skateboarding shoots, especially since autofocus remains active during recording keeping everything sharp.
The X-H2S also supports F-Log2, which gave us a dynamic range to over 14 stops (SO MANY STOPS), giving us post-production flexibility for color grading and detail recovery in high-contrast scenes. This is a hybrid camera, which means it’s also really solid for photos and not just video, but I didn’t have a chance to put that to the test myself. As a Fujifilm user and fan however, I do not doubt it one bit. Click here to browse used ones over at MPB.com. Right now, some are nearly €1,000 under retail.
Process is supported by MPB.com, my personal go-to for buying, selling, or trading used gear. Everything comes with a 12-month warranty.
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Can you make a post about photo assignments? I always keep hearing about then, but never understand that much
Oh goodness. Those shocks were rocking. I'd have been in love with that assignment as well. Awesome awesome stuff, Wesley.